Remember. Return

More than 1,700 alumni journeyed back to campus April 30-May 2 to reconnect with classmates and friends at Reunion 2010. Programs on social responsibility and sustainability took center stage during the weekend, which also featured a kids’ business workshop, the State of the School address, the Special K Revue, a host of MBA Updates and a special appearance by new Dean Sally Blount.

Sustainability Challenge

A new event at this year’s Reunion was the Kellogg Sustainability Challenge, in which two student teams pitched green business concepts to a panel of seven alumni judges. JD-MBA students Carl P. Evans III ’11 and Dheeraj Sultanian ’11 of Team SmartSense received the $7,000 prize for their business concept, which measures household electricity usage down to the individual device. The challenge was sponsored by the Social Enterprise at Kellogg program, the Environmental Sustainability Business Club and the McGraw Foundation.

Conscious Capitalism panel

Alumni also heard about sustainable business practices during the Conscious Capitalism panel discussion. Three alumni spoke about the different ways their companies are striving to be socially conscious, from developing new packaging to bringing water to underserved markets.

“Privilege brings a responsibility to make a difference,” said panelist Ivan Menezes ’85, president and CEO of Diageo North America and chairman of Diageo Asia Pacific. “Conscious capitalism is doing the right thing and doing it sustainably.” The panel also featured Salman Amin ’85, PepsiCo executive vice president of sales and marketing, and Kurt Soderlund ’90, founding CEO of the Safe Water  
Network.

Planting the seeds of entrepreneurship

Children of alumni got a taste of the MBA experience with a new workshop, “How to Create a Business.” Through activities and a visual presentation, the hands-on program led kids in fourth through seventh grades through the basics of starting up a new venture.

Strengthening the alumni network

In an address to alumni, Dean Sally Blount reflected on the school’s heritage and encouraged graduates to serve as active participants in the shaping of Kellogg’s future. “This is a place that within a single generation became an incredibly strong and mighty competitor in the field of business research and education,” Blount observed. 

“It’s time to show the world what the next chapter of Kellogg will be, and to create an alumni community that rivals the magnificence of the very special student culture that brought all of us here in the first place,” she added. “Each of you will be building those relationships every day, and I can’t wait to work with you.”