[ search ]
[ how do i? ]
[ e-mail forwarding ]
[ online services ]

About Us

On July 28, 1870, nine years after the first students graduated, the Penn State Alumni Association began with 12 Penn Staters in a chemistry room on the first floor of Old Main. The Penn State Alumni Association—a powerful network of 160,742 members—is the largest dues-paying alumni association in the country. Our mission is to connect alumni to the University and to each other, to provide valued services to members, and to support the University’s mission of teaching, research, and service.

The Penn State Alumni Association resides within the Division of Development and Alumni Relations of the Pennsylvania State University; however, it is governed by the Alumni Council and Executive Board. Alumni Council is made up of alumni volunteers who are elected for three-year terms by fellow alumni. These Penn Staters volunteer to help shape and influence the policies and direction of the Association. Executive Board, the governing body of Council, is responsible for Association affairs between Council meetings. Read about the goals developed through a collaborative effort of our professional staff and the Executive Board of the Penn State Alumni Council in our strategic plan.