by Monika Sziron, Ph.D.
Ink Drop/Shutterstock
Increasing engagement is a pressing issue in today’s higher education landscape. In episode 41 of the HigherEdJobs Podcast, Ayanna McConnell president and CEO of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan shares what she has learned about engaging alumni over a 20+ year career.
“…it’s important to hear directly from the people that you’re serving. As a Gen Xer, me sitting in the room and assuming that I know what is on the mind of an alum, you know, in the last decade is not a good idea,” says McConnell.
Don’t Assume You Know What Alumni Want
“We just finished a survey this year, we interviewed alum to help us redefine our membership program. And 44 percent of the people who responded were young alum who graduated within the last seven years. Going into it, we had some assumptions. And it’s fantastic when someone can myth bust and set you on the right course.”
“So, for example, we think that SMS is the way to go, that’s going to be a space for the future in terms of communication. And our younger alum said, ‘yes, please email me. I don’t want the SMS texting. I actually want to hear from you via email.’ Even as they complain that they get too many emails, that’s still where they expect to see us show up,” shares McConnell.
Using Technology for Accessibility
McConnell reflects, “…one of the pandemic silver linings we discovered was a value in virtual programming. It has been really cool to see our clubs take on virtual programming so that people can access almost on demand or asynchronous engagement with the alumni association. Our career webinars have really taken off as well. Just yesterday there was a webinar with about 450 alumni.”
Listen in to hear more from McConnell and how engaging alumni has changed and remained inspiring over the years.
Send us your thoughts and ideas for future episodes via email at podcast@higheredjobs.com.
