"Create Awareness - Take Action"
Western Alumni Association Board's new president aims to raise the University's profile and increase active engagement among alumni worldwide
After seven years as a member of Western’s alumni association board of directors, John Eberhard, BA'66, LLB'69, is taking the reins as the organization’s new president under the theme “Create Awareness - Take Action.”
“My history with Western spans more than 40 years and being involved with the Western Alumni Association allows me to support and add value to Western’s strategic goals,” says Eberhard.
The Alumni Association Board’s current goals include increasing awareness of the association’s role, programs and services among the more than 270,000 alumni worldwide and, further, motivating alumni to give back and get involved with the University.
“We hope to inspire all alumni to live out the association’s vision by sharing a lifelong commitment, pride and passion for Western,” says Eberhard.
To implement the “Create Awareness - Take Action” plan, the Alumni Association aims to:
- support alumni relations and development in the delivery of programs and services;
- grow and strengthen Alumni Association branches and chapters worldwide, increasing the number and quality of interactions;
- launch an alumni-student mentoring program that provides students with life-changing opportunities;
- increase awareness of Founder’s Day celebrations to boost engagement and alumni pride worldwide;
- engage alumni in community service through Western Alumni Serves; and
- encourage alumni to give back to the university through charitable giving.
“As Western students we benefited from the ‘best student experience among research-intensive universities in Canada’,” says Eberhard. “As an association, we hope to provide all alumni with the ‘best alumni experience’ and we will do so by turning awareness into action.”
Eberhard is the definition of purple and proud.
He grew up on campus, was involved in fraternity life and athletics as an undergraduate studying Psychology. He applied to Western Law to extend his affair with the University.
“I had absolutely no idea what Law school was about, but … it was a way to stay,” says Eberhard.
And while his subsequent law career – as a barrister and solicitor for The Law Society of Upper Canada – and community volunteer activities kept him busy, Eberhard always maintained a connection to Western through his fraternity and alumni activities.
More recently, Eberhard re-engaged with his beloved alma mater by joining the Western Alumni Association Board in 2007. He currently chairs the board and attends it’s many committee meetings and also represents the Association on the University Senate.
For more information about Western Alumni Association board, please visit: alumni.westernu.ca/get-involved/association
