Those of us in alumni relations believe.
We believe in the power of what we do, that our work helps create a community with a strong values system. We believe in lifelong education, in making the world a better place, in bringing people together. We believe in strengthening ties, creating connections, and opening doors of possibility.
Alumni relations is not a religion—but many of the same tenets that bind religious systems can also be applied to our profession. You may think that comparing alumni relations to organized religion is itself a leap of faith, but alumni relations can and should be a lifelong source of guidance and inspiration. Educational institutions' responsibilities go beyond the academic education of students, and likewise the purpose of alumni relations and its networks go beyond the institution. Alumni relations can be a powerful force for good in the community as well as for the institution and the alumni.
Not convinced? Let me show you how viewing alumni relations through the lens of a "new religion" can ground your work in a larger context.
Dedicated followers
Universities, especially in the U.S., produce dedicated alumni who regularly return to campus or gather for events in their region. Whether by watching every football game or frequently connecting with a professor, alumni express passion for their institution in many ways. Unlike most devotees of a religion, alumni are not born into the community, so alumni relations needs to support alumni interest in the institution and keep it relevant over a lifetime. Homecoming events, reunions, new buildings and centers, and other special invitations to come back to campus serve as reminders of the glorious student days many alumni want to recall.
Yes, dedicated adherents (and some less dedicated) are also the source of financial support for the institution. Religious institutions are expert in raising funds for self-perpetuation, physical structures, education, and aid for those in need. Universities require funds for many of the same purposes—and therefore must cultivate the same passion to generate comparable support. Alumni can be inspired to give by interacting with professors and students, through a desire to further science or develop a better understanding of human nature. The institution should provide opportunities for alumni to interact and be proud of their alma mater and assure them that it continues to provide the best education possible to the next generations.
Explain, educate, enlighten
What do universities do best? Provide spaces for thought and teaching. It is no coincidence that early educational institutions were part of a religious organization: Religious leaders answered questions and explained natural phenomena—and still do.
Now academic institutions conduct extensive research in a wide variety of fields. Certainly when we are students, we expect our university or high school to answer questions of science and literature. It is no less true when we are alumni.
Our alumni seek value in their interactions with their alma mater, and providing lifelong learning opportunities should be one of our top priorities. This can happen in many ways—through individual faculty lectures or daylong programs such as Stanford Connects or the Yale Redpath Seminar. Universities provide mini courses, like Yale does through its Alumni College, which offers lifelong learning opportunities on campus and in select cities across the country. Students in Yale's Alumni College program also enjoy educational excursions, such as a tour of New York City's Grand Central Station and a reception at Storm King Art Center in New York's Hudson Valley.
Universities also allow alumni to audit classes, sign up for MOOCs, attend career panels, and register for educational travel. Yale for Life offers a one-week seminar for 20 alumni who want to deeply understand a topic, such as the Renaissance or the evolution of global strategies. Alumni organizations can also offer leadership training for their volunteers, an increasingly popular form of lifelong education.
Community building
Churches, synagogues, temples, and mosques have been community centers for thousands of years. Religious
institutions perpetuate their value system through regular services and engagement. Educational institutions exist to convey values as well as knowledge to the next generation. Similarly, alumni relations is ultimately about the community. Alumni absorb the values of the institutions they attend. Every interaction they have is a chance to share the mission of the institution—and alumni behavior in the community reflects their alma mater. Many institutions consider alumni to be their ambassadors, a designation that suggests the value of this role and strengthens the alumni network. For example, the Netherlands' University of Groningen has a robust international alumni ambassador program that highlights graduates on its website and encourages prospective and current students as well as other alumni to contact them. Even something as simple as offering up those connections goes a long way to showing the importance of alumni opinion.
Alumni affinity or shared interest groups have also become popular. In the same way that religious institutions have encouraged men's clubs, Women's Auxiliary, Bible study groups, and support groups, universities have found success bringing together alumni in ways beyond their class year and home location. At Yale, our graduates have formed affinities such as YaleWomen, Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance, Yale in Hollywood, and the Yale Black Alumni Association. Other institutions are finding success in attracting otherwise disengaged alumni through affinity groups—some popular groups include gatherings of the University of Tokyo alumni at Toyota and First Generation Harvard Alumni.
Affinity groups can benefit current students as well as alumni. Career fairs, mentoring programs, and internships provided by the alumni network are an invaluable student resource that result from a strong, supportive community. For example, the Yale Alumni Nonprofit Alliance internships connect students to organizations of interest. An internal department lacks the breadth and depth of experience or connections of the alumni network in providing the broadest range of opportunities to students.
Service with style
Universities, just as religious institutions have long done, support the community in which they are based. If "charity begins at home," institutions must instill that value in students. Alumni have many ways they can give back and participate in community service. Opportunities include conducting applicant interviews and speaking at college nights. From the institutional perspective, Yale supports New Haven Promise and promotes an annual United Way campaign. Students work with local schools and nonprofits, run blood drives, and provide housing assistance for faculty and staff.
Many universities now have a global day or week or month of service. Yale's Day of Service, which has become a beloved tradition at the university, is an opportunity for alumni to make a difference in their own community all over the globe. With more than 3,500 participants each year, the event—with projects ranging from working in a soup kitchen to providing a day of tutoring or college mentoring—offers our graduates, especially young alumni, a chance to exercise the values the university instilled in them, stay connected to the institution, and positively contribute to their local community.
An extension of our Day of Service is the Yale Alumni Service Corps. Religious institutions traditionally take mission trips. The Alumni Service Corps provides educational programming, health education support, light construction work, and business consulting—the educational institution equivalent of a mission trip.
Finally, we also hold the responsibility to mentor the next generation. Universities and schools are doing more to connect alumni and students for mentoring and career opportunities. Career services departments are reaching out more directly to alumni who can provide internships and guidance. Yale offers Careers, Life and Yale, which brings alumni to campus several times each year for full days of programming on everything from interviewing to resume writing to opportunities in nontraditional careers.
Alumni relations for the masses
So how should alumni relations adapt and develop in consideration of this framework? Alumni relations' potential power for good can inspire professionals as well as graduates. The more alumni do through their connection with the university, the more they will realize the benefit to themselves and to the community.
Over time, as alumni relations takes on programs that help graduates connect, possibilities for more giving, volunteering, and engagement will develop. The university has a responsibility to its alumni to make the relationship one that is mutually beneficial for a lifetime. Alumni relations has the power to bind individuals, the institution, and society, as religions have done for so many centuries. To that, we can all say, Amen.