A sense of belonging

This June we celebrated twenty years of the LSE Alumni Association. While there had been some local alumni groups around the world, before 2005 there was nothing in place to enable alumni to fully discuss their needs. The concept of the Alumni Association was developed by David Kingsley OBE, who worked with LSE staff and alumni to start it up. Today the Alumni Association consists of more than 130 professional and inclusion networks, as well as local country groups. To mark the achievements of the last twenty years, we spoke to our long-term alumni volunteers about their memories of the Alumni Association’s founding.

Christoph Roescher 
BSc Industrial Relations 1998

Before the setting up of the Alumni Association, many alumni lost touch with the School after graduation. There was no formal mechanism for our existing groups to interact with LSE or each other, and for the School, it was challenging to maintain relationships with those far away from London. 

I can’t recall exactly who first proposed creating a formal structure to link the international alumni body and LSE, but David Kingsley stands out as a passionate advocate. David lobbied School officials, and once he received a green light, the idea gained momentum. We hoped to establish a stronger, more structured relationship between the School and its global alumni network.  

Meeting fellow alumni leaders from all over the world during the Forum meetings in London has been great. Before the Alumni Association, most of us didn’t know each other. We had graduated in different years, pursued different courses and degrees — yet there was an immediate sense of connection through our shared LSE spirit. 

I hope the Alumni Association will thrive for another 20 years — and that the School will continue to recognise just how unique and valuable its alumni community truly is.

Dr Nayantara Palchoudhuri 
MPhil Government 1988

I first became involved with the LSE alumni community in 1989 when I helped found our local alumni group in Calcutta (Kolkata). When we began to explore the idea of an Alumni Association, the hope was that it would help us improve the connection between alumni and the School and coordinate more faculty visits to our countries.

One of the most wonderful things that has come out of the Alumni Association is the global friendship it promotes. It’s wonderful when visiting other countries to know there’s a friend who can meet you for a coffee. The Alumni Association has also really helped to connect alumni through events such as Welcome to the City and Global Networking Night. These allow us to mentor recent graduates and help those new to the area, building cross-generational connections. For me, this is the biggest achievement – developing a continued sense of belonging to the LSE family.

John P Casey
MSc Industrial Relations 1991

I began attending the biennial LSE Alumni Leaders Forum in the early 2000s when David Kingsley asked if I would join a group called the Alumni Relations Team. I’m from New York and many US alumni associations are vibrant organisations that can be fun and helpful for both students and alumni. Given the global nature of LSE, not having an alumni association was a void that I wanted to fill.

The group consisted of me, David, Dirk Robertson from Scotland, Pablo Halpern from Chile and Christoph Roescher from Germany. We met in London each quarter to set up a framework and constitution for the Alumni Association. Finally, in 2005, LSE agreed to the formation of the Alumni Association and at that year’s Forum, we approved the constitution and elected David as the first Chair.

What I enjoy most is meeting alumni from across the globe. You have a shared LSE experience, but I also get to learn interesting things about different people and cultures. As an alumni leader, you sometimes go to interesting events and meet famous people. At one alumni event, my wife was seated next to Paul Volcker, former Chair of the Federal Reserve! My wife worked in the corporate offices of a luxury department store. On the face of it, they had nothing in common, but they conversed all night on women’s luxury shoe sales and how they could be considered a leading economic indicator.

Dirk Robertson
BSc Sociology 1987 

David Kingsley was the driving force behind the whole initiative and the glue that held everything together. The meetings we had with LSE staff were not just number-crunching exercises but robust and meaningful exchanges of strongly held views. David brought the whole thing to life.

To me, the great achievement of the last twenty years has been the quality that our alumni have brought to the proceedings. The Alumni Association has contributed to people’s personal and professional development and growth, ensuring the door they stepped through at LSE is always open.

I have learnt so much from our alumni volunteers and remain very proud of having been part of it all. Gaining my degree from the School is, and always will be, the single most fantastic thing I have done in my life. I want that magic to live on, in and for other people.

David Kingsley OBE
BSc Economics 1953

David Kingsley was a passionate advocate for the School and ultimately the one who lobbied for the creation of the Alumni Association. David’s relationship with the School over his life was multi-faceted – in addition to being a student he was also President of the Students’ Union in 1952, while in 1965 he was elected as the youngest-ever Governor of LSE. When David was successful in setting up the LSE Alumni Association, he was then it’s first Chair, using the role to build better relationships between alumni and the School.

David was a person who brought everything and everyone together. His leadership, discretion, and deep loyalty to the School has shaped the Alumni Association into what it is today. Despite passing away in 2014, David’s legacy is alive today in the work of our alumni volunteers who continue to advocate for alumni and for LSE.

Thank you to our Alumni Association founders and long-term volunteers for shaping a better world at LSE and around the world. 
 
Find out more on how you can get involved as LSE alumni