Alumni relevance
It is time for alumni to stand up and speak out - who will listen?
Dear Friends:
We find ourselves in interesting times. From crisis in many higher education sectors, my optimistic self hopes there will come opportunity. Following from the last Alumni Friday newsletter: Alumni at a Critical Moment comes a call from CASE with the download of the Future of Higher Ed paper to appeal to alumni to be advocates for higher education.
Alumni for Higher Ed. This is a call that alumni facing professionals have been shouting for decades. Before alumni can BE the advocates we want in and for higher education. We first need to educate and value alumni inside our higher education institutions. Alumni are more than ATMs. Alumni embody the values and ambitions of our institutions through their everyday actions, their work and their service.
Challenge this week:
Alumni facing professionals: Before asking alumni to advocate for your institution, pause. Ask: what has my institution done for alumni? How does my institution show alumni they are a valuable community?
What would senior management say about alumni? How do they value alumni? An education on the value of alumni - even if there isn't an imminent crisis in your institution - is key to offering resources to alumni programming and support.
Alumni and students: Read the CASE Alumni for Higher Ed statement. Are you ready to take action for your institution? Why or why not? Reflect and then act. Share your thoughts with your alumni office, this might help them to advocate further for alumni!
Alumni can and should be a strong force to advocate for the power of higher education. Those who follow me, attend my workshops or seen me speak know that I am careful not to have the words 'alumni' and 'use' in the same sentence. Alumni are not a tool at our disposal. We engage, involve and mobilize our alumni. They are higher education's partners. Shareholders.
(see the Alumni Friday archive where I talk about rebuilding trust with our alumni).
Let's build genuine lifelong partnerships with our alumni- automatically they will become engaged, involved and yes mobilized!
With alumni passion,
Maria
Photo: Last weekend I attended my final Alumni Reunion as President of the Alumni Association at St Mike's (University of Toronto). Reflections coming soon! For now, happy to celebrate with fellow alumni and board members (me in the middle celebrating our nostalgic St Mike's Pub event with fellow alumni board members Cesare Plastina and Alessia Colavecchia!)
