- November 17, 2025
- By Maggie Haslam
The food just kept coming: heaps of steaming noodles, pillowy pork buns, glistening spears of Chinese broccoli.
As the dishes amassed on the tractor tire-sized lazy Susan, University of Maryland Associate Professor Emeritus Alexander Chen turned to his former students at the table. He taught them how to plan cities, inform federal policy and spearhead community development—but apparently not how to coordinate a dim sum order.
“You’d think after nearly 10 years, we could get this right,” he said, shaking his head. “We always order way too much food.”
While comically lavish, the feast at Washington, D.C.’s Da Hong Pao was upstaged by the company at the table, which also is never in short supply. Eleven alums from UMD’s Urban Studies and Planning Program joined Chen on a fall Sunday morning to raucously reminisce as part of his long-running, year-round effort to stay connected.
“Obviously we keep coming out of great respect for our teacher,” teased Melissa Bird M.C.P. ’98. “Seriously, it’s really just a special thing and a great reason to get together.”
Chen (second from left) gives his handmade bookmarks to the alums who meet for a meal.
Chen doesn’t remember when he started meeting former students over meals, but if Facebook is an accurate timekeeper, he’s been organizing lunches, brunches and coffees for groups ranging from three to 30 since retiring in 2016. Before that, he’d host students at his home in Silver Spring, Md.
Today, his offsite meals draw a range of alums now linked by geography rather than grad year; his network is big enough to require regional meetups in Baltimore, D.C., Montgomery County, Northern Virginia and more. Chen averages anywhere from four to eight events a year, which further strengthen an already tight-knit program, and often lead to new connections, jobs and project collaborations.
“There’s this instant feeling of camaraderie, and then you ask, ‘Who was your favorite professor?’ And everyone will always say Jim Cohen,” laughed Aimee McHale M.C.P. ’03, as Chen nodded, smiling. “The program changed my life. The education, obviously, but some of my best friends are people I met there. I try to never miss these.”
The organizational lift—from securing reservations for a fluctuating RSVP list to scheduling a date that works for a growing list of alums—is substantial. But looking around the table, it’s clear why Chen continues the tradition. Between bites, there’s a lot of shop talk—from the RFP for RFK Stadium to what federal grants are still available—but also a lot of laughter. Alums trade pictures of kids, share travel plans, and lament house renovations and the learning curve of an e-bike.
“I mean, what’s not to love?” said Cliff Hogan M.C.P. ’04. “For me, it's an opportunity to reconnect, and Alex has consistently been the sole proprietor of making it happen.”
After the cash has been counted (no credit cards allowed) and leftovers boxed, people begin their goodbyes. The obligatory group shot is taken outside the restaurant. It will be shared on Facebook, joining the years of candid shots in Chen’s feed. He looks wistful and happy—and just a bit relieved.
“I always worry that no one’s going to show up,” he said. “But they always come.”