If you’d like to get more involved with the DPAA and/or with helping current students at the DP, we are always looking for volunteers willing to give some of their time to help with ongoing and one-time projects.

We typically rely on DP alumni who are working journalists to aid with a number of annual DP efforts, including alumni critiques of the DP and 34th Street Magazine, serving as mentors for DP editors or reporters, participating in our annual Steven A. Marquez Journalism Conference in September or our Journalism Bootcamp in January, and judging the staff writing and photography contests presented by the DPAA. If you work in any branch of journalism and would like to volunteer to help with any of these activities, please let us know.

Other current committees include:

• Newsletter Committee: The DPAA Newsletter Editor is always looking for alumni to help generate ideas for articles and to conduct interviews or write articles for the newsletter. With the advent of the DPAA website, the goal is to have more updates more frequently.
• The Investment Advisory Committee: formed in 2010 to review the DP’s investment portfolio and investment strategy, and to offer periodic ongoing guidance or recommendations in these areas.
• New DP Office Planning Committee: tasked with helping plan a wide variety of areas involved with the DP’s eventual move to a new long-term home. Recent planning topics include space planning, development/fundraising planning, working with the Penn administration, and financial feasibility planning. As projects move forward, alumni with expertise in these and other areas will be sought to help guide planning for the DP’s new home.

Other ad hoc or short-term committees are formed as needs arise. In recent years, committees have been convened for planning the DP’s 125th Anniversary celebration and providing financial/budget oversight and advice for the DP’s student leadership and professional staff in coping with an era of reduced advertising revenues. If you have expertise or interest in helping the DP and/or DPAA in some area you think might be beneficial, please send us an email. We’d be delighted to put you to work!