Admin 101: What to Know About Alumni Relations

By David D. Perlmutter 

Alumni relations is the misunderstood sibling of fund raising. The two have much in common — interacting with people who are no longer studying and working at your campus — and one can lead to the other. But they are different. Good alumni relations has many nonfinancial benefits, and if it becomes “all about the money,” you risk alienating both regular alumni and major donors.

Administrative work can be partitioned in many ways — one of which is to distinguish between internal versus external tasks. If, for example, you chair a chemistry department, you may spend most of your time on internal functions, reacting to the needs of chemistry majors, professors, and staff members. Externally, you may talk with alumni at commencement or when they come back to guest lecture in a class. Occasionally you will meet with a graduate to “seal the deal” on a potential donation.

If you’re a dean, on the other hand, you very likely have significant and constant outside concerns — fund raising, alumni relations, industry engagement. The balance can depend on the campus and the situation. In my previous position, when I became director of a school within an arts-and-sciences college, only about 20 percent of my job was externally directed. Now, as a dean, the external work can take up to 40 percent of my time.

This month, the Admin 101 series on higher-education leadership turns to alumni relations, including how it differs from development. (I tackled the latter in a previous series of columns, “Don’t Fear Fund Raising.“) Good alumni relations will not only benefit your department, school, college, or university, but also make you a better leader. Read more here…