Wittenberg Magazine Online

A two-day retreat by the Alumni Board has led to a series of strategies which will help "reconnect" alumni, past and future, to their university, said Colleen Shay Murray, president of the alumni association and its board.

Alumni governance at Wittenberg used to be through an Alumni Council, which was far too large to be effective, she said. Shortly after the university Board of Directors was reorganized in 1988, thenpresident, Bill Kinnison asked the Alumni Association also to reconstitute itself. The resulting Alumni Board was half the size of the old council, about 25 members, and has been organized with a committee structure that gives it flexibility in addressing specific issues.

Since then, Murray said, the association has been successful in attracting a board of diverse professions, ages, geographic distribution and ethnic makeup. As a result, the alumni board brings to the campus a depth of accomplishment and a breadth of insider perspective that exists nowhere else outside the university Board of Directors itself.

"These are accomplished, motivated people who can really have an impact," Murray said. The resulting group is well-prepared to help the university to achieve its goal of reigniting in Wittenberg graduates their original passion for their alma mater, she said.

Murray said the board has modeled itself after successful alumni organizations at some of Wittenberg's peer institutions, which, she said are far ahead in their percentages of continuing alumni participation.

The Alumni Association and the university want to make it easier for alumni to stay up-to-date and involved with each other and the university, Murray said. In her own experience, Murray said Wittenberg friends remain connected to each other for many years. "People have very positive memories of their time here on campus, but somehow over time, Wittenberg the institution just kind of drops out of the equation," she said.

"I know people who were campus leaders, that you thought would be strong supporters forever, and they just wondered away," Murray noted. "Life just kind of got in the way."

"I think the majority of our alumni are simply not connecting the important things in their lives as being things they can trace back to Wittenberg," she added. "We all need to consider the value of those friendships and professional achievements that may have had a lot to do with their experience here."

Murray's own enthusiasm is irrepressible. She and her two brothers and sister all attended Wittenberg with the benefit of scholarships and financial aid. She and one brother met their future spouses on campus. "Wittenberg is a great place, it is fun and it is a great campus to be around."

Her professional work just after graduation in 1986 with the Association of Independent Colleges and Universities of Ohio helped her understand the unique contribution and value of private liberal arts colleges. That is something it should not be hard for a student who experienced Wittenberg to agree with, she said.

Participation by alumni is key to the continued success of any small independent college, Murray said. She added, "I don't think alumni recognize that the percentage of alumni giving that we have assists us as we go for grant and foundation money that can have a big impact." The size of gifts is not the only important factor. "The percentage of alumni who contribute is an important factor in whether a foundation judges a college is worthy of their support," she said.

Murray said she believes the student years are important. "I think we are not made aware, as students, that Wittenberg needs us to remain a strong institution.

Therefore, one of the ways the alumni board has been moving is looking for new ways to work with current students, to show them the benefits and responsibilities of becoming alumni. They arc examining various possibilities for regular contacts with students – from the day they are accepted to Commencement Day – that would help them see themselves in an "alumni role" during their years on campus. The association is also planning ways to have a higher profile on campus by taking advantage of major annual events.

As students mature, deciding on a major and forming their career and life goals, Alumni Association connections can be tremendously useful for information and contacts. For that reason, the board is considering ways to strengthen alumni mentoring opportunities, including a collaboration with the Division of Student Development on a campus leadership conference.

The board has also looked at ways to better understand the student experience at Wittenberg.

For instance, the board is discussing adding a student representative to the Alumni Board. It is also considering a survey of seniors just before they graduate.

In addition, the board is studying ambitious long range goals to strengthen Wittenberg alumni connections. Among those ideas are an Alumni Leadership Institute, as well as programs for students planned by regional alumni clubs.

The association also wants to find ways to encourage the formation of more alumni clubs around the country, by offering advisors, a blueprint for organizing clubs, and other help with specific events. "It is especially important for new grads to be in contact with programother grads wherever they go," Murray said.

The continuing cycle from student, to aspiring professional, to successful alumni is such an important, and satisfying way that graduates can preserve the quality of Wittenberg. Through recommending new students, professional mentoring, and hiring interns and graduates, she said, alumni can help assure the continued quality and success of Wittenberg through the success of succeeding generations of students.

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