President's Letter

Congratulations to the Class of 2001, and welcome to the Alumni Association! As one of the first classes of the new millennium, you have many opportunities to stay connected and involved with George Mason as you transition from students to alumni. I would like to request two things of you and of all our alumni.

At the beginning of my term, the Alumni Association board and I developed a strategic plan. Two of the plan's key objectives were to look for ways to effectively communicate with our alumni and to do a better job of getting to know our alumni. To support these goals, we created an alumni web portal, www.zPatriots.com. I urge you to check out this site, register (it's free!), and start using it to stay connected with George Mason and each other. The site also allows us to keep you better informed of all that is happening in the Alumni Association.

I also urge you to think of your degree from George Mason as a lifetime investment. I firmly believe that your future success reflects favorably on George Mason University, and as George Mason gains greater recognition, the value of your degree will increase. I know you will be successful; you have that part covered. But George Mason needs your help to achieve the status it deserves, and there are many ways to accomplish this goal. For example, this past year, two of our alumni, Fernando Mico and Chris Morgan, contributed their time and talent by creating a television commercial to promote Homecoming. It ran for several weeks in our area on cable channels such as HTS, ESPN2, VH1, and MTV.

I challenge all of us, as alumni, to look for ways to contribute time, energy, talents, and resources to help make George Mason great. You can help ensure that your lifetime investment continues to grow in value. I wish all of you continued success and much happiness in the future.

James J. Laychak,
President, GMU Alumni Association
[email protected]