Worldwide Alumni Association of the American University of Beirut

1
Worldwide Alumni Association of the American
University of Beirut
The Road Forward Eustace D. Theodore
Daniel N. White eAdvancement
2
Point of Origin

• A Look in the Rear View Mirror

3
View in 2005 1 Enormous Potential
4
View in 2005 2 Overcoming the
Challenges that Limit Success

• Need for strong partnership between University
  and Alumni Association and appropriately defined
  roles for key partners
• Alumni volunteers
• Faculty and staff, (eg Admission, Athletics,
  Communications, Development)
• senior leadership
• students
• Need to build much broader base of alumni
  participation and support
• Need to move to next level of efficiency and
  effectiveness within Alumni Association
• Creation by AUB of task force to improve
  structure for worldwide collaboration among
  partners

5
The Task Forces Recommendations

• AUB shall create a worldwide AUB Alumni
  Association with volunteers integrated throughout
  
• AUB in partnership with Alumni Association to
  provide full array of programs and services for
  alumni, dramatically increasing the number of
  alumni involved with the University.

6
How Far Along the Road is AUB Alumni Relations
TodayYour Views?

• Hopes and expectations
• Progress
• Challenges and frustrations
• Assessing the partnership role of volunteers vis
  a vis staff
• New and different opportunities

7
Our Views Today

• Progress Yes
• Continuing challenges and opportunities Yes
• Questions you should ask

8
The Questions are

• How should AUB and the WAAAB define success?
• Five years from now, how will you know if you
  have been more or less successful?

9
Finding the Answers

• Reviewing the
• Necessary Steps for
• Success

10
AUBs Four Critical Endowments

• AUBs Financial Endowment
• AUBs CFO and other financial advisors
• AUBs Physical Endowment
• Campus architects, construction specialists and
  the like
• AUBs Intellectual Endowment
• Provosts, deans and academic leaders
• AUBs Alumni Endowment
• Alumni leaders, especially the leaders of the
  WAAAUB

11
Advancement Key Components

• A profession with three core disciplines which
  must be integrated to optimize success
• Alumni Relations
• Marketing/Communications
• Fundraising

12
The Mission

• What Connecting alumni and friends of the
  University in meaningful ways to the campus
• How Through positive experiences and effective
  communications that build and develop lasting
  relationships
• Why In order to provide multi-faceted support
  that helps sustain the University

13
The Core Principles of Alumni Relations

• Organizing for Success

14
Positioning the Alumni Association 1

• The purpose of an Alumni Association is to serve
  the University by engaging all alumni in the life
  of the institution
• A successful, broad-based alumni relations
  program is built on a partnership between
  University and Alumni Association leadership
• The University staff serves as the managing
  partner, responsible for the execution of policy
  set by Association leaders

15
Positioning the Alumni Association 2

• Alumni Association volunteer leaders serve as
  advisors to the partnership, engaged and involved
  in all key decisions and programs.
• The Alumni Director is a University employee,
  working to implement the goals of the
  partnership.
• The Alumni Director is the nexus of the
  partnership between the University and the
  Association

16
Positioning the Alumni Association 3

• Successful alumni relations requires a strong
  shared vision, and strong association led by
  talented and dedicated alumni leaders.
• To be successful, the correct structure must
• be employed to facilitate volunteer involvement
  by making it as easy as possible to get involved
  and by promoting continuous flow through
  (turnover) to ensure fresh talent and opportunity
  for others.

17
The Alumni Association as Organization

• Layers of volunteers structured from the bottom
  of the organization to the top, rather than the
  top down, is the correct structure for meeting
  these goals.
• The organization must have a broad base comprised
  of alumni individually, and in groups involved in
  the institution.
• The broader the base, the more successful the
  organization.

18
Structure of a Typical Alumni Association

• - Board
• - Council
• - Committees
• - Chapters
• - Individual Volunteers

19
The Road Forward

• A Discussion of Options

20
Organizational Next Steps

• Develop the potential of the Alumni Association
  Council, i.e. increase its impact
• Vision
• Role
• Develop to next level the potential of chapter
  organizations to optimize their effect on alumni,
  and to contribute to the Council and AUB
• Others?

21
Nine Elements of Commitment for All Alumni
Leaders

• Embrace and promulgate the mission of the
  University and its Alumni Association
• Understand how work of each individual
  organization furthers the Alumni Association and
  the University
• Support steps to achieve alumni associations
  success
• Understand the principles of alumni relations
• Attend all related meetings on time
• Help to identify and recruit fellow alumni
  leaders for various positions
• Accept any assignment in the volunteer
  organization
• Be an active volunteer providing multi-faceted
  support
• Commit to continuing work throughout your tenure

22
The Core Unit of Alumni Organization at AUB

• Some Typical Chapter Types
• Regions
• Interest Groups
• What Each Chapter Does for WAAAUB and the
  University

23
ConclusionIn Which Nothing is Concluded

• Progress Yes
• Continuing challenges - Yes
• Opportunities Yes