'alumni-centered' originates from Latin and English components: Latin 'alumnus' (plural 'alumni') and English 'center' (from Latin 'centrum' via Greek 'kentron'), where 'alumnus' meant 'foster son; pupil; graduate' and 'centrum' meant 'center' or 'point'.

'alumnus' entered English from Latin as 'alumnus' (plural 'alumni'), keeping the sense of a former pupil or graduate. 'Centre/center' comes from Greek 'kentron' → Latin 'centrum' → Old French/Latin forms → Middle English 'centre/center'. The compound adjective 'alumni-centered' is a modern English formation combining the plural noun 'alumni' with the participial adjective 'centered'.

Initially the parts referred separately to 'graduates' and to 'being at the center'; over time the compound came to mean 'primarily focused on or organized for alumni' rather than a literal physical center.