Alumni and Development
First major alumni event draws capacity crowd
Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:11:00 GMT
More than 200 former University students attended the first formal alumni event at the House of Lords in London on 20 October.
Graduates of every discipline signed up to attend the event in the hours after it was advertised as an opportunity to catch up with old friends and renew their ties to Portsmouth. The invitation to attend a formal get together was so popular a further 150 people asked to be placed on the waiting list.
The event was hosted by honorary graduate of the University, Baroness Gibson of Market Rasen, and included a tour of the Houses of Parliament, followed by drinks and canapes in the Peers’ Dining Room.
Baroness Gibson was made an honorary graduate in 2007 thanks to her work on trade unions and bullying and harassment at work, much of which she carried out with Professor Charlotte Rayner at the Portsmouth Business School. She gave a speech about her strong relationship with the University and how it has developed over many years.
Professor John Craven welcomed the 200 former students. He spoke of the enormous value the University places on building and maintaining relationships with our alumni and how they are the University’s ambassadors and champions. The event was also attended by Rebecca Bunting and the Deans of all five faculties.
Alumni Relations Officer, Vicky Hodson said: “It was wonderful to see so many former students from a range of different courses and graduation years, come together to network and socialise in this amazing venue. There was a real sense amongst our alumni that they hold fond memories of Portsmouth and are proud to be our graduates. We have received some excellent feedback from our guests and are delighted that this prestigious event was such a success. We definitely hope to organise more events like this in the future.”