Alumni relations annual report

In June, the alumni relations office completed another productive year fostering relationships between alumni and their alma mater. Our vision and mission statements are below.

Vision statement:
CMU will be a nationally prominent university known for integrity, academic excellence, research and creative activity, and public service.

Mission statement:
The Development and Alumni Relations Division cultivates a strong tradition of involvement and commitment among alumni, students, and friends that translates into lifelong relationships and private support to advance CMU and the achievement of its mission to provide a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs and services.

Sustaining lifelong relationships between alumni and CMU is our motto. Through the support of the CMU Alumni Association Board of Directors, we have achieved another successful year involving alumni across the nation. We thank each of you for your involvement, and “involvement” is what our motto is all about. It is critical to the life of the university.

Thousands of alumni and friends, including our board of directors, chapter and club leaders, university staff, faculty, and students contributed to our success.

Our alumni board of directors, led by President Tom Lapka, composed of alumni representing all of our academic colleges, brings diversity in its membership. The newest member to the board is Paul DeRoche. Retiring members this year were Doug Brown and Ed Schroll. We thank them for their service, which has helped us build for the future. See the complete list of board members on Page 18.


Summary of accomplishments for 2006-2007

Alumni relations hosted 93 events nationwide, including events on campus. Attendance for the year was up 31.1 percent from 12,257 to 16,072. The increased attendance was helped greatly by the large turnout for our pregame receptions for the MAC Football Championship and the Motor City Bowl. Victories make for happy Chippewa fans, and the events were overflowing with Chippewa pride. The charts below show the growth from 2000 to 2007.
• Publication of Centralight four issues per year to approximately 29,000 per mailing. We improved Centralight’s online presence.
• Publication of Maroon & Gold Review four issues per year to approximately 90,000 per mailing.
• More than 55,000 alumni received the @CMU e-newsletter every six weeks.

CMU inCircle
CMU inCircle is a social networking site available exclusively for CMU alumni. Through CMU inCircle you can connect with old classmates, search for a job, create your own interest group, or join one of the nearly 400 other existing groups.
• Launched in January 2006.
• More than 6,000 registered users a 40 percent increase over last year.
• Nearly 400 active groups.
• More than 100 new users each week.

CMUALUM
CMU Alumni Association’s online community is www.cmualum.com. The online community offers a wide array of free services including career tools, travel opportunities, chapter and club information, event registration, and an events calendar, to name a few.
• Launched in June 2002
• 8,000 registered users, a 25 percent increase over last year

Events and awards
• Forty-six of the 52 chapters and clubs held events.
• More than 3,000 alumni visited the Alumni Village located at Rose Ponds during homecoming.
• Three successful golf outings – the Grand Traverse, Grand Rapids, and Tri-cities events – provided $14,000 in scholarships for students.
• Seven extraordinary alumni were recognized in June 2007 by the CMU Alumni Association at the Alumni Awards Banquet in the categories of alumni recognition, honorary alumni, alumni commitment, distinguished alumni, and young alumni.

Student Alumni Association
Over the past couple of years the Student Alumni Association has been undergoing a restructuring process. During 2006-07, membership in the chapter grew dramatically. The number of executive board members and general membership doubled. The students who serve on the executive board are very active and focused on success, assisting at events, interacting with alumni in the president’s suite at home football games, and working on the Make Your Mark Campaign for graduating seniors. The SAA hosted campuswide events such as Senior Send-Off, recruitment gatherings, and the Fire Up Fest to boost awareness of the group and promote school spirit. During the past year the students secured enough funds to change all street signs on campus from the traditional green and white to maroon and gold through the Street Sign Campaign.

You may wonder why we put so much importance on engaging our students and growing awareness of the chapter. Students who get connected stay connected and retain those lifelong relationships.

Gold Membership
The CMU Alumni Association is not a dues paying association. But an effort to help support the activities of the association and reach out to our alumni, the Gold Membership program was established a few years ago. The $35 annual membership fee helps support homecoming weekends, alumni activities throughout the U.S., and the Student Alumni Association.

Some of the benefits of belonging to the membership include reduced prices on hotels, travel, apparel, entertainment, and more. Think of it this way: the discounts and savings you will receive as a Gold Member will more than cover your $35 annual membership.

The Gold Membership program goal for 2006-07 was two-fold: 2,007 members by 2007 and a 68 percent increase in membership by June 2007. We exceeded 2,007 by January 1, 2007, and currently there are 2,559 Gold Members, a 91.5 percent increase exceeding the second goal. We thank all who renewed their memberships and those who are new members. With your help, we are confident we will reach our goal in 2010 of 5,000 members. The chart below illustrates membership based on college affiliation.

CMU license plates
A significant number of alumni demonstrated their CMU pride with CMU license plates. We have a goal to pass WMU in license plate sales. The CMU license plate is a great way to show your CMU spirit. Help CMU take this friendly rivalry of sports between CMU and Western Michigan University to the Michigan roadways.

As of June 30, supporters purchased 7,482 plates – a 10 percent increase – which is still roughly 1,000 plates behind Western Michigan University. Is your competitive spirit going to let this stand? We didn’t think so! Help CMU pass its longtime rival on the Michigan roadways!

This report doesn’t list all the accomplishments for the year, but highlights some that had the greatest impact on the year. To our many alumni and friends, your engagement with your alma mater is truly appreciated and your connection greatly respected