Alumni Association Home > Past Issues > 2008 > May-June 2008	Print View

Alumni Association members are essential to the ongoing success of the University of Minnesota. University President Bob Bruininks and all of us closely involved with the University understand that fact, but we’ve discovered that many alumni don’t grasp how critically important they are to the U. We’ve set out to change that.

The Alumni Association has done some soul-searching recently, taking a closer look at who we are, what we do, and how we communicate with alumni and others. As part of that process, we polled both members and nonmembers and discovered some unsettling facts. For example, we learned that many alumni have only a vague idea of what the Alumni Association is, have no particularly strong opinion of the organization, and aren’t quite sure if they’re a member or not. We realized that, while the mission of the 104-year-old Alumni Association remains strong, our message and identity were muddled and, according to our research, not particularly compelling.

Our polling revealed that most people join the Alumni Association because they want to support the important work of their alma mater. Now—after months of examining how well we convey who we are and what we do—when someone asks me, “Why should I join the Alumni Association?” my answer is, “To be an ambassador for the important work of the University.”

Simply by becoming a member of the Alumni Association, you become an ambassador for the University. How?

First, you’re reading Minnesota magazine, sent to the 60,000 members of the Alumni Association, and becoming engaged and informed. But there are many ways to be an ambassador. For example:

¦ You are counted as someone who cares about the fate of the U.

¦ More than 10,000 of you advocate for legislative funding of the University, this year securing funds for new biomedical research buildings.

¦ Countless numbers of you mentor U students, network with fellow alumni, encourage the bright high school students you know to apply to the U, embrace the adventure of lifelong learning through Continuing Education courses, and attend campus events.

¦ Thousands of you played a part in bringing football back to campus.

¦ Hundreds of you participate in the Alumni Association travel program, taking trips,like I did last year, to places like Italy, Dubai, and Holland to see and learn more about the world with fellow alumni.

¦ And nearly 1,000 of you will be attending our upcoming Annual Celebration May 29 to hear guest speaker Dr. Doris Taylor, the groundbreaking researcher who recentlycreated a beating heart in her U of M laboratory.

You are the Alumni Association, “where members are ambassadors.” You’ll begin seeing those words in this magazine, on our Web site, and in other communications. And through examples and stories of the many ways members are ambassadors for the U, you’ll also begin to see how crucial your role is in making the University great.