Q&A
Keeping Alumni Connected
Alumni have affiliations with the University that go
beyond class years or academic programs, says Rochester’s new
executive director of alumni relations, and he hopes to explore
ways to strengthen those ties.
As this fall’s season of alumni celebrations
kicks into high gear, the University organization that oversees
alumni programming and services has a new director.
Kevin Wesley joined the University this spring as
executive director of alumni relations, a role designed to be
broader than previous incarnations for the University. He most
recently was assistant vice president for university advancement
and deputy director of alumni relations at Carnegie Mellon
University.
ALUMNI RESOURCE: “Alumni are
an important resource for any great university,” says Kevin
Wesley, Rochester’s new executive director of alumni
relations.
Most visibly, he and his staff coordinate and carry out
the planning for Meliora Weekend each fall, but they also are
working with a wide array of offices and individuals at the
University to develop alumni relations programs to better serve
Rochester’s roughly 90,000 alumni across the country.
Wesley, a graduate of Bowdoin College who served as
editor of the student newspaper there, has more than nine years of
experience in both public affairs and alumni relations at Bowdoin
and Carnegie Mellon. He talked with Scott Hauser.
How is your role different from that of
previous alumni relations leaders?
I’ve been offered an extraordinary opportunity to
rethink how alumni relations is carried out at the University. When
Senior Vice President and Chief Advancement Officer Jim Thompson
asked me to take this job, he charged me with taking alumni
relations in some new directions. For one, we are going to think
about how to best serve the entire alumni population across all of
the University’s schools and programs.
We are also planning to provide services and programs
not only in traditional segments such as by class year or by
geography, but also based on where people are in their lives. For
example, we’d like to think more carefully about what we can
provide to alumni who are empty-nesters for the first time, or
about to retire, or want to buy their first home and start a
family, or are trying to navigate the complexities of applying to
college.
Can alumni expect changes?
In the coming months, we will be expanding a number of
our offerings, beginning with a broader array of regional
programming. In addition, we will create more opportunities for
alumni to become involved and stay connected, both with the
University and each other, through various online offerings and
through expanded networking events. As we tap into the resources
and expertise of the College, Medical Center, Eastman School, Simon
School, and Warner School, we will look for ways to provide alumni
with win-win experiences. They should be able to connect with the
campus community where they studied and the broader University
community.
Does Rochester present unique challenges
because of its decentralized nature?
I think the challenge lies in having such strong
school-based identities. Students and alumni identify themselves as
being an “Eastman” student or a
“Simon” alumna.
What I hope to accomplish, over time, is to create an
alumni relations program that helps people identify themselves as
being a part of the University of Rochester as well and begin
to appreciate the value of their affiliation with
the University.
Part of my responsibility is to make connections among
those components and share them with all alumni, whether in their
hometowns, online, or on campus for Meliora Weekend.
Speaking of Meliora Weekend, do you have new
plans for the celebration?
There’s a tagline for Meliora Weekend that really
resonates with me—Celebrating the Values of an Educated Life.
I don’t know of any other university or college that combines
so many varied events—Homecoming, Family Weekend, Reunion
Weekend—with a top-flight program of symposia and panel
discussions about some of the most important issues facing the
world.
The weekend will continue to grow. This year, Simon
School alumni will be holding an all-classes reunion, and we are
already in preliminary conversations about Meliora 2008, when the
Eastman School will hold its biennial Eastman Weekend for alumni.
We may not ever have singular themes for Meliora Weekend, but we
will start to have some interwoven threads that can touch on many
parts of Rochester.
In the future, I would like to involve even more
members of reunion classes, more faculty, and parents in our
programming as well.
What attracts you about working with
alumni?
I had a wonderful college experience myself and believe
that universities can play a transformative role in society. And
universities need to evolve, to respond to the inevitable changes
that occur in the world by preparing our students for the
challenges they will face as individuals, as colleagues, and as
leaders.
Part of my task is to help alumni remain connected to
their University, not just to fondly recall their time as students,
which is important, but also to understand how their alma mater has
evolved. Alumni are an important resource for any great
university.
Today’s students are here in no small part
because of the work of preceding generations of alumni whose
support and commitment made Rochester what it is. And when
today’s students become alumni, they will provide the support
and guidance that will help shape the University for future
generations. It’s a wonderful cycle.
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