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Alumni

(Sponsored by S.A.I.T. Polytechnic and Ipsos Reid)

A Need to Increase Revenue: Is an Affinity Program Right for You?

Session 1: Thursday, Feb. 18 - 9:15-10:30 a.m

Detail: Affinity programs can provide a revenue stream during these difficult economic times. What type of program will your alumni base respond to, find appealing, and participate in? Should the revenue be based on sponsorship or participation? And what marketing methods are returning a decent response rate without your alumni base finding those methods intrusive.

Presenters:

Tom Klotter - Collegiate Insurance Resources

Deedre Daniel - Geico

David Hayden - Liberty Mutual

Bridging the Gap: New Grad to Engaged Young Alumni

Session 2: Thursday, Feb. 18 - 11:00 a.m. -12:15 a.m.

Detail: If the first five years will determine a young alumni's affinity to his/her alma mater, and his/her propensity to give, then how do we motivate cash strapped new graduates to stay connected with our institution?

It was evident that a lack of engagement with recent graduates could have detrimental long term effects on the university's annual giving program and on their relationship with the institution as a whole. Learn how the University of Saskatchewan, using only in house services, was able to receive feedback from over 8,000 students and young alumni and how this feedback was used to create a set of recommendations for this ever-evolving demographic.

University Advancement was also able to address the issue of working in 'silos' by conducting this project as an integration project. The Young Alumni project pulled together individuals from all units working together on one project for the first time.

Presenters:

Jennifer Molloy received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Saskatchewan in 2003. Shortly after graduation she began working for St. Paul's Hospital Foundation in Saskatoon, SK and quickly realized that working in development was what she wanted to focus on. She moved on to the Red Cross as their manager of fund development and then began working in the University of Saskatchewan's Advancement office. As the projects coordinator for the vice-president of university advancement, Jennifer has the opportunity to work on a variety of projects that assist the university in building positive relationships with external partners.

Andrea graduated with a Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Land Use and Environmental Studies in 2005 from the University of Saskatchewan. Following her degree she completed a Special Events Coordinator certificate course in February 2006. Andrea started with University Advancement in August 2007and holds the position of Alumni Relations Officer, Student and Young Alumni Engagement. Andrea is also the equipment manager for the U of S Huskie Football team and is entering her 10th season with the team. She volunteers with Football Saskatchewan, working at a variety of camps and with the Team Saskatchewan program in the summer. Andrea has volunteered with a number of large events including the Vanier Cup when it was held in Saskatoon in 2006 and most recently as a member of the organizing committee for the Football Canada Cup held in Saskatoon in July 2009. All of these volunteer opportunities have allowed Andrea the opportunity to meet with and build relationships with U of S alumni across Canada and internationally.

Download the handouts.

Integrated Advancement and the Future of Alumni Relations and Philanthropy

Session 3: Thursday, Feb. 18 - 2:00-3:15 p.m.

Detail: Integrated Advancement, while not a new model, is gaining popularity in institutions that seek to create infrastructure to unify alumni and donor relations staff towards a broader, more holistic, context. Having implemented this model, the University of Washington can demonstrate how broad-based engagement within Integrated Advancement connects alumni relations, marketing/communications and fundraising at each level of the classic giving pyramid, creating progressive relationships, shared governance and expanded accountability.

Through effective coordination of staff, resources, data, and annual strategic planning, our Constituent-Based Alumni Relations Officer (CRO) Program provides an essential pipeline between units and the broader institutional goals. Building on recent presentations by UW Advancement leadership Greg Sheridan and Paul Rucker, two operationally connected practitioners from the CRO Program will talk about frontline implementation of the Integrated Advancement Model: the benefits, challenges, and success stories. Malik Davis, representing the program leadership, and Caroline Rosevear, representing the unit-level engagement, will discuss how Integrated Advancement serves the broader goals of alumni relations and philanthropy.

Presenters:

Caroline Rosevear, Assistant Director of Development for School of Forest Resources, University of Washington.

Malik Davis, Associate Director of Constituent Relations, University of Washington

Download the handouts.

Not the Mother Ship: Building bridges between main campuses, branch campuses, and regional programs.

Session 4: Thursday, Feb. 18 - 3:45-5:00 p.m.

Detail: Speakers from Oregon and Washington public institutions will consider the complex relationships between main campuses and branch campuses /regional programs. The UW, WSU, and OSU all have youthful branch campuses. WSU, OSU, and the U of O have regional programs in their state's major metropolitan area. How successfully are the institutions managing these relationships and what are the challenges inherent in not being the Mother Ship? Topics to be considered in the discussion include:

Presenters:

Mary Ellen McGillan, currently vice president for central development and associate campaign director for the OSU Foundation has more than 20 years senior level development experience at both public and private institutions including Santa Clara University, Notre Dame and OSU. Among her responsibilities at OSU is increasing visibility and raising money for the OSU Cascades campus in Bend.

Carol Van Natta, currently vice president for the OSU Foundation Portland Center has more than 30 years of Advancement experience at seven universities. She currently is in charge of OSU's regional office in Portland, prior to which she was the vice chancellor for advancement at the University of Washington Tacoma.

Mike Wark, currently executive director of external relations for the University of Washington Tacoma, has the distinction of being a second-generation advancement professional. He directs UW Tacoma's communications, government and local community relations activities. He has also directed communication efforts at the Evergreen State College and South Puget Sound Community College.

Crossing from Data to Outcomes: Using alumni engagement research to effect change.

Session 5: Friday, Feb. 19 - 9:15-10:30 a.m.

Detail: Learn more about an alumni engagement research tool designed to examine the fundamentals of the relationship higher education institutions have with their alumni. The program will explore how the tool can provide clearer information on what value their alumni can bring to the institution, and assist in the creation of strategy and tactics to enhance alumni engagement.

