Alumless

On this episode of Alumless, we're featuring special guest Lyndsey Crum, Assistant Vice President for Alumni & Community Relations at the University of Northern Colorado. We discuss with Lyndsey how she's remained focused on strengthening key relationships with campus partners in the colleges, schools, and units. We'll also discuss with Lyndsey some of the changes her team has gone through int...

On this episode of Alumless, Chris and Ryan chat with Rob Shoss, President and Managing Consultant at PEG Ltd. and the Alumni Attitude Study. We discuss with Rob the idea of value perception and some of the unique findings he's observed conducting alumni surveys over the last twenty years. We also discuss what it takes to execute a great alumni survey project, and how important it is to involve ev...

On this episode of Alum-Less, we're featuring special guest Annie Quade, Associate Vice President, Advancement, at the University of Texas at El Paso. Annie's team at UTEP is working on merging alumni and donor engagement strategies, which include advancement marketing and annual giving. In addition, Annie leads talent and recruitment for the Institutional Advancement division. We discuss with Ann...

We've got a special edition of Alum-less this week! We're featuring special guest Max Leisten, Founder and CEO of Protopia. On the show, we'll have a wide-ranging conversation with Max about AI's impact on advancement. Max and his team at Protopia have been helping universities use machine learning to stimulate and scale engagement. We'll discuss with Max the challenges universities are having ado...

On this episode of Alum-Less, Chris and Ryan catch up with Brandon Buzbee, Vice President for Advancement at the University of North Texas. In his role at UNT for a year, Brandon previously led the Global Networks unit at the University of Denver, which included career services as part of advancement. We discuss with Brandon the challenges of working for two completely different institutions and h...

Join us for our first Alum-Less post-CASE Summit in NYC. This week, we feature Temi Akin-Aina, Associate Vice President, Alumni Relations at Western University in London, Ontario. Temi is our first guest from Canada and rising star in the higher ed engagement space. We're excited to discuss with Temi some of the challenges facing advancement teams that might differ slightly in Canada versus the U....

Hey Alum-Less listeners, we've got a great show this week. Join Chris and me for a chat with Erica Arroyo, Associate Vice President for Engagement at the University of Miami. We'll chat with Erica about her team's fully integrated approach to philanthropy-focused engagement. All advancement teams need help with the degree to which alumni engagement strategies should be designed and resourced to pl...

On this week's episode of Alum-Less, we chat with Christine Fairchild, Direct of Alumni Relations at the University of Oxford. We'll discuss some of the challenges and opportunities that come with leading a centralized alumni team within Oxford's college system. Also, last week Christine announced that she's departing Oxford after twelve years. Chris and I will ask Christine to reflect on her tenu...

In this edition of Alum-Less, we explore where the conversation is today regarding diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in educational advancement. Our special guest this week is an expert on the topic. Join us for a conversation with Dr. Angelique Grant - Senior Consultant + Principal at The Inclusion Firm. We explore with Angelique what some advancement teams out there are doing to build...

Hey listeners! We have a great show for you with special guest Thomas McArthur, Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving, at the University of Buffalo. We chat with Thomas about the challenges of ushering in a new framework for alumni engagement at a large, complex, state university like UB. On the show we also discuss with Thomas what it's been like working to create a c...

We've got an excellent show for Alum-Less listeners this week! Chris and Ryan explore all things annual giving with special guest, Adam Compton, Executive Director of Annual Giving at NC State University. They discuss annual giving trends with Adam and review the recent and successful NC State Day of Giving. On the show, listeners will hear a discussion on how universities should consider increasi...

For our one year anniversary episode, we have a unique and exciting guest on Alum-Less! This week we're featuring Caryn Davies, three-time medal winner (two golds and a silver) on the U.S. Rowing team, and current President of the U.S. Olympians and Paralympians Association. On the show this week, we discuss with Caryn Davies the challenges of leading the USOPA, and what it means to be an alum in...

Hey, Alum-Less fans! This week, we've got a great episode featuring special guest Dan Olds, Vice President for Alumni Relations and Information Systems at Bowdoin College. Our focus this week is on volunteer pipeline development. We'll discuss everything from managing and motivating alumni boards to micro-volunteer strategies.  Dan and Chris also share how the strategic planning project they’...

