Professor Alumni Link (PAL) Experiential Education Program - Division of Advancement

The Professor Alumni Link (PAL) experiential education program can be used to support professors who maintain meaningful ties to their former students.

When professors engage their former students/alumni, the Alumni Engagement Team can offer from among the following:

Thank-you gifts for the alumni volunteers
Meal reimbursement for professors and alumni
Complimentary alumni parking
Other – to be considered based on request

The PAL fund will be distributed on a rolling basis until it is depleted. Professors can access the fund by emailing  Issa Abdi Jamaa.

“The Professor Alumni Link Program is an innovative program that supports bringing alumni into our classrooms, which will directly enhance experiential education.”
— Dr. Danielle Robinson, Co-Creator of C4 and the York Capstone Network.

Professor speaking with alumni in university hall

The PAL program allowed me to invite an alumnus to speak to current students in the GLBL 3581 – “South Korea: The Politics of Youth and Old Age course”. The course is a summer study abroad offering by the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies that takes undergraduate students to Seoul, South Korea, for three weeks. Having a former student in the course speak to current students before they depart for Asia was extraordinarily helpful given the unique nature of the course. Jamie was able to provide his perspective on the experience and answer student questions. The PAL program allowed students to fully engage with the course material and to appreciate the unparalleled learning opportunity.

— Thomas R Klassen, Professor, School of Public Policy and Administration

I want to express my gratitude to York University’s alumni engagement team for their fantastic support in helping me find guest speakers for my Staffing course in the Master’s of Human Resource Management program. They understood my needs, recommended alumni who fit my criteria, and even reached out on my behalf. Alyson, Evan and Yas were incredibly helpful. They not only connected me with alumni but also took care of details like providing a parking pass and York-branded goodies for the guest speakers. Their communication was excellent throughout the process. The collaboration had a positive impact on my students, who enjoyed meeting York alumni, learning from their experiences, and building valuable connections. Overall, working with York University’s alumni engagement team was an amazing experience. Big thanks to Alyson, Evan, and Yas for their support in making this collaboration successful.

— Duygu Biricik Gulseren, Professor, School of Human Resources Management

Frequently Asked Questions

It’s simple! Faculty members who wish to use this fund can email Issa Abdi Jamaa, Alumni Engagement Officer (issajama@yorku.ca), to arrange a meeting. Upon meeting, we will discuss the alumni participants, the purpose and nature of the engagement and the amount of funds requested.

Please note that by accessing this fund, the engagement between you and the alum will be documented in the university’s alumni database.  

You need to provide: 

Full name of engaged alumni and any other identifying information you have (grad year, program, name at graduation if different) 
Employer & job title 
Email address 
Date & location of your alumni engagement activity 
Brief explanation of the engagement (e.g., guest speaker in class, panelist, meeting to discuss being a project site for a student group, etc.)

Depending on the funding requested, we may need: 

Preferred gift item(s)  
Mailing address (if mailing a gift) 
Other information as needed

The amount of funding will be determined on a case-by-case basis; however, most requests fall in the $25-50 range.  

Please contact Issa Abdi Jamaa, Alumni Engagement Officer (issajama@yorku.ca) to help select gift items.

We can provide them with a complimentary code to be used on the Honk Mobile system for the date that the alum will be on campus.

Questions?

Contact Issa Abdi Jamaa at issajama@yorku.ca or alumni@yorku.ca