Does the University work for the Alumni?

[Quala67]

Does a university work for the current students or the alumni? The answer is yes. Essentially, a university serves two 'masters,' the current student body, and the alumni base, which in most cases, outnumbers the student body. A university has to keep the alums happy, so that they'll give money back to the school. As you may well know, many grants are contingent upon the percentage of alumni and/or employees which donate back to the school, even if it's $1/year. Those grants in turn support programs for the student body.

Look at recent examples in my home state where the university president, who was popular with students, did something that pissed off the alumni. Now one has just installed a new president; the other is still functioning with an interim president. (the schools are the University of Richmond and the College of William & Mary)

It's a balancing act. Some schools do it better than others.