A new episode of Alum-Less is here featuring our first overseas guest. Join Chris Marshall and me for a conversation with Chris Kendrick, Deputy Director of Alumni and Supporter Engagement at the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). We discuss the changing landscape for engagement and what that means for building strong international alumni networks. We’ll also hear from Chris K...

This episode of Alum-Less features special guest Dori Sonntag, Associate Vice President for Organizational Effectiveness in University Advancement from Gonzaga University. With the NCAA College Basketball Tournament almost upon us, we explore alumni engagement around athletics. The men's and women's basketball program at Gonzaga are both perennial favorites to make the tournament. We'll discuss wi...

Our special guest on Alum-Less this week is Todd McCubbin, Executive Director of the Mizzou Alumni Association. Hear our conversation on the evolution of engagement programs. Chris and I discuss with Todd how leaders should be thinking about the digital vs. in-person components of alumni engagement strategies and the challenges that exist when considering pathways for activating more alumni. We di...

This week on Alum-Less Ryan we got into the weeds with a legend in the alumni biz. Checkout our conversation with special guest, Howard Wolf, Vice President for Alumni Affairs at Stanford University, on the purpose of alumni engagement. We discussed with Howard how he thinks about engaging alumni at Stanford, and why their approach might be different or contrasting to the views of leaders at other...

In this episode of Alum-Less, we chat with special guest Patrick Auerbach, Associate Senior Vice President for Alumni Relations at the University of Southern California. Although our conversation was be wide-ranging, we discussed with Patrick the challenges of developing a more inclusive, accessible approach to engaging alumni, including reimagining regional engagement. We'll also discussed the pl...

Happy 2023 Alum-Less Listeners! We are back this week with special guest Sue Cunningham, President & CEO of CASE. We're psyched to start the New Year with a bang and a convo with a true global leader in advancement. We explore with Sue many of the themes from her new book, "Global Exchange: Dialogues to Advance Education." In particular, we'll focus our conversation on how alumni engagement is...

On this edition of Alum-Less, Ryan and Chris connect with Tricia Riveire Stumpf, CEO of the Indiana University Alumni Association. Tricia shares how her team at the IUAA have worked to strengthen their connectivity with the Indiana University Foundation to create a more integrated advancement model over the last year. In particular, the IUAA and IUF have worked to bring together marketing resource...

On this episode of Alum-Less, Chris and Ryan chat with Matthew Lambert, Vice President for University Advancement, about William & Mary's recent decision to realign career services underneath advancement. They discuss with Matthew how this alignment reflects a crucial element to increasing alumni participation in the future. Listen and hear from Matthew on how William & Mary developed thei...

This week's Alum-Less - Episode 13 is all about goal setting. Chris and Ryan chat with Duane Wiles, Chief Alumni Officer at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. On the episode, Duane shares his approach to goal setting for across their engagement programs and initiatives. In addition, Duane shares more about the new UT Strategic Vision for the whole UT System and what it means for alumni engage...

On this episode of Alum-Less, Chris and Ryan chat with Julie Sina, Associate Vice Chancellor for Alumni Affairs at UCLA. They discuss the new strategic plan for campus-wide alumni engagement at UCLA, and how it's built around a life stage model. During the podcast, Julie, Chris and Ryan also dive into the process of launching a new strategic plan and ensuring stakeholders from around campus are pa...

In this edition of Alum-Less, Chris and Ryan explore strategies for working with alumni volunteers with Teresa Trombetta, Assistant Vice President for Alumni and Constituent Engagement at Carnegie Mellon University. Specifically, we discuss the challenges of working with alumni boards within an integrated advancement model.  On the show, we explore how CMU is thinking about building its regio...

On this episode of Alum-Less, Chris and Ryan discuss campaign readiness with Bonnie Devlin and Karin George, co-owners and Managing Principals of Washburn & McGoldrick LLC, and how engagement should be factored into the plans and goals.  During the show, the group explores explores what it means to be prepared for a fundraising campaign at an educational institution, and what are the dyna...