Two new chapters joined the Kent State University Alumni Association (KSUAA) on Feb. 4 in Arizona and the San Francisco Bay Area.

In order for a group to be identified as a Kent State alumni chapter, the group must meet specific requirements.

Some of these requirements include meeting at least three times a year and hosting a minimum of two events a year, as well as submit an operation plan to KSUAA that lists all their board members, goals and plans for the year, according to KSUAA Assistant Director Lisa Mascellino.

This separates alumni chapters from area representatives, who serve as alumni contacts in areas where the population of Kent State alumni is not as high.

Area representatives host at least one event every year and have very few requirements from the KSUAA according to their website.

“The ultimate goal of having an area representative in place is to eventually move to an alumni chapter status,” Mascellino said.

As officiated chapters, these groups receive support from the KSUAA that they otherwise would not have. Officiated chapters receive assistance in areas such as event planning and sending out mass notifications like postcards.

“We’re getting a lot of support and a lot of help from Lisa and the other people in the office. It really helps make it easy for us for planning things and getting people involved,” said San Francisco Bay Area Chapter President Diane Fitzpatrick, who a 1981 graduate of Kent State.

According to the KSUAA website, there are more than 30 alumni chapters and area representatives across the country. The alumni chapters include regional chapters, like the San Francisco Bay Area and Arizona chapters, as well as special interest chapters, which include the Black and University Bands chapters.

Both new chapters have organized their first events as official chapters.

The Arizona chapter will be hosting an event at the Cleveland Indians spring training home opener in Goodyear, Arizona, on Feb. 25.

The San Francisco Bay Area chapter will be hosting a cooking demonstration in Napa Valley on March 25. The demonstration will be conducted by the Culinary Institute of America at Copia. Guests must RSVP by March 17.

“I’m looking forward to growing our connectivity in Arizona with other alumni,” said Arizona Alumni Chapter President Stephanie Oehler, a 1991 Kent State graduate.

Fitzpatrick said one of the things that makes the group exciting is the variety of people.

“When we have an event, you just get together with all kinds of different people,” Fitzpatrick said, “but we all have that same Ohio connection, which is really fun.”

Because San Francisco and Arizona are located so far from Kent State, the move can be difficult.

Fitzpatrick said part of their mission is to act as an ambassador for current students who are from the area and new alumni who are just moving to the Bay Area.

“What a great thing to graduate from Kent State and come out here, I think,” Fitzpatrick said. “But it can be a little overwhelming, I imagine.”

Miranda Kiner is the alumni reporter, contact her at [email protected].