Greetings from the Janelle Y. Hembree Alumni House!

I am pleased and honored to be joining the University of Arkansas as the new executive director of the Arkansas Alumni Association. I look forward to connecting and serving the YOU of A family, including the 26,000 members of the Alumni Association and all alumni who have a desire to engage with each other and with the U of A.

While it has only been a few weeks since I began my duties, I can speak with confidence that we have the opportunity to take an excellent association to the next level. Mike Macechko’s leadership has built a program with financial strength, membership excellence and broad volunteer engagement. Our scholarship efforts are among the best in the country, and while we have experienced a recent turnover of staff, the current staff is talented, dedicated and hard working.

I plan to approach these next weeks and months by first doing a lot of listening – to the Board of Directors, campus leaders, AAA staff, other alumni volunteers and stakeholders – to hear their thoughts on the Association. Where are we most effective? In what ways can we work more collaboratively? I have already begun work in concert with the staff to assess all areas of the Association – marketing, programming, board development and management, financial administration, campus and volunteer relations, as well as our role in the campaign. This assessment will provide important information on which we can build a strategic plan for the association that will guide us for the coming years.

As Alumni Association members, you know already what I am discovering more each day. The University of Arkansas is an incredibly special place that has provided a lifetime of memories to thousands of alumni and their families. Devoted Razorback alumni and friends want only the best for the U of A and each other. It is our role as the Alumni Association to facilitate connections, provide engagement opportunities, foster memories and inform alumni about the University today. There is nothing quite as rewarding as seeing these goals realized, and we see it every day in our work.

Thank you for your support as I get oriented to my new position. My wife, Tina, and I have bought a house in Fayetteville, and she is as excited as I am about our new lives in Northwest Arkansas. We both look forward to being part of this wonderful community.

With Pride in Arkansas –

Graham Stewart

Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni

Executive Director of the Arkansas Alumni Association