Alumni tours made national headlines earlier this month when The Wall Street Journal reported that many college alumni groups are enhancing their travel programs. But Stanford’s program is far from new — alumni have been globetrotting together since 1968.

Stanford Travel/Study was started in 1968 by then Dean of Admission Rixford Snyder in conjunction with the Stanford Alumni Association. Today the program runs year-round, offering 60 trips to 80 countries for its alumni.

“[Snyder] wanted to offer alumni the opportunity to study abroad — something they didn’t have the opportunity to do when they were students at Stanford,” said Travel/Study Director Brett Thompson ‘83. “The purpose then, and continues now, is to engage alumni with the educational vitality of the University.

Stanford groups were among the first tourists to China when it opened to the West in 1978, and among the first to visit Cuba, Libya, Antarctica and even the North Pole. Next month, Stanford graduates, along with those from Harvard and Yale, will join President George H.W. Bush on a cruise ship bound for Hong Kong.

Other influential individuals who have been part of Travel/Study trips include Mikhail Gorbachev, Lech Walesa, Madeleine Albright, George W. Bush, Peruvian President Alejandro Toledo A.M. ‘72 and U.S. Ambassador to Italy Ron Spogli ‘70.

Thompson said the program also allows faculty to travel to the same locations where they conduct research.

“On one trip alumni travelers helped [Anthropology] Prof, John Rick excavate his dig at Chavin de Huantar,” Thompson said. “On other trips, [Classics] Prof. Marsh McCall has given a reading of the slaying of Hector by Achilles from Homer’s Iliad at the theater in Troy.”

“Education is the key to our success,” he added. “[Stanford] is known in the industry for its innovation, which is often inspired by our faculty leaders who are our valued partners and the highlight of our trips.”

The Travel/Study program, however, is not restricted only to alumni. Thompson said certain trips are also open to families of alumni.

“For 12 years we have been running family trips to China, the Galapagos, Tanzania, Italy, Egypt, Greece and Costa Rica,” Thompson said. “Parents enjoy sharing a bit of their Stanford educational experience with their kids, and the kids have a great time communicating with local pen pals, having their own Olympics in Greece and learning how to make pasta and gelato in Italy, among other activities.”