Mission

The stated mission of the Association is to promote the interests of Caltech as a world standard of academic excellence by strengthening the ties of goodwill and communication between the Institute, its alumni and current students, and by maintaining programs to serve their need.

History

In 1897, one year after the first BA degrees were awarded to graduates of Throop Polytechnic Institute, an alumni association was formed. The history of this association carried forward to June 7, 1915, when thirteen graduates of what had become Throop College of Technology banded together to form an alumni association for the purpose of creating a perpetual bond of friendship between all alumni. The name of the college was changed to California Institute of Technology in 1920, and fifteen years later, in 1935, the Caltech Alumni Association was formally incorporated in the State of California, and its purposes were expanded to assist the Institute by supporting and advancing the cause of higher education. In 1968 the articles of incorporation were amended to include among its purposes assisting the Institute in all possible ways toward enhancing its educational and cultural environment, improving and advancing the Institute, rendering services to its members and others in strengthening the ties and contacts between the Institute and its alumni, preserving and strengthening the associations formed among its members while they were students, and promoting relationships with students of the Institute.

Organization

The Association is currently governed by a volunteer Board of Directors serving three-year terms. Its voting members represent graduates from the class of 1952 to the class of 2000, and includes the Alumni Fund Chair and the Executive Director of the alumni staff. In addition, representatives from the Associated Students of Caltech (ASCIT), the Graduate Student Council (GSC), and the Post-Doc Association (PDA) sit on the Board as non-voting members.