Does the University work for the Alumni?

[Senusret I]

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Unfornatly you are correct, a lot of lip service is given and only when they want money.

But I wonder if this has to do with the organization you were refering to?

As a matter of fact, I contacted my Alumni College to try to figure out how the damn web site worked and Lacey was very helpful.

Have I given any money to them, HELL NO, I paid to go there and I give my time and money to my GLO!

They in turn give a lot of time to the school.

On your first sentence -- definitely. I believe that this particular alum serves on an ADVISORY board. (Now that I think about it, he has been inconsistent and has previously said that he was on a Board of Directors -- liar!) Anyway, I think that alumni advisory boards are usually there to create the illusion that alumni opinions are integral to the development of the mission and overall program of a school. And maybe in some cases, it's not an illusion. My school has an African American Alumni Advisory Board and in addition to one major fundraiser, they have committees to address certain things like academic disparities between Black students and non-Black students. So in some ways, the intellectual capital of alumni can be utilized alongside the monetary resources.

But all in all, I think alumni don't see that this is a courtesy to them as donors and not something the school must provide.

The organization I'm referring to is one of several on campus who are having the issue that I refer to. Let's just call it an issue that would generally be handled by a Student Affairs office -- access to a benefit.

I believe that alumni should stay out of the daily operations of a university particularly when it comes to student organization. I had my day in the sun, now it's someone else's turn. My role is to support them monetarily and with advice -- when, and only when, they ask for it.

I would not feel right allowing other alums to wage a letter-writing or phone-calling campaign if it is not what the students have asked for.

I also have to be realistic about which alumni the university would take seriously -- if we had a Rockefeller or Kennedy, it would only take one phone call, I'm sure.

Make sense?