Encountering disillusioned alumni throws a wrench into the already complicated science of alumni engagement. From Kay O'Dwyer and Quentin Derryberry, III's dealings with disgruntled graduates of their institutions, Emmanuel College in Massachusetts and Boston University (BU) respectively, they have learned an important lesson: Alumni do not get…

A growing number of U.S. institutions are recognizing the importance of reaching out to and involving alumni in meaningful ways--so much so that it's encoded as a specific campaign goal. But, like fundraising goals, alumni engagement goals are not realized easily, overnight, or just because they're committed to paper. Lasting engagement takes…

Connecticut College for Women and its Progressive Era sister colleges (Douglass, Simmons, Skidmore, and William Smith) are distinctive for the prominent vocational and service elements each college had in its original mission and curriculum. Historians however have often left Connecticut College for Women out of the story of American women's…

The alumni relations profession has undergone profound changes in the past century. Alumni officers have responded to opportunities and threats presented by advancing technologies, shifting cultural norms, and unstable world economies. Innovations such as Facebook and smartphones have changed everything, and in a flat world, alumni relations…

The world changed in 2008. The financial crisis brought with it a deepening sense of insecurity, and the desire to be connected to a network increased. Throughout the summer and fall of 2008, events were unfolding with alarming rapidity. The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Alumni Association wanted to respond to this change in the…

On September 24, 2010, a group of about 20 women from across Europe have gathered at the University Women's Club. All eyes are on a large screen projecting streaming video from the Mount Holyoke College website. Photos of the Massachusetts campus flash by as the sound of an a capella group singing "Bread and Roses" fills the room. Soon,…

Everyone in the business of raising funds for graduate and professional schools knows that the effort has certain challenges. Deborah McCreery, of Widener University School of Law, identifies two main hurdles to alumni fundraising at Widener Law: (1) student loan debt; and (2) a perception problem. At Widener Law and other professional and…