S2E09: Cultivating Community on College Campuses

Rutgers is the 8th oldest college in the U.S. having received its charter in 1766—10 years before the Revolution. Recent research documents the university's foundation on land taken from the indigenous Lenape people and at one time benefited from slave labor and funds derived from purchasing and selling slaves.

As you can imagine, it's not easy creating a sense of belonging for students whose ancestors were directly impacted by this. And for decades...centuries, really... there was no association dedicated to serving the alumni of African descent. But that all changed when students banded together in 1989 to form the original Rutgers African-American Alumni Alliance on campus.

RAAA was re-launched in 2001 (and incorporated in 2006) as an all-volunteer organization serving the African, Afro-Asian, Black/African-American, Afro-Caribbean & Afro-Latinx alumni encompassing all of Rutgers University's undergraduate and graduate schools in New Jersey.

In this episode, my guest, Kendall Hall, shares her passion for building unity and developing camaraderie among students, faculty, and staff of African descent—not only as alumni, but possibly just as important, while they are are actively enrolled in studies at the University. She explains how a student's experience of belonging while studying at the university directly impacts their involvement as alumni which indirectly impacts the experience future students have at Rutgers.

And it makes sense, right? If you don't feel like you belong at your university, when you matriculate, you walk away.

Envisioning a more inclusive future for both students and alumni, Kendall has actively been involved in running various aspects of RAAA, Inc. since 2001. Notably, she worked directly with the class of 1971 on the their class gift: the Paul Robeson Plaza to honor one of Rutger's most famous graduates.

Kendall highlights why this project was so significant for the university, and why she was so intent on helping with it even though she graduated more than 25 years after the class of 71.

I can't wait for you to meet Kendall Hall, President of Rutger's African-American Alumni Association, Inc.

https://yournonprofitlife.com/s2e09-kendall-hall