Highlights

More than 50 members of the Alumni Association's Singapore Chapter gathered in the East India Room of the Raffles Hotel for a gala summer reception with Chancellor Richard Herman and his wife, Susan. The event marked the signing of an agreement between the University of Illinois and Singapore's Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) for a joint PhD program. Other guests included government officials and representatives from A*STAR and the National University of Singapore. Pictured are Susan Herman (left) and Singapore chapter member Lay-Chin (Elsie) Tan, MS '92 BUS.

The University of Illinois Alumni Association and the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences co-hosted an alumni reception this spring in Sao Paulo that kicked off formation of the Illinois Alumni Club of Brazil. Local alumni joined 23 students from the College of ACES International Business Immersion Program for a festive evening at the Sweden Restaurant on the campus of the Universidade de Sao Paulo. Pictured, left to right, are Lucia Andrade and ACES staff member Rachel Kopay '00 ACES. Lucia, with husband Mateus Andrade '99 ENG, is co-organizer of the new Brazilian club.

The Rendevous Merry Hotel in Shanghai, China, was the site of an alumni reception and dinner hosted by the University of Illinois' Hoeft Technology and Management Program. More than 40 students traveling with the program in May had the opportunity to meet and mingle with members of the Illinois Alumni Club of Shanghai. Guest speaker Dr. Heping Jian, vice-chair of the Shanghai Municipal Committee on International Investment and Trade, provided visiting students and faculty with an introductory overview of Shanghai. The students also presented the original founder of the Shanghai alumni club, Prof. Han Qimin, with a special certificate of appreciation.

The new Illinois Alumni Club of Southern Africa, which welcomes alumni and friends from South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, was launched in April with an informal lunch gathering (pictured in photo). Club members met again in July at the home of Kay Rickelman Webster '81 LAS, JD '84 LAW and Charles Webster in Pretoria for drinks and conversation with visiting UI ACES Professor Torbert Rocheford.

London-area members of the Illinois Alumni Club of the United Kingdom are pictured at the dock following a leisurely summer cruise on the Thames. The group enjoyed tea and Illini camaraderie as they made the round-trip journey between Westminster and Greenwich Pier. Club leader Amy Linton '94 BUS appears in the picture at far right.