Gathering with stakeholders – exciting workshops with Alumni – great Gala as a highlight

Alumni Freiburg North America, also known as Friends of Freiburg, celebrated its tenth anniversary at the annual Friends of Freiburg Alumni reunion in New York during the weekend of December 2nd with three signature events.  Friday evening saw a reception at the Liederkranz Society for people affiliated with the University of Freiburg as well as Eucor – The European Campus.

Workshops

A series of workshops took place Saturday morning at the Konrad Adenauer Foundation.  Many of the approximately thirty participants had to walk by a protest against President Trump on their way to the workshops which dealt with the current state of German American relations as well as cutting edge developments in the field of science (“Precision Medicine”) and finance (“Blockchain Technology”).

The workshop leaders – all Freiburg alumni or faculty – included Dr. Jackson Janes, president of the American Institute of Contemporary German Studies (AICGS), Dr. Stefan Friedrich, Executive Director of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation New York, Professor Christoph Borner, Institute of Molecular Medicine, University of Freiburg, and Dr. Martin Breckheimer, Head of Corporate & Institutional Banking Landesbank Baden-Württemberg, New York.

This was followed by the Annual Gala Dinner at the Princeton Club of New York (of which the University of Freiburg is an affiliated member).  Highlights of the dinner included a signing of an agreement with the Max Kade foundation by University of Freiburg Rektor Professor Hans Jochen Schiewer and Max Kade President Lya Pfeiffer, keynote speeches by Rektor Schiewer, Lya Pfeiffer, Alumni Freiburg consultant Chris Cloud and Professor Borner.  This was followed by testimonials from three Uni-Freiburg exchange student alumni:  Bill Durden, President Emeritus of Dickinson College, Jackson Janes of the AICGS and Sarah Stephens, Founder and President Stephens Artists Management which provides international representation for professional opera singers.

Perspectives

As Alumni Freiburg North America President Jeffrey Himmel noted in his opening remarks: “Friends of Freiburg North America is honored to be part of a broad and vibrant trans-atlantic community in which we share experiences, discuss alternatives, build relationships and contribute to the lives and careers of our German, American and international alumni and stakeholders.”