St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary - Press Releases

Alumni Board meets at SVS
May 14-15, 2003

St Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary
575 Scarsdale Road, Crestwood, NY 10707-1677
Contact person: Fr Steven Belonick
tel +1.914.961.8313, ext. 328 / email info@svots.edu

A rejuvenated SVS Alumni Board met May 14-15 on the seminary campus to discuss its future plans. The meeting was held in conjunction with the semi-annual meeting of the seminary’s Board of Trustees and commencement exercises. These events provided the Alumni Board the opportunity to meet and develop a relationship with the seminary’s trustees and to exchange ideas with them, and to provide encouragement to the seminary’s new graduates.

A number of important topics were discussed during the two-day meetings including: the planning of alumni gatherings around the United States and Canada which will commence in the fall of 2003:

• the incorporation of alumni into the new format of SVS News;
• the re-establishment of an annual SVS Alumni Conference in 2004 and will have as its theme “Church Leadership in the 21st Century”; and
• how the seminary web page might be developed and extended to enhance the work of the Alumni Board.

Short presentations were made by Dean John Erickson on the life of the seminary, by Ken Johnson, the Chief Advancement Officer, on the financial status of the school, and by Fr Steven Belonick, Director of Recruitment, on the topic of student recruitment. The Board also was introduced to two new employees in the Office of Advancement, Deacon Jesse Greendyk and Michael Kaufman.

At the commencement exercises, SVS alumni Fr Peter Smith and Valerie Zahirsky, on behalf on the Alumni Board, are presenting to each graduate a beautiful diploma frame with the seminary logo and name embossed on the matting.