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KANDUNGAN DARI MEJA

KETUA PENGARANG

CONTENTS

reetings from IAC.
As you would have noticed, the cover of
this issue bears the photograph of UM’s
Gnew Vice Chancellor who took offce on 8
November 2013. On that same date, we bade farewell
to the former VC, Tan Sri Ghauth Jasmon who had
been a staunch supporter of IAC’s alumni activities. We
wish him well and hope for his continuing support.
It is with pride however that we welcome the new
VC, because he is of UM born and bred. He graduated
with a Bachelor of Medicine & Surgery in 1982 and has
never left UM since. As he mentioned in his address to
all alumni at the start of his tenure as VC in Nov 2013:
“My link with UM, since my graduation, has been
strengthened over the years with the various posts
I have held in UM – as lecturer in the Department of
Otorhinolaryngology in 1983; Professor in January
2000; Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Medicine in
February 2000; Dean of the same faculty in April
09
2000; Director of UMMC in June 2000; Deputy Vice
Chancellor (Academic & International) in August
2006; CEO of UMSC in October 2009 and now as
Vice Chancellor since 08 November 2013. I have
come a full circle, starting as an undergraduate and
now providing leadership in my own alma mater. It is
indeed an honour and the greatest challenge in my academic and professional career in UM.”
As Director of IAC, I have often alluded to the lack of response by alumni to events organised
by IAC for them. In the effort to resolve this problem, IAC has had meetings with several alumni
associations from faculties and colleges. Various reasons were given - constraints of time for
those who work; family commitments; people have moved on and transferred affliations to other
universities; UM’s overtures to touch base have come a little bit too little too late; or just sheer lack
of interest in UM’s affairs. Despite this lack of support, IAC is undeterred and is fully committed
to promoting the spirit of alumniship among the 211,691 strong alumni. To ensure this, IAC is
undertaking a project called “Tracking the Silent Majority” to enable those currently uncontactable
to be registered with IAC. At the moment, of the total of 211,691 alumni only 27,564 are registered
with IAC with only a few attending alumni events.
It has been a pleasure to serve you as Director of IAC, but sometime later in the year, the Alumni
Offce will be handed back to the Offce of The Deputy Vice Chancellor (Student Affairs). The job
of “engaging” alumni will thenceforth be their responsibility. You will be in good hands. As its name
suggests, IAC’s role will then be to help UM “advance” through its core functions of Relationship
building, Communications, Marketing and Fundraising involving mainly the corporate sector.

Dato’ Dr. Zaiton Osman
Director
Institutional Advancement Centre(IAC)
University of Malaya

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