Decoding Alma Mater and Alumni: A Journey Through Language and Legacy
The terms "alma mater" and "alumni" are frequently heard during graduation ceremonies and university events. These words, steeped in history and rich with meaning, often evoke a sense of nostalgia and pride. However, their true significance extends far beyond mere labels. Understanding the origins and evolution of these terms provides a deeper appreciation for the relationship between individuals and their educational institutions.
The 'Nourishing Mother': Unveiling Alma Mater
“Praise to thee, our Alma Mater.” The phrase alma mater is a Latin term that translates to "nourishing mother." In ancient Rome, alma mater was an honorific title bestowed upon various mother goddesses, most notably Ceres and Cybele, who represented fertility, nurturing, and abundance. Later, within Christianity, the term became associated with Mary, the mother of Jesus.
By the early 17th century, the allegory of the nursing mother was adopted by universities. The earliest documented use of the term to refer to a university is in 1600, when the University of Cambridge printer, John Legate, began using an emblem for the university press. The first-known appearance of the device is in William Perkins', A Golden Chain, a book first printed by Legate in 1600. Many historic European universities have adopted Alma Mater as part of the Latin translation of their official name. The Latin name of the University of Bologna, Alma Mater Studiorum (nourishing mother of studies), refers to its status as the oldest continuously operating university in the world.
Today, alma mater commonly refers to the school, college, or university that an individual has attended, typically graduating from that institution. It can also refer to the anthem or song of praise associated with the school, such as "Varsity" at UW-Madison. Several university campuses in North America display artistic representations of alma mater, depicted as a robed woman wearing a laurel wreath crown. The earliest and most famous of these is the bronze Alma Mater statue at Columbia University, designed in 1901 by Daniel Chester French.
Alumni: More Than Just Graduates
Alumnus and alumni are Latin terms used to describe individuals who have attended or graduated from a school, college, or university. Alumnus specifically refers to a male graduate, while alumni is the plural form used to denote a group of male graduates or a mixed-gender group of graduates. The term alumna refers to a female graduate, and alumnae is the plural form for a group of female graduates. In common usage, alum and alums serve as shortened, gender-neutral terms for a single graduate and a group of graduates, respectively.
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A Shared Root: Exploring the Connection
Interestingly, both alma mater and alumni share a linguistic connection, deriving from the Latin term alere, meaning "to nourish." This shared etymology underscores the nurturing relationship between the university and its students.
Beyond the Diploma: The Enduring Value of the Alma Mater Relationship
The relationship between an alma mater and its alumni is not merely transactional, ending upon graduation. Ideally, it is a lifelong connection built on shared experiences, mutual support, and a commitment to lifelong learning.
The alma mater provides intellectual, personal, and sometimes even spiritual nourishment to its students, fostering their growth and development. In turn, alumni contribute to the alma mater through their achievements, engagement, and support, ensuring that future generations can benefit from the same enriching experiences.
The Broader Implications: Nurturing and Giving Back
Recognizing the nurturing role of the alma mater should inspire graduates to become alma maters themselves, extending their support and guidance to others. This can involve mentoring current students, contributing to university initiatives, or simply embodying the values and principles instilled by their alma mater in their personal and professional lives.
A Call to Gratitude and Reciprocity
Ultimately, the terms alma mater and alumni serve as a reminder of the interconnectedness of individuals and institutions. They highlight the importance of nurturing relationships, fostering a love of learning, and giving back to the communities that have shaped us. As graduates embark on new journeys, they carry with them the legacy of their alma mater, a legacy that calls for gratitude, responsibility, and a commitment to making a positive impact on the world.
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The Alma Mater as a Community
The best nourishing academic mother should seek to instill a love for learning. Education is about more than merely teaching basic knowledge and useful skills. Understanding what learning is about and why it is so valuable in life, that insight is what a great university wants to cultivate amongst its adopted sons and daughters. This is going much further than being a student seeking to obtain a piece of paper. Lifelong passion and appreciation for learning and discovery is the real objective of a great Alma Mater.
Ability to learn through reflection, not just in terms of profession and economic gain, is the secret to success in later life. This is not merely dependent on the inspiring Professor in front of the class, the role of fellow alumni weights probably even heavier.
At the core of the relationship of an Alma Mater and its alumni is emotion. Nourishing is not just about feeding; it is just as much about creating and maintaining warm feelings. The alumni are not just consumers of knowledge and skills, this is a community tie which touches the whole person. The best education is much broader, covering understanding that knowledge needs to be acquired, continuously; and that knowledge alone is not enough but needs to be polished with wisdom as a growing insight and understanding; plus finally that knowledge and wisdom are executed in a virtuous manner, accepting the importance of ethical values, of stewardship, of sense of responsibility. This creates true all-round alumni, well set for life, able to use that insight in appreciating what life and work are really about.
Moreover, the warm connection between the Alma Mater, the alumni retain a lasting feeling, it is not a relationship that ends or starts upon graduation. The Alma Mater’s community is created and continues to exist, like any family tie. A good mother cares and is not merely selling services. She not only fosters the children, but also the sense of family and continues to do so on a lifelong basis.
One of my favourite phrases is ‘a student is for life’ and going back to the original sense of alumnus and alumna it really refers to that. It is the very opposite of a family relationship that ends when kids leave home and is replaced by requests for money. As in every family a selfish or manipulative relationship is toxic. The mother nourishes, gives, often selfishly, sometimes enabled by the support of previous generations. In a bad relationship the focus is exclusively about what the mother institution can get back from its alumni, often in return for vanity incentives.
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Interestingly the most generous unrestricted alumni donations spring from gratitude. Moreover, the ‘purest’ donations are heavily biased towards current and future generation students. They are triggered by the feeling of wanting to share some of the financial success that can be traced back to the study time but also by a sense of responsibility. The latter is less about rationality and more about the feeling of obligation to take care of ‘the family’ and is rarely about a one-off donation. Often the first donation is - unconsciously - a test to see if the Alma Mater is able to handle the gift responsibly and also to see if the gratitude is mutual. A good Alma Mater knows how to value gifts and to say a suitable ‘thank you’ even if the initial donation is modest.
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