 | Summer 2006 |
Perspectives: Andrew Bethune, Director of Alumni Relations
 Andy congratulates one of 881 May 2006 graduates, SVSU's largest ever graduating class. |
A year has passed since our inaugural edition of the SVSU ALUMNI E-news. We hope you have found it informative, fun and worth the read. We hope on one end of the spectrum, it has brought back pleasant memories of your time here. On the other end, we hope it has amazed you to learn new things and to see the growth and change at your alma mater.
This year has been a great one for us, in terms of learning about our alumni and being better communicators about what the alumni association means. This year has also been one of many questions for us: how do we connect more with our alumni? ... what benefits and events can we offer that have value? ... how do we get more alumni back to campus? ... how do we get more support from our alumni and, how does our work support you, our SVSU alumni?
Here is what we’ve learned. For starters, we know that the only way we can truly develop a meaningful relationship is through better and regular communications and so we now have the Alumni E-news, “Reflections” magazine and email blasts. We know that reasons to gather and celebrate are important, and so we have increased our major events like Alumni Family Day, the Alumni Celebration and Homecoming. We’ve also learned that putting the personal touch on a relationship makes a huge difference, and so we have invited (and received) your updates about promotions, marriages, births and announcements. We now share your successes with your fellow alumni .... and it makes us all proud.
To do more, we need more: more interaction by your attendance at SVSU events and more feedback on what we’re doing (or not doing). Updating your alumni information by using the “staying in touch” form on our website lets us know you welcome our efforts to reach you.
Finally, one of the most significant responses we can receive from alumni to measure quality and interest is membership support. Alumni who join the SVSU Alumni Association indicate that they are satisfied with the programs and services we provide, and they want to stay in touch and be a part of a bigger effort, a stronger family. And, a vital membership affords us the opportunity to grow our Association and continue to improve how we connect with you. We hope you’ll join us.