Alumni group keeps property
Independent unit is in transition
Framingham State's independent alumni group is, for the time being, holding onto the Alumni House where former students have gathered for generations, but with the college beefing up its own alumni outreach, the group's future is uncertain.
The Independent Association of Framingham State Alumni last month rejected the college's offer to buy its headquarters at 42 Adams Road , saying it's not ready to part with the property. As a result, the college will withdraw the $6,000 that it had been paying the group monthly to maintain the house and provide some services to the college. The money will instead go to a scholarship fund for Framingham State freshmen.
The moves are the latest in the independent association's gradual decline, which was hastened by a lawsuit filed by Framingham State College several years ago. As a result of a 2004 settlement, the association changed its name so it wouldn't be seen as an official arm of the college, transferred responsibility for homecoming events to the college, and shared its alumni list with the college.
Across the country, colleges under pressure to raise funds have seized control of alumni outreach from independent associations. But Framingham State is the only institution in the Massachusetts state college system that maintains both an independent alumni group and an official college alumni relations office.
Kathleen Cotter , president of the association, said the group's board is in intensive talks about what its mission is.
"We need to change and transition," said Cotter, a 1978 graduate. But she explained that selling the house seemed like too much too soon.
"For many alumni, this is a place that they came to as a place to volunteer, as a place to gather, and for business reasons, the Independent Association felt this isn't a good time to sell," she said. "Some of it is emotional, and some of it is business reasons."
Cotter said the association's board knew that refusing to sell would mean losing funding.
Alan Quebec , who heads the alumni and development offices at the college, said the payments were part of a two-year agreement, which was extended by six months to give the association time to consider the offer to buy the house.
"Some of the older alumni have an attachment to the house and the traditions of it," Quebec said. "We thought 2 or 2 1/2 years would be enough for them to get over that, and they just have not."
Other than the house, the association has been used for years to fund scholarships and low-cost loans to students. Cotter would not say how much money is in the endowment.
"It will never go away; we will never spend that endowment," Cotter said.
Because of that endowment, both Cotter and college president Timothy Flanagan said, the Independent Association likely will continue to exist, at least as a scholarship-granting institution.
"It's still unclear whether we'll be paring down, beefing up, or staying the same," Cotter said. "We'll be sorting that out in the next couple of months."
She said the association has enough cash on hand to continue paying its administrator and maintaining the house for the time being.
She said it's likely the house will eventually be sold to the college. Framingham State already has purchased several other houses on Adams Road, which is adjacent to the campus, including the house where Flanagan's family lives and a development office.
John C. Drake can be reached at 508-820-4229 or jdrake@globe.com. 