All times listed are Eastern Standard Time (US & Canada)
View the online program!
Tuesday, July 27
12:00–12:15 PM Welcome & Setting the Stage
This session will provide an overview of the institute experience and expectations as well as introduce faculty leaders.
12:15–1:15 Alumni Relations Fundamentals
Alumni Relations has a rich history and plays a critical role in building meaningful relationship with alumni. This session will provide a brief overview on the history of our profession and address the best practices of our field. Participants will learn from the presenters and have an understanding of the future of the profession and what is needed to be an alumni relations professional in the 21st century.
1:15–1:45 Stretch Break
1:45–2:45 Alumni Engagement and DEI: Purposeful Inclusion Alumni engagement professionals are the conduit for alumni, students and various stakeholders to volunteer, experiential, communication, and philanthropic opportunities at their institution. In this role not only is it important to meet people where they are but illustrating purposeful inclusion is critical. This session will provide a foundation for understanding why and how diversity, equity, and inclusion principles should be integrated in every aspect of alumni engagement programs.
2:45–3:15 Stretch Break
3:15–4:15 Elective Sessions(choose one of two):
Geographic Alumni Engagement
For many institutions, alumni do not stay local to their alma mater. When considering emerging trends and best practices, there are many ways that institutions can engage with their geographically distant alumni. During this presentation, we will explore how to rebuild, reactivate and revitalize your regional alumni engagement after a year of virtual experiences and varying covid policies. We will address big questions about the future of regional engagement efforts, local clubs, and emerging technologies in engagement trends in order to connect with alumni in a meaningful way no matter where they live.
Affinity and Identity Engagement
It is increasingly important to create affinity and identity-based programming for alumni to engage with others in their respective communities and facilitate interactions for professional, cultural, and social development. These communities include academic major, career, geographic, club, sport, race/ethnicity, identity, and others. No matter the affiliation, it is critical to inclusive and integrate opportunities and resources for all alumni. We will have open and honest dialogue about how to create a welcoming and equitable space.
4:15–4:30 Stretch Break
4:30–5:15 Advisory Group Meeting 1
Participants will have the opportunity to engage in small group discussion with fellow attendees to maximize their learning throughout the institute. These meetings are facilitated by a faculty leader and are designed to help attendees more deeply explore concepts covered each week.
12:30–1:30 Intro to Metrics and Outcomes
Data is at the heart of many decisions we need to make in Alumni Relations. Whether qualitative or quantitative, anecdotal or scientific, data should be the driving force behind the analysis of effective alumni engagement. Data-informed strategies and tactics can lead to the outcomes you desire for your campus. During this session, we will discuss the importance of data and how to best leverage the information you have at your disposal to improve alumni engagement.
1:30–2:00 Stretch Break
2:00–3:00 Elective Sessions (choose one):
A Deeper Dive on Metrics and Outcomes (tools and tactics)
You likely understand that data is essential to alumni relations work, but what comes next? This session will further explore how data and metrics can be used to inform strategy, focusing on emerging best practices for Engagement scoring models, useful tools and resources, and other helpful tactics. Learn how you can help create a culture of data-driven decision making that leads to greater impact for your alumni, and solidifies alumni engagement work as indispensable to successful advancement outcomes.
Volunteer and Board Management
Alumni volunteers play an essential role in reaching goals and engaging the full alumni network. It is our job to match their passion and partner with our volunteers to effectively achieve mutually beneficial results that serve to enhance engagement. In this session, we will explore how to best equip, activate, and manage alumni volunteers to maximize effectiveness in your day-to-day work, institutional mission, and alumni engagement goals.
12:30–1:30 Leadership Advice for the New Alumni Relations Professional
Participate in this moderated conversation with leaders in Alumni Relations as they share their thoughts on the future of alumni relations, advice for new professionals, and their thoughts on what it means to be a leader during turbulent times. Opportunities for Q&A will be provided so please bring your questions.
1:30–2:00 Stretch Break
2:00–3:00 Elective Sessions (choose one):
Career Services and Lifelong Learning
Now more than ever, alumni are looking at the value their higher education or independent institutions are providing for them today. A major opportunity to stay relevant and remain a resource for alumni is through career services and lifelong learning programs. This presentation will help you build a case and explore programs that meet and support alumni in their professional development journey. By partnering with colleagues and departments, you can add value to your alumni where it counts while also finding ways to leverage their expertise as advisors, mentors and speakers.
Engaging Different Generations and Life Stages
The relationship that students and alumni have with their alma mater is dynamic and nothing affects that relationship more than their life stage and current lived experience. During this presentation, we will share themes on the experiences of students and alumni of different generations; their preferences for communication and engagement; and innovative ways that you can connect with students and alumni from different eras. Presenters will focus on this discussion from the Post-Covid/social and racial reckoning perspective. Join us as we discuss the approach we all should consider as we navigate our new environment for engaging alumni.
3:00–3:30 Stretch Break
3:30–4:30 Final Individual Advisory Group Meetings