Mission and History

A Brief History of The Alumnae/i Association

In 1972, small ads were placed in The New York Times announcing the formation of the Hunter College High School Alumnae Association (the /i at the end of Alumnae was adopted in the 1980s after the first boys graduated). The new association was conceived by several parents of students of the High School at a time when the school was at risk of being closed due to the City and State fiscal crises. They realized that an organized association of alums could be a powerful advocate for the school.

A reunion was planned and several alums picked up on the work from there. In 1974, the first issue of AlumNotes was published and mailed to 3,000 alums. By-laws were passed and the first Officers (Mildred Speiser, Jan. ’49, Rose WIESEN Reiss ’60, Sara ROBBINS Schoenwetter ’65, Mary DiPerna ’70, Pat Fresk ’54 and Susan SCHIFFRES Nachamie ’59) were elected at Reunion ’75, which was attended by more than 400 alums.

Today the Association is working hard to nurture the already strong Hunter alumnae/i community. The AA hosts an annual all class reunion, facilitates individual class reunions, and organizes numerous social events including theater parties, museum tours, happy hours and networking events. The AA publishes AlumNotes and maintains an Online Alumni Directory,  accessible to all graduates of the school. The AA also provides financial support to the school via an annual fund campaign, class giving, spring gala, planned and memorial gifts and other fundraising efforts. Annual gifts to the school range from $100,000 to $200,000. We encourage and welcome your support. 

View our list of fellow alums who have served as Board Members here.

View our by-laws here.