CAAE Member Spotlight, August-September 2022

Name: Lauren Henry, Executive Director, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving

Institution: The University of Chicago

Q: Are you new to alumni relations, new to your institution, neither, or both?

A: New to the institution as a grown-up! I’m an alumna of the University, but the last time I was on staff was as a student assistant in Career Advancement in my fourth year.

Q: Best perk of the job so far?

A: The opportunity to get to know a place that is so special to me in a different way and to give back in a new way to a place that helped me to find myself. 

Q: Biggest challenge so far?

A: I have a lot of hiring to do! 

Q: If you needed to, could you sing your school’s fight song and/or alma mater?

A: No.

Q: What would it surprise people to know about you?

A: I’m a voracious reader, which does not surprise people, but I have quite diverse reading tastes. Depending on the day, you might find me recommending books as varied as Girl, Woman, Other; Empire of Pain; The Thursday Murder Club; or the rom com du jour. I think that DOES surprise people!

Q: Who would be your dream dinner guests?

A: My family lives several hours away and has not yet been able to visit us in Chicago, so right now it would be my mom, my dad, and my little brother. 

Q: When I’m not on the job, you’ll find me ...?

A: Out with my husband and our Westie, Nigel, exploring our new neighborhood (Hyde Park).