University Advancement designed a summit for the LGBTQIA alumni community in order to foster a greater connection between the identity group and Elon University, according to Jim Piatt, vice president for university advancement. The summit provides a forum for students, alumni and members of the administration to discuss potential programming supportive of the community, Piatt said.

More than 200 alumni received an invitationto the summit planned for March 30 and 31

“We’re starting to realize that our alumni will identify and connect with groups that they have a close affinity with,” said Durice White, coordinator of alumni engagement for affinity programs.

The summit represents University Advancement’s affinity network program, which aims to attract alumni involvement based on their respective Elon experiences, Piatt said.

“Elon has a new strategic plan and they’re making an effort to connect alumni back to the university,” said Christian Wiggins, Class of 2003 and current member of the alumni council. "And one way to do that is to connect them to something they are passionate about.”

[quote]One of our primary goals is to unify a group of people with a common interest -Jim Piatt vice president for university advancement[/quote]

The summit will also unite graduates to the current Elon community, White said.

“Our goal is really to bring a group around the table and see how the Elon Alumni Association can partner with the LBGTQIA community to help them better engage with Elon and become partners, advocators and investors in the university,” she said.

For John Pickett, Class of 2003 and member of the LGBTQIA Alumni Summit planning committee, the event represents a unity between current students, administration and alumni.

“I think this will be the jumping off point for connecting the community on campus and the community of Elon alums,” he said.

Participation in such programs translates to responsibility for the university’s future, said Sallie Hutton, director of alumni engagement.

Some alumni share this view. Pickett said he recognizes the empowerment the summit provides for this specific identity group.

“I think that what this does is it shows the attributes of the LGBTQ community and that the people of that community are valued,” he said. “With any type of minority group, it is important to take the effort and the time to say ‘we appreciate the diversity you bring to our campus.’”

The theme — past, present, future — encourages alumni and students to examine the identity group’s integration into Elon, according Hutton. Breakout sessions and discussions provide the group with the opportunity to devise long-term and short-term goals of the LGBTQIA community, she said.

“One of the primary goals is to unify a group of people with a common interest, a shared identity," Piatt said. "But more specifically what kind of programming they would like us to see moving forward and what pieces and parts of the Elon Commitment speak to them."

The forum gives the alumni ownership of various university programs.

“If they’re invested and they own (the community’s growth), they go leaps and bounds in creating the environment and the services they are interested in,” Hutton said.

The focus on the LGBTQIA community resulted from the success of the Black Alumni Network, which created a scholarship fund for students belonging to their identity group, and the ideas of two volunteers who participated in a Black alumni summit and also expressed an investment in the LGBTQ community.

University Advancement is looking into creating a summit dedicated to the Hispanic and Latino population, Piatt said.

“It’s hard to imagine moving forward without true acknowledgement of people with all backgrounds,” he said.