Issue link: http://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/124472
while they're still students. "We have an alumni orientation before they graduate," says Lizann Rode, executive director of alumni relations. "We have a power dinner series, where high-profile alumni come back and have dinner with small groups of current students. We invite them into the alumni LinkedIn group the January before they graduate, and we give them the tutorial on Wharton Connect, which is our mobile alumni app. We start to create connections for them with alumni before they leave, so they see our office as a source of support." The school also reaches young alums through happy hours billed as "Pub Outside of Philadelphia," modeled after the Wharton Pub experience generally held Friday nights on campus. "A member of my team who's focused on young alumni travels to cities like New York and San Francisco to hold these pub events for first-year alumni," Rode explains. Provide lifelong learning. These days it's common for business schools to offer their alumni ongoing educational opportunities. For instance, Tuck puts on a lecture series around the country where alumni can come for no charge. Saint Joseph's provides traditional in-person educational events, such as roundtables, panels, and industry-focused sessions; it's currently exploring options for nontraditional online education on topics like photography or buying a house. The school is also looking into offering continuing education credits through campus events or online programs, to give alums another incentive for staying connected. Still other schools have made bolder investments in lifelong learning, allowing alumni to take MBA Five Ways to Say 'I Love You' If your school wants alumni to know how much you care about them, keep five pieces of advice in mind: 1 2 3 4 5 Design events that are truly special. "Offer a variety of activities that will give alumni reasons to stay involved at many stages of their lives," says Tom Monaghan of Saint Joseph's. "Work with campus leaders to create offerings that will appeal to alumni. If you don't give value, you ultimately will be irrelevant." Don't overprogram. "Sometimes we worry too much about who will be speaking at an event and what kind of message we want to convey," says Monaghan. "But often, people don't want that. They want to come together with each other, and they want us to provide the space where they can do that." Include alumni in the planning process. "Ask them what they want," advises Lizann Rode of the Wharton School. "That's what we did. They're very clear on what they need." Be specific about your expectations. "You only have students on campus for a short period of time, so you've got to be explicit about the kind of participation you want from them later," says Tuck's Paul Danos. "But you've got to earn it. You can't say, 'I want you to give, but don't bother me right now.'" But make it clear the relationship isn't just about money. Wharton made that very plain less than a year ago, when Rode took the job as executive director of alumni relations. At that time, the position had just been restructured and now is completely divorced from fundraising. "What we're saying is, I'm about alumni engagement. There's no wait for the hidden ask," she says. "Our commitment to alumni is authentic. I spend about 30 percent of my time on the road meeting with them, and I'm very serious about saying, 'How can we serve you?'" BizEd May/June 2013 35