Presenter:

Dr. Daniel Savas, Senior Vice-President, Ipsos Reid. Daniel has been with the firm for more than 17 years, working as a public affairs and market research specialist, doing work for both private and public sector clients, as well as advocacy groups. He holds a PhD degree in Political Science from UBC, an M.A. from UniversitĂ© Laval in Quebec City, and a B.A. from the University of Toronto. Daniel also studied at the Institut d'Ătudes Politiques in Paris, where he received a DiplĂ´me d'Études Approfondies, and Essex University in England, where he studied data analysis.

Daniel's professional and academic background includes expertise in public policy and communications research for a wide variety of public and private sector clients. As Senior Vice-President, Daniel has conducted many studies looking at public opinion on a diverse number of topics, including post-secondary education. He currently leads Ipsos' Higher Education Account Team for North America. Over the past 13 years, Daniel has directed or been actively involved in all research studies dealing with post-secondary education institutions, and now focuses his research efforts exclusively in this field.

Download the handouts.

Advocacy: Emerging competency in alumni relations.

Session 6: Friday, Feb. 19 - 11:00 a.m. -12:15 p.m.

Detail: Broad-based engagement, volunteer service, intercollegiate athletics, lifelong learning, donor cultivation—these are cornerstones of the modern alumni relations program. Our colleges and universities face dramatic reductions in public support for higher education and, increasingly, alumni relations leaders are exploring opportunities to develop legislative advocacy and grassroots lobbying initiatives to support their institutions. These advocacy efforts are an evolving competency for alumni relations. This presentation explores the development of integrated advocacy initiatives, including volunteer engagement, Web-based communications and legal issues related to public institutions and non-profit alumni associations.

Presenters:

Paul Rucker serves as the Executive Director of the University of Washington Alumni Association and Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs. He has been active in higher education administration for the past 17 years. Prior to joining the senior leadership team at University of Washington Advancement in 2004, Paul developed and led a broad range of international and global advancement initiatives in the Washington State Community Colleges, including opportunities for underrepresented U.S. students, staff and faculty to travel and study abroad in developing-world countries. In 2009, Paul became Executive Director of the UW Alumni Association and Associate Vice President of Alumni Relations. Over the years, he has served on a variety of professional and community advisory boards in support of advancing educational opportunities, diversity education and public/private partnerships. 
Paul lives in Edmonds, Washington with his wife and two young daughters.

Rick Osterhout is Past President of the University of Washington Alumni Association Board of Trustees. With the UW facing a 26% reduction in state funding during the 2009 legislative session, he assisted in leading an effort resulting in the formation of the UWAA's Advocacy Program (www.uwimpact.org). Currently, he is working on a community-based alumni relations strategy which is designed to aggregate groups with affinity to the University, enhance advocacy efforts and create monetizing opportunities. He is also a consultant for an initiative linking the living environment with the learning experience for faculty, staff and students by building sustainable housing (www.sustainablelivinginnovations.com).  He holds both BA and MHA degrees from the University of Washington and is a Senior Vice President at GVA Kidder Mathews (www.gvakm.com).

Judy Yu is a PR and marketing consultant, working currently with the University of Washington Alumni Association in the development and implementation of their advocacy network.  She has a background in higher education, having served for 12 years as a Trustee with Central Washington University and 7 years as the Director of Communications for Shoreline Community College.  In addition, she has provided PR consulting to several elected officials in Washington including Governor Gary Locke, Rep. Dave Reichert, and Sheriff Sue Rahr. Judy was a founding member of Friends of Athletic Fields, a grassroots advocacy effort leading to over $60 million raised for the construction and maintenance of athletic fields in Washington.  She holds bioengineering and business degrees from Purdue University.

Download the handouts.

Alumni Relations' Role in the Academy.

Session 7: Friday, Feb. 19 - 2:00-3:15 p.m.

Critical to the viability and future of educational institutions, alumni relations programs have never been more complex, important, rewarding, or fun as it is this very moment. In order to be relevant and effective, programs must become better at identifying strategic priorities with a much tighter focus on high impact initiatives that actually grab the attention and involvement of both educational leaders and alumni. We need to improve the way we talk about the relevance of alumni relations with our institutional colleagues and alumni leadership - and talk about it with them more frequently. Explore and share ideas about strategic and annual planning, communicating the importance of alumni relations, collaborating with other advancement areas, and the structure and positioning of alumni relations programs.

Presenter:

As executive director of the Oregon State University Alumni Association, Jeff Todd guides a broad effort to establish and grow strong relationships among OSU alumni and between OSU alumni and the university. Since his arrival in Corvallis in 2004, with the help of a volunteer board of directors and the professional staff, the alumni association has developed a long-range strategic plan; strengthened collaboration and partnership across the university; expanded membership efforts; and increased readership of the Oregon Stater alumni magazine from about 20,000 to about 150,000 Beavers around the world. Additionally, a Deans' Advisory Committee has been established to better integrate the work of the association and OSU's academic units.

Jeff began his career as director of alumni relations (and eventually director of The Wooster Fund) at The College of Wooster in Ohio, a national, private liberal arts college. In January 2002 he was appointed executive vice president of the University of Arizona Alumni Association in Tucson, where he was involved in all aspects of developing, staffing and managing alumni programs and services.

Active in the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, Jeff served for six years on its Board of Trustees and for three years on its Commission on Alumni Relations. He has received the CASE Crystal Apple Teaching Award. After arriving in Corvallis, Jeff was invited to join the Council of Alumni Association Executives (CAAE), for which he co-chaired the 2006 winter institute and now serves on the board.

Jeff and his wife, Jean Bolton Todd, are the proud parents of two school-aged daughters, Rachel and Audrey.

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