Bruce Feathers '75, one of the original co-chairs of MCAN, coined the phrase "Circle of Mentorship" to describe all the ways that multicultural alumni could help each other and the college. The points on the circle begin with admissions, an area in which alumni can be critically helpful in encouraging promising students to attend Carleton, moving around the circle, alumni can serve as mentors to students at Carleton (student life), encourage people of color to consider working at Carleton (faculty and staff recruitment), act as career mentors to students and fellow alumni (careers), raise funds to support the College and participate in reunions. The circle is closed when the student who chose Carleton because of the interest and encouragement of an alum becomes a volunteer also.

Admissions

This point on the Circle is designed to support the Admissions effort in the following ways:

• Participating in receptions for prospective students of color
• Contributing to the Office of Admissions' strategy from MCAN's seat on the Alumni Admissions Board
• Helping to execute the Admissions Office's recruitment strategy for students of color

Viewpoint from the Prospective Student: Beginning with their initial contacts with Carleton, they will experience people who look like them.

Fund-raising

This point on the Circle is designed to develop targeted giving to specifically aid in recruitment and enrollment of students of color recruitment and enrollment by:

• Raising funds for the Fly-Back Program
• Creating an endowment fund to enhance the financial aid packages and other offerings to students of color.

Viewpoint from the Prospective student: Knowing of this concentrated financial effort designed to recruit and enroll other students of color is a useful selling point.

Student Life

This point on the circle is designed to reduce students feelings of isolation by creating various forms of ethnic linkage to the "outside world"

• Developing an active Twin Cities chapter of alumni who participate in student events.
• Increasing student participation in MCAN reunions
• Establishing open lines of communication between alumni and students via e-mail, phone, newsletters, etc.
• Becoming visibly involved in campus issues which impact the quality of life of students of color (examples: Interest Houses, speakers such as LeMun Wah)

Viewpoint from the Prospective student: Actually seeing this network in action speaks to many of the issues students have concerning on-campus and geographical isolation

Academic success (Faculty)

While this point on the Circle primarily focuses on recruiting faculty, issues regarding student academic success overlap with student life and will not be neglected. The key objectives here are:

• Creating a sustainable national resource network of alumni in academia who will help identify potential multicultural faculty recruits
• Appointing a faculty representative to the MCAN committee
• Creating a partnership with Carleton's Teaching and Learning Center
• Creating a partnership with all multicultural faculty

Viewpoint from the Prospective student: This initiative is useful evidence that the effort to increase diversity at Carleton includes faculty and staff as well as students.

Careers

This point on the circle seeks to convey to propsective students that MCAN is in place from the beginning of their Carleton experience to the end, by making available the following:

• A directory of alumni professionals who are in various careers that match the career aspirations of students
• Additional resources for internships, referrals, etc.
• Annual Career information seminars, day visits, etc. for spring term juniors and seniors offered from a multicultural perspective
• Housing offered by alums for students traveling to interviews across the country

Viewpoint from a prospective student: At this point, students now see a complete circular network in place to support them in all the key areas of their life during and after Carleton.

Chapters

This point of the circle could become the backbone of the entire MCAN initiative. Ideally, we would have chapters in every state that coordinate efforts with the existing Carleton Club network. A chapter could be a pool of people ready upon request to appear at an admissions event in their city. It could also be an active club with activities including the following:

• Recruiting students
• Hosting receptions for propsective students and their families
• Promoting reconnection
• Planning social events
• Identifying nominees for Carleton Alumni Association achievement and service awards
• Providing career support to students and alumni
• Sponsoring faculty lectures
• Participating in MCAN phonathons for the Fly-Back Program
• Supporting the student life objectives of MCAN
• Becoming a host family for a student

Reunion and Alumni Stewardship

The successful development and effective implementation of the Circle of Mentorship initiatives will reconnect alumni to Carleton and give birth to new generations of alumni of color who will continue to foster the growth of the Circle of Mentorship.