Three new members join Grinnell College Alumni Council

Oct. 10, 2019 — Three graduates will help the Grinnell College Alumni Council support purposeful, lifelong relationships among Grinnell alumni and between the alumni and College communities.

The new Alumni Council members are:

Robert Gehorsam ’76
Bernard Jackson ’86
Eric Mistry ’14

Each will serve two-year terms through Reunion 2021, and they are eligible to serve through 2025. Council members can be elected to up to three consecutive terms.

“The Alumni Council is excited to welcome our new members,” says Ryann Haines Cheung ’93, Alumni Council president. “Each of them has served the College in other capacities, so we anticipate that they will enhance our engagement with alumni and current students in a variety of ways. Eric, Bernard, and Robert have already started contributing through committee service, and we look forward to welcoming them to the Council in person at our fall meeting.”

The Alumni Council strives to unite Grinnell graduates and former students. The 26-member group promotes a spirit of camaraderie among alumni and supports the College leadership, faculty, staff, and students in the advancement of the College. The Council will hold its fall meetings on campus Oct. 10-12.

Here’s a detailed look at the new members:

Robert Gehorsam ’76

Gehorsam lives in New York City and is an adviser to a range of start-ups in artificial intelligence, education, games, music, and virtual reality. He additionally collaborates with a group of consultants who work with organizations who seek help in aligning their mission with actionable strategies and operational plans. Prior to all this, Gehorsam had a more typical career as an executive in large corporations in the game and digital media industry.

Gehorsam has been a frequent contributor to the Donald and Winifred Wilson Center for Innovation and Leadership, visiting campus to speak with students. He’s also active in Grinnell’s online alum community.

“I've been working in higher education innovation, particularly around the future of learning, the impact of multi-generational connections for the future of work, and the role technology plays, so serving on the Alumni Council seemed like a perfect way to formalize my deep affection for the College into real action,” Gehorsam says.

Gehorsam is serving on the Council’s Election and Membership Committee and the Alumni Engagement and Communications Committee.

Bernard Jackson ’86

Jackson lives in Maynard, Massachusetts, and is an assistant professor of philosophy at Regis College. His academic areas of research are moral philosophy, the philosophy of law, and African-American philosophy. Besides his teaching duties, he is chair of an employee resource group for faculty and staff of color.

Jackson has served on Grinnell’s Boston Regional Network Planning Committee and was part of a committee that planned for the 2014 Black Alumni Weekend at the College. He joined the Council to become more active in relationships with the alumni community and to get involved in campus initiatives.

“I’m especially interested in Grinnell’s commitment to diversity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives,” he says. “I am proud that these initiatives have been highlighted in the Grinnell Magazine on a number of occasions. I do this work at my present college campus, and I’d like to apply what I’ve learned to my beloved Grinnell.”

Bernard is serving on the Council’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee and the Alumni Awards Committee.

Eric Mistry ’14

Mistry lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and works as an instructional technologist and digital media specialist at the College of St. Scholastica, researching and designing educational technology solutions. He also produces multimedia instructional content and works on developing virtual reality applications.

Mistry is a co-class agent for the class of 2014. While at Grinnell he was a member of the swimming and diving team, serving as co-captain during his senior season. He also served as a columnist, reporter, photographer, and business manager for the Scarlet & Black.

“I was lucky enough to have the College invest in me and my future,” he says. “I also have a deep lifelong connection to the College and want to give back however I can.”

Mistry is serving on the Council’s Alumni Engagement and Communications Committee.

Other Council news

The Council also re-elected the following members to their second terms: Graciela Guzmán ’11, Phillip Hales ’02, Brigham Hoegh ’08, and Robert Ruhl ’76. Council members elected to a third term were Ryann Haines Cheung ’93, Jeetander Dulani ’98, and Rick Stuck ’82.

Chris Meyer ’70 was elected Alumni Council president-elect for this year. He will serve as president in 2020-2021.

Students serving on the Council as ex-officio members this year are Regina Logan ’20, Student Government Association president; and Kaitlyn Goss-Peirce ’20 and Ayyad Jacob ’20, co-presidents of the Student Alumni Council.

—by Jeremy Shapiro

For your information:

Visit the Alumni Council web pages for a full list of members, committees, meeting minutes, and information about serving on the Council.

To read more alumni news, check out our news archive.