NYU pride spread globally as attendees joined NYU Alumni and Parents Weekend virtually to learn how NYU maintained a commitment to our mission during the pandemic. Salient topics like COVID-19, politics, and anti-racism were addressed by NYU experts, while others addressed concerns about safety for students, faculty, and staff. Producing a live address from the NYU president to the full global community provided the relief and optimism everyone needed. Having a robust virtual engagement website and programming connected new alumni like no other event has done before. Our transition of NYU Alumni and Parents Weekend to virtual has paved a way for the future of alumni engagement.
Building a brand new reunion weekend online with 148 live sessions was no easy feat, but the payoff was great, with more than 10,000 NYU alumni and parents from 71 countries, 65% of which were first-time event attendees. With a working group of 80 NYU staff and alumni volunteers and a new technology solution, the Office of Alumni Relations engaged 15 new departments and became a leader in online engagement across campus. We saw a 50% increase in attendance from the 2019 in-person program to the 2020 virtual program allowing alumni and parents to connect from their homes. The technology discovered provided a more robust virtual experience than simply using Zoom, including one-on-one meetings between attendees, attendee discussion boards, on-demand content, and incentives through gamification. The creativity and innovation has led the way for other institutions to invest in technology and follow NYU’s lead.
