Trustees Approve $3.25 Million Renovation of Fraternity Houses
After exploring a variety of options for improving the condition of Stetson’s fraternity houses, university officials have decided to renovate them beginning this summer. The houses will be closed for renovation during the summer and fall semester, with plans to re-occupy in January 2009. Alumni are invited to hear a full update at a meeting at 11 a.m. Saturday, April 5, during Homecoming 2008. Read more...

Alumni Gather for Event in Gulfport, Speed Networking in Orlando
Two events were held in recent weeks to help alumni reconnect and network with old friends and classmates. Select students were invited to a Speed Networking session with alumni in Orlando in late February. Alumni heard “what’s new” at Stetson at an event in Gulfport on Feb. 15. Read more...

Homecoming 2008 Online Registration is Active
Homecoming 2008 is less than a month away! Get ready for a great weekend filled with opportunities to reconnect with Stetson and be entertained at parties, concerts, baseball games and much more. Registration is fast and easy. Register online or return the registration form you should have received in the mail. Pre-register and get a free Stetson beach bag! For the events listing and more details, visit www.stetson.edu/homecoming.

Celebrating 50 Years of Men's Soccer
In addition to a March 1 party held at the Meadows Alumni House, Men's Soccer will be celebrated and honored at multiple Homecoming events. To find out details and learn a brief history of soccer at Stetson, read more...

Alumni Award Recipients, Hall of Fame Inductees to be Honored at Homecoming
Read about the latest honorees and find out where you can meet them at Homecoming 2008. Read more...

Stetson Green Bikes Program Begins on 'Focus the Nation' Day
The Stetson community launched Stetson Green Bikes, a bicycle loan program for students, during Focus the Nation. In addition to taking a bike ride to various historic or environmentally notable locations around DeLand, students, faculty, staff and members of the public attended a lecture on global warming. Read more...

Mother of Matthew Shepard Urges All to Work Together to End Hate Crimes
Judy Shepard, whose son Matthew was fatally attacked because of his homosexuality, spoke at Stetson in January – inspiring a huge crowd to work together to end hate crimes and to stop discrimination against gay people. Her message was televised nationally. Read more...

Baseball Player Drafted, Comes Back to Finish Degree and Graduate
Student Braedyn Pruitt '07 was drafted in June to play baseball for the New York Yankees organization. The Hatters third baseman was just two classes shy of earning his undergraduate degree. So in his first season with the Staten Island Yankees (Minor League, short season single A), he received permission to take two courses in the fall semester even though he had to miss the first month of classes. He graduated Dec. 15 with a degree in General Business Administration. Read the full Stetson Story...

Coach Romine Plans to Retire; Coach Dunn Honored; Softball Complex News
Women’s Basketball Coach Dee Romine will retire May 31, and Baseball Coach Pete Dunn ’72 has been inducted into the Central Florida Sports Hall of Fame. Also read about a national award earned for the Patricia Wilson Softball Field and an update on construction at the softball field. Read more...

Two Students Awarded Grants from Carter Partnership Foundation
Projects proposed by Stetson students Carol Larson ’09 and Mary Gossett ’09 were the first in Florida to be awarded Jimmy & Rosalynn Carter Partnership Foundation CASE (Carter Academic Service Entrepreneur) grants for service programs incorporating both academic learning and community engagement. Read more...

Civil Rights Pioneer Morris Dees Challenges Law Students
Civil rights pioneer and litigator Morris Dees, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center, visited the College of Law in January. His talk, “One Lawyer Can Make a Difference,” was part of Stetson’s Annual Inns of Court Banquet and Wm. Reece Smith Jr. Distinguished Lecture. Read more...

Stetson Puts 'HatterAlert' in Place for Campus-Wide Emergency Notification
The “HatterAlert” system is now in place for notifying faculty, students and staff during campus emergencies. Alerts can be delivered through voice (phone), e-mail and text message notification. The new system has been tested and has already been used twice this spring. Read more...

Stetson Faculty, Alumni Featured in the Media
“In the News” features this month include a national TV interview with Teacher Education Professor Kathy Piechura-Couture on Stetson’s involvement in research related to single-sex classrooms for children, a Valentine’s Day newspaper story interview with Sociology Professor Finnegan Alford-Cooper on long marriages, and a newspaper story about alumnus George Taylor ’82 and his company’s research to cure the epidemic killing Florida’s sago palms. Read more...

