“International alumni are very important for our image”
Alumni-chairman Frans van Daele
Reiner Van Hove
At his various diplomatic posts, from Athens to Washington, Baron Frans van Daele regularly encountered fellow K.U.Leuven alumni. Since last year, he has been their symbolic godfather; in July 2008 he was appointed chairman of Alumni Lovanienses, the umbrella association for K.U.Leuven graduates.
Van Daele studied Romance languages at K.U.Leuven and subsequently embarked on an impressive diplomatic career. He held diplomatic posts in Athens and Rome and was later appointed a member of Belgium’s permanent representation to the UN. After holding this post, he became director-general of political affairs at Belgium’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Belgium’s ambassador to the European Union and ambassador to the USA. Currently, he is Belgium’s ambassador to NATO.
Now he has yet another post. Van Daele: “When I was asked to become chairman of Alumni Lovanienses, I gratefully and enthusiastically accepted the position because of the fine example set by my predecessor Karel Vinck, amongst other things. I have always continued to feel a connection with Leuven very explicitly and it has become very clear to me that most alumni feel this connection too and want to maintain it. Perhaps we should encourage those who have just graduated a little more, though after a short period of time the need to reconnect with Leuven becomes very clear.”
The same is true of international alumni, of which there are not a few. Van Daele: “We currently have almost 11,000 alumni living abroad. Of those, 4,500 studied in Dutch and 6,400 studied in English. The majority of the latter did postgraduate studies. The figure does not include the plethora of students who studied in Leuven in the context of the Erasmus programme. Our international alumni are thus a very important part of our university’s image.”
“That is why we want to develop and structure this network. To this end, we are currently completing our database of addresses and e-mail addresses. We use this information to send our alumni our regular electronic e-newsletter as well as Campus Insight of course.”
“Maintaining contact is not only important because it promotes our university’s international image, but also because it helps to attract new students. Many of our alumni work in academic and professional environments where they meet people who are interested in postgraduate education. We hope that our alumni look back at their own experiences in Leuven with great pleasure and that they encourage others to choose Leuven.”
“Contacts with alumni also contribute positively to fundraising, which is an essential supplement to the funds we receive from the government. As well as the large donations, such as new research chairs for example, smaller grassroots donations are also important. An association with many members, such as Alumni Lovanienses, can also make a contribution in this area.”
Further, Van Daele would like to stimulate and expand the local chapters: “Regional groups of alumni have developed or are developing in a number of countries. For example, we have active groups in Beijing and Shanghai, where Chinese alumni have committed to building a network. We have similar chapters in Washington, New York and Kinshasa, though these are mostly composed of Belgian expats. An alumni association is also being established in Kenya (see article on p. 8). From within K.U.Leuven, we would like to give these ambassadors the necessary incentives for these pursuits. That is why, in the future, we plan to organise an activity for them in Leuven during the Christmas season, which will strengthen the bonds between us.”
