The public is invited to a celebration marking the success of the University of the Virgin Island’s “First to 50” Alumni Challenge at 11 a.m. on Monday, Nov. 25, in the Great Hall on the Albert A. Sheen Campus on St. Croix. The event will be teleconferenced to the Administration and Conference Center’s first floor conference room on the St. Thomas Campus. All UVI alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends are encouraged to attend. Attendees are asked to wear the university’s school colors of blue and white.
“The community has been so supportive from day one and we are notably proud of the amount of support that we received from our students, volunteers, and alumni – not only throughout the territory, but around the world,” said UVI Director of Annual Giving and Alumni Affairs Director Linda Smith. “Because of your collaborative efforts, we met this challenge head on and we should be proud of this historic achievement. The bonds that were formed during the “50 for 50” Campaign remained strong throughout this year’s campaign and enabled us to achieve this historic goal.”
Smith said that alumni greatly deserve this celebration. “We extend a special invitation to alumni situated throughout the Caribbean, the U.S. mainland and around the world to join us online for this momentous occasion,” she said. The event will be broadcast live on WUVI 1090 AM, which can be heard online from www.wuvi.am/www.kradiolive.com. The event will be streamed live from www.watchnews.tv or www.caribbeanpublicbroadcasting.com.
UVI President Dr. David Hall will be on hand on the Sheen Campus to celebrate the event. The “First to 50” Alumni Challenge is a follow up to last year’s “50 for 50” Challenge which won UVI’s alumni a national Historically Black Colleges and Universities award in June.
Smith said she was grateful to those who gave throughout the world “Schools like to issue challenges and campaigns, but I think what makes UVI so unique is that we stand by what we believe in – Historically American, Uniquely Caribbean and Globally Interactive,” She said. “That mantra holds true. We are extremely diverse and I think that is one of our greatest strengths.” She continued, “Being a hometown university, whenever we have challenges, we have to make sure that we are able to meet those that we serve where they are and I know that once that happens it is a resounding success.”