Alumni Association
Since the graduation of the first class from the Nebraska State Normal School at Kearney in 1906, the UNK Alumni Association has been working to maintain the link between more than 50,000 graduates and the University of Nebraska at Kearney.
The association produces UNK Today, the alumni magazine published twice yearly, maintains an alumni database, hosts reunions, coordinates alumni homecoming activities, and sponsors the Gold Torch Mentoring Society (a women’s mentoring organization). The alumni also facilitate the Distinguished Alumni, Alumni Service, Young Alumni, and Athletic Hall of Fame awards that are given each year during homecoming.
The historic Alumni House is located at 2222 9th Avenue in Kearney. The facility was built in 1907 to be the residence of Dr. A.O. Thomas, the first president of the Nebraska State Normal School, and has since received distinction on the National Register of Historic Places. In 2024, the foundation and UNK jointly decided to sell the house, which has served as a gathering place for alumni and community groups but has not housed foundation or alumni staff since 2015.
In 2012, the UNK Alumni Association partnered with the Nebraska University Foundation to better utilize resources and serve the alumni as well as the university. The alumni staff offices at 2204 University Drive, Suite 103, in Kearney.