2019 Alumni Service Award
Bill L. James Jr. is senior vice president of Loop Capital Markets, a Chicago-based investment brokerage firm that is one of the country’s largest minority-owned banking firms. For more than a decade, Bill has left an indelible impact on Carnegie Mellon, especially for its African-American students and alumni, by working tirelessly to enhance the student experience through inclusion and bridge-building.
Since 2007, he has worked as a volunteer partner to the Carnegie Mellon Advising Resource Center, formerly Carnegie Mellon Action Project, which had provided him guidance and support when he was a student. In 2008, he led the resurgence of the CMU Black Alumni Association (CMBAA), initiating and building a strong, vibrant community among CMU’s African-American alumni. Not only has he connected black alumni to each other and current students, he spearheaded establishing the CMBAA Endowment Fund, which will fund the CMBAA’s efforts in perpetuity.
Bill has been a ready source of counsel to university leadership about diversity issues, and has been instrumental in efforts to more intentionally and seamlessly integrate diversity and inclusion across campus in word and deed. Since 2014, Bill has been putting his enthusiasm and leadership to work as a member of the Andrew Carnegie Society Board, where he has become a strong advocate for the importance of proactive outreach to alumni to ensure philanthropic support.
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