Alumni Association Meeting Minutes

Southern Vermont College/St. Joseph College Alumni Association
Saturday, May 16, 2009
3:00 p.m.
Room 204 (moved outside because of nice weather)

In attendance: Dan Elliot ’98, Brian Griffin, Susan Noble ’95, Joe Papai ’91

Staff: Patrick Buckley, Director of Alumni Relations & Annual Giving; Katherine Monahan, Development Coordinator

Alumni Initiatives
Mr. Buckley gave the group an update on some of the recent alumni initiatives that the College has undertaken:

  • In April, eight alumni from the Classes of 1994-2008 played in what is believed to be the first-ever alumni soccer game.
  • For the second year, the College invited “golden alumni” (those who graduated 50 or more years ago) to participate in Commencement Exercises. Three alumnae from the Classes of 1946, 1952 and 1958 accepted this year.
  • Richard Gauthier ’91, Chief of Police in Bennington, was named the winner of this year’s Distinguished Alumni Award.
  • The Campus Store is now carrying a small line of alumni items, including t-shirts, golf shirts and mugs.
  • Mr. Buckley worked with the Success Center (formerly the ACTion program) and Career Development to revise the graduate survey to better assess how an SVC education prepares alumni for employment. They also updated the survey that will be sent to alumni 1 and 5 years after graduation.
  • Mr. Buckley is working with the SVC’s new Web site company to finish the transition of the alumni web pages to the College’s current design. He has asked the company for ways to improve the interactive parts of site, including the searchable directory and bulletin board.
  • Ms. Monahan continues to improve the alumni page on Facebook, which now has more than 250 fans. Alumni Relations also has a presence on Twitter.
  • Each graduate will receive a copy of “Life After School Explained,” which uses humor to help graduates learn the life skills that they will need as they enter the “real world”: dinner etiquette, managing money, taxes, insurance, etc. The books are a gift from the Alumni Association.
  • Following Commencement, Alumni Relations will send “alumni 101” packets to the Class of 2009, introducing ways that they can stay involved with the College. The packets will also include a personalized CD with any electronic files that the graduates stored on SVC servers.

Fundraising Update
Mr. Buckley gave the group an update on the College’s fundraising progress through April 30, 2009. This year, SVC has raised approximately $590,000 from 199 gifts. Of that amount, approximately $250,000 has been designated to the unrestricted annual fund. On the same date last year, SVC had received approximately $2.4 million from 180 gifts, including 2 gifts totaling $1.5 million for Hunter Hall. Of the total amount, approximately $200,000 was designated to the unrestricted annual fund.

Mr. Buckley pointed out that despite the challenging economy, more donors have contributed to the College than at this point last year. Many have responded to the creation of a Finish Line Fund to help students complete their education, which is one asset that is not losing value in this economy.

The number of alumni donors has also increased: 58 gifts from 50 donors compared to 41 gifts from 41 donors at same time last year. However, even with this improvement, the alumni giving rate still stands below 2%, so the group discussed ways to improve this number. It was suggested that SVC recruit alumni volunteers for a phone-a-thon and offer alumni a chance to help repair the terrace, where their name would be inscribed. This would give alumni an opportunity to point to something tangible and say they helped make that happen when they return to campus.

Chronicle Feedback
Mr. Buckley asked the group for feedback on The Chronicle. He asked…

  • Has it prompted you to update your address, visit the Web site, attend an event, submit information for the Class Notes section, contact a former professor or classmate, make a donation, share it with others?
  • What sections are the most enjoyable and/or relevant?
  • How effective is it in keeping you in touch with faculty, campus news, and college objectives, connected to other alumni?
  • What could be done to improve the magazine?
  • When do you read The Chronicle? Within a few days of receiving it, within 2-4 weeks, in bits and pieces over several weeks or months?
  • How long do you spend reading each issue?

The general consensus was that the Class Notes are the most enjoyable part of the magazine, followed by updates on campus news and events.

Future Events
Mr. Buckley said that Homecoming Weekend is scheduled for September 26-27, 2009. He also asked what other events alumni would be interested in seeing, and the group suggested bringing back Spree Day. They realize that there are limitations around the use of alcohol but suggested holding the event during the summer when students are not on campus and only inviting alumni. They recommended working with Carmody’s or another local restaurant to see if they would be willing to serve food and alcohol and polling alumni to see what months would be best for the event. Alumni Relations will do some research and see if it would be possible to hold the event again or not.

The alumni asked about planning events with former faculty members for whom many alumni have fond memories. The group also inquired about webcasting future meetings and using Evite to invite alumni to upcoming events.

Other Business
Mr. Buckley asked the alumni if they knew they were eligible to use the services offered by Career Development and if they had done so. The group was aware that was an option but had not taken advantage of those services. They said it was particularly difficult for alumni who do not live close to campus.

Next meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Saturday, September 26, 2009, during Homecoming Weekend. Time and location TBD.

If you are interested in serving on the Alumni Association Board, please contact Alumni Relations at 802-447-6357 or alumni@svc.edu.