Alumni and Academic Departments Posted on October 9th, 2009 by Barb Larson Taylor

Recommendation from the Academic Programs and New Initiatives Task Force:

Enhance relationships with Gustavus alumni and students by establishing formal programs connecting alumni with academic departments and other College programs.

Additional explanation included:

Alumni are a valuable source of support for Gustavus students. Programs could take a variety of forms and could involve both academic and other departments or offices on campus, such as: 1) recruiting alumni employed in fields of endeavor related to that department to be listed in an up-to-date directory; 2) actively connecting students to alumni for career exploration, on-the-job visits, and internship opportunities; 3) having alumni actively connect with students to serve as mentors and role-models to foster responsible citizenship and leadership qualities for students; 4) bringing alumni and students together in online discussion groups; 5) offering department/career specific panel discussions; 6) utilizing alumni to develop community-based learning initiatives; 7) developing alumni housing for students away from campus on internships; 8) creating a database of career path stories of alumni to provide students with tangible information about selecting a major and career path.

This recommendation was placed in the Lifelong Engagement Strategic Framework Substantive Category using the language:

Substantially increase alumni engagement by reinventing the alumni class leadership structure, creating volunteer management of social networking sites, and establishing formal programs connecting alumni with academic departments and alumni-driven shared interest groups.

This recommendation was placed is Tier 1 and is being monitored by the Vice President for Institutional Advancement.