Soon after news of the child molestation scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, a former Pennsylvania State University assistant football coach, broke in November 2011, the development and alumni relations staff gathered for a town hall-style meeting. "The Penn Stater" has tackled controversial topics before: student riots, a faculty member…

Colleges, schools, and faculties at large universities form strong academic bonds with students. So is it any wonder they want a say in keeping these students engaged as alumni? To provide that input, many larger institutions are decentralizing their alumni operations, meaning that colleges, schools, and faculties have their own alumni staff…

Increasingly, there is a growing realization in alumni relations that successful alumni programs, benefits, and services are not ends in and of themselves. Rather, alumni engagement is ultimately all about the institution. Success in alumni relations ideally advances an institution's overall forward progress. Twenty years ago, alumni strategic…