Central launched its new digital alumni magazine, Civitas, on Wednesday, Aug. 17. The Latin word means “citizenship” and “common purpose.”
The new site — civitas.central.edu — will feature web-exclusive content about alumni accomplishments, faculty research and student projects. At launch time, the website included stories about Russ Benedict, an associate professor of biology who is doing groundbreaking prairie research; Mark Babcock, an associate professor of music who chaired a major organ convention in Des Moines; and Annie Wignall, a recent graduate who founded an international nonprofit dedicated to helping disadvantaged and displaced children.
The website will be updated regularly with new content, including campus news, videos and photos. Alumni will be able to submit information about themselves electronically, enabling the Central community to read about their professional and personal lives in the Newsnotes section.
The print alumni magazine will continue to be published quarterly, although the name will change from Central Bulletin to Civitas. Along with the name change, the magazine will be refreshed with new types of content, like “Outside the Classroom,” which will profile faculty members as students often don’t get to see them, as individuals with interests, specialties and hobbies separate from their classroom lives. The next print issue will be released in November.
“Central College is first and foremost an academic community, and this new website, along with the refreshed magazine, aims to create a deeper and more social intellectual experience, especially for alumni who may be years away from an academic setting,” said Rachel Vogel, Civitas editor. “We’ll be publishing stories about alumni and faculty members who are working on the cutting edge of significant fields like health care, the fine arts, environmental science and international business.”
Civitas was officially launched on Wednesday at 2 p.m. during a launch party for faculty and staff. President Mark Putnam and Ann Van Hemert, alumni relations director, spoke of the importance of this change for the larger Central community.
“A residential liberal arts college is one of the purest forms of community,” said Putnam. “Yet I am increasingly persuaded that our community far exceeds the boundaries of our campus in Pella. There is a common journey and a shared sense of experience keeping this community vibrant wherever Central students, alumni, faculty and staff are found.”
