History of the NAA
1881
College of Liberal Arts Alumni Association formally begins. Northwestern holds its first Alumni Day on June 22.
1884
Alumni place a portrait of Henry Noyes in the Chapel. First Alumni Reunion is held.
1887
The first annual banquet of Northwestern Alumni of Chicago and vicinity is held on April 8.
1892
The NAA holds its first banquet for the Northwestern football team. The first alumni trustees are admitted to Northwestern’s Board of Trustees.
1894
First “alumni catalogue” is published by Edwin Shuman.
1895
William McKinley, then governor of Ohio, addresses the NAA at First Methodist Church in Evanston.
1902
The NAA establishes a fund to build the new Patten Gymnasium on the east side of Sheridan Road.
1903
The first quarterly alumni newsletter is published. The alumni endowment fund reaches $3,000. (Click here to read Northwestern's current alumni magazine)
1907
Northwestern’s first Candle Lighting ceremony takes place during Commencement. It later becomes an annual event on campus and at alumni gatherings around the country.
1908
Alumni groups proliferate, with club activities reported in Denver, Colorado Springs, Colorado City, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle and Spokane, Washington, and Helena and Butte, Montana.
1910
Patten Gymnasium opens. Festivities include lighting a 3-foot-tall purple University Candle.
1911
The NAA sponsors the first Northwestern Homecoming. Alas, Northwestern loses to the University of Chicago, 9-3.
1916
The Alumnae of Northwestern University is established. Today, it is the oldest constituent organization within the NAA.
1920
The College of Liberal Arts Alumni launch a $1 million campaign. Also, Walter Dill Scott (WCAS1895) is named the 10th Northwestern president, the first Northwestern alumnus to hold the position.
1924
Chicago Tribune sportswriter Wallace W. Abbey (J23) describes Northwestern’s football team as a “purple wall of Wildcats.” The nickname sticks.
1932
The annual Alumni Awards program is established to recognize alumni for outstanding career achievements and volunteer service to the University.
1933
Alumni object to a proposed merger of Northwestern with the University of Chicago. The proposal is eventually dropped.
1939
The NAA plans a new event for Alumni Week 1940: a Senior-Alumni Dance.
1940
During Alumni Week, an estimated 2,000 attendees participate in the first Alumni School, in which Northwestern faculty lecture on such topics as the European war, astronomy, and literature.
1943
During World War II, Northwestern continues to receive donations from alumni, including 500 alumni in the Armed Services.
1949
Alumnus J. Roscoe Miller (FSM31) becomes the 12th president of Northwestern University. Alumni celebrate the Wildcat football team’s Rose Bowl victory.
1951
Alumni celebrate the University’s Centennial Anniversary through their participation in the national Centennial Campaign and at NU Alumni Night, where guests included President Roscoe Miller and Presidents Emeritus Walter Dill Scott and Franklyn Bliss Snyder.
1954
NAA dues are abolished, and all graduates become members.
1955
More than 200 alumni and friends celebrate the opening of the John Evans Alumni Center at 1800 Sheridan Road. Gathered from scattered offices in various buildings, alumni organizations were united in the 21-room mansion built in 1880.
1958
The first Alumni Regents are installed during Alumni Week.
1964
Three hundred alumni, faculty, and administrators attend the First Alumni Leadership Conference (now Symposium). (See this year's information)
1965
The first NU Woman’s Day, an educational program sponsored by the Alumnae of Northwestern University, is held.
1968
The Alumnae of Northwestern University establishes its continuing education program which raises funds for University gifts, grants, and fellowships to this day.
1971
Young Alumni Council is formed.
1978
The Northwestern University Black Alumni Association (NUBAA) is formed, the first of a number of national alumni clubs that serve the needs of Northwestern’s diverse alumni community.
1981
The NAA recognizes the centennial anniversary of alumni support and sets a fundraising goal for alumni programs, career development opportunities, and more.
1987
The NAA launches the annual Excellence in Teaching Awards. Faculty members are honored at a special event during the annual NAA Leadership Symposium. (See this year's information)
1993
The Council of One Hundred (C100), an alumnae mentoring organization, is established to advise undergraduate women on career choices.
1995
Henry S. Bienen is inaugurated as Northwestern’s 15th President. Alumni interest is ignited by the Wildcats’ Big Ten championship and appearance in the Rose Bowl.
1996
Patrick Ryan (WCAS59) is elected chairman of the University’s Board of Trustees.
1996
The NAA launches its web site.
2001
During Northwestern’s Sesquicentennial celebration, the Alumnae Board endows a rotating professorship recognizing innovative teaching.
2001
The NAA develops a new student–alumni partnership, the Northwestern Class Alliance (NCA), and Northwestern
CareerNet.
2003
Campaign Northwestern, chaired by Thomas Z. Hayward, Jr. (WCAS62, L65) and Donald S. Perkins, raises $1.55 billion. More than half of the contributors are alumni.
2009
Morton Schapiro is inaugurated as Northwestern’s 16th President.