Alumni Travel Program Planned to Tuscany, Italy
Join other Hatter alumni on a nine-day trip to the Tuscany and Umbria regions of Italy, including visits to Cortona, Assisi, Perguia, Montepulciano, Siena and Florence. Scheduled for Aug. 6-14, this exciting travel experience provides a perfect balance of informative educational programs presented by local experts and free time for you to explore local interests on your own. Reservations must be made by April 1. For details, maps and a complete schedule of destinations visit the Stetson Travel Site and click 'Go.'

Upcoming Alumni Events - Join Your Hatter Friends, Concert Choir on Tour
The Office of Alumni Relations is off and running this spring with several events in Florida. In addition, the Stetson University Concert Choir will be on tour in Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Florida. Alumni Relations will be staying closer to home, hosting fewer events in March and April as we approach Homecoming 2008. We hope you plan to attend April 4-6 – there will be plenty of fun events to keep you entertained. See dates and venues...

GET CONNECTED! at Stetson University's Annual Career Expo
More than 45 companies and/or graduate schools will participate in this year’s Annual Career Expo, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday, March 26, in the Rinker Field House inside Hollis Center. Students and alumni are encouraged to attend. The event is hosted by University Career Services. Read more ...

Upcoming Campus Events - Alumni, Parents, Friends Welcome
Alumni, friends and current students' families are encouraged to stay involved with Stetson by attending concerts, art exhibits, lectures, plays and other events on campus. For details on upcoming events, read more...

Read about the School of Business Administration in the Lynn Letter
The Lynn Letter is an online newsletter published twice a year to keep business alumni informed on the happenings of the business school. It includes a Dean’s Message, Alumni Spotlight, Organization Update and several stories. The newest edition of the Lynn Letter includes coverage of the school’s involvement at the 2007 Disney Leadership Conference, a visit from retired Nestle Prepared Foods executive Stephen Cunliffe and Marketing student Jessica Rafalowski '08 being named Miss Florida USA 2008. Read the Lynn Letter...

A New Free and Easy Way to Give
Stetson University is now a recognized charity on www.GoodSearch.com, a Yahoo!-powered search engine that donates approximately 1 cent for every search to its user's designated charity. The more you search, the more the university makes. All money raised goes to the Annual Fund, which supports 80 percent of Stetson students in the form of scholarships and financial assistance. To access GoodSearch, simply go to www.goodsearch.com and enter Stetson University as the charity you want to support. Just 1,000 of us searching four times a day can raise more than $14,500 a year for the Annual Fund – all without spending a dime!

George Winston's March 27 Benefit Concert Canceled
The benefit concert planned by pianist George Winston '71 on March 27 for the Stetson University School of Music and the Neighborhood Center of West Volusia has been canceled due to circumstances beyond his control. Many tickets have already been purchased and the School of Music has a list of purchasers; if you purchased a ticket and would like the entire $15 cost to be donated to the Neighborhood Center, just call the School of Music at 386-822-8950 and that will be done. If you would like a refund, send a stamped, self-addressed envelope with your name and telephone number to the Stetson University School of Music, 421 N. Woodland Blvd., Unit 8399, DeLand, FL 32723.  Call 386-822-8950 with any questions.

The Hatternet Community is 3,751 Members Strong and Counting
It's never too late to join the online Stetson community! Hatternet is designed to keep Stetson alumni in touch with the university and their former classmates. Through the creation of an editable Alumni Profile, you will be able to access a wide variety of Alumni Association forms, features and programs without repetition of data entry! Signing up is easy. New users should “register” to create their Hatternet profile. Former users of the Alumni E-mail Directory and Career Networking System should try logging in with the e-mail under which they were previously registered. Visit the Alumni Association Web site for more Hatternet information.

Spread the Word About H@tMail
If you know classmates or friends of the university who are not receiving this e-newsletter, please let them know it’s a great way to keep current on Stetson news and events. Alumni can get on the list by updating their e-mail address using Hatternet's Alumni Profile. All others should send an e-mail to the Office of Alumni Relations with their contact information.