Describes the efforts of various college alumni groups to secure better funding for their institutions or promote other legislative causes. (EV)

International alumni programs can strengthen relationships overseas, stimulate student recruitment efforts, and provide student placement options. A strong overseas program benefits from a careful strategy, thorough research, faculty cooperation, innovative use of communications technology, and support of chapter objectives. (MSE)

Asserts that for some in advancement, and many observers outside the profession, giving has become the primary measure of alumni satisfaction and the success of an alumni program. Two practitioners take issue with that assumption and offer ways to develop more comprehensive program assessment tools. (EV)

Describes how MIT, Stanford, and Rensselaer are systematically mining the "knowledge capital" of their graduates to support more than just the efforts of the advancement division and traditional partners such as admissions and career services. They are developing comprehensive programs that help link alumni volunteers with every unit…

The importance of maintaining and improving college alumni records is discussed. Three types of information needed about alumni are identified: identifiers and locators, qualifiers, and specifiers. (MLW)

Ideas for homecoming themes, events, and staffing are provided from a nationwide survey of alumni directors including: theme spirit; choose a team and plan a strategy; think homecoming, but not necessarily football; schedule time out for fun, games, and food; and involve the community. (MLW)

Provides advice on how to instill the giving habit in recent graduates and how to encourage them to take an active part in alumni issues. Development officers need to keep track of recent alumni, use telephone and electronic mail rather than letters to contact young alumni, and develop special programs to encourage giving by recent graduates. (MDM)

A study by Andrew M. Greeley and Joe Spaeth in 1972 that offered clues about why people support higher education institutions was used by Brown University to improve their alumni program. A survey of Brown's seniors provides data on student attitudes about Brown and their involvement as alumni.