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James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Winter 2009 - Index

{alumni association}
Make the Madison Experience last a lifetime
Alumni board drafts plan to reconnect alumni By Martha Bell Graham
Once a Duke, always a Duke. that just about
sums up the sentiment of JMU’s Alumni Association
Board of Directors that met on campus
in June to review its newly minted Strategic
Plan. the alumni association mission is simple:
make the Madison experience last a lifetime.
How to do that was the challenge for the alumni board members.
Over the past year, the
board has developed a plan
to address the lifelong Madison
experience. the project
was spearheaded by elaine
toth Hinsdale (’85), who
served on the alumni board
for seven years.
Current board president Jon
Offley (’89), an attorney with
the public housing authority in
Baltimore, says, “it’s important
that we develop connections
… to create an atmosphere of
unity bringing alumni back to
the university.”
the Strategic Plan will
guide the alumni association
for the next two years
in increasing the number of
alumni who are involved and
the depth of their involvement
in JMU, according to
Scott thornhill, chair of the
Alumni Strategic Planning Committee. “Over the next 20 years,
the number of alumni will double. the more alumni involved, the
stronger our school becomes,” he says.
JMU has a unique opportunity to involve thousands of alumni.
“During JMU’s pivotal centennial year, we are lucky to have some
90 percent of the university’s alumni living,” says Ashley Privott,
executive director of the JMU Alumni Association. “it puts JMU
in an enviable position to
‘... the school has
changed so much.
The challenge is to
tap the interests
and talents of an
enormously diverse
alumni pool and to
connect them back
to the university.’
— Meda Lane (’71),
alumni association board
photograph by angel elza (’10)
build a stronger alumni
base,” she adds. “this was
the perfect time to lay out a
strategic plan.”
the 20-member alumni
board identified five strategic
goals. the first is to
physically and virtually
enhance every alumnus’
experience when he or she
returns to campus. “Leeolou
Alumni Center,” Privott
says, “is the first stop for
alumni who visit campus.
we want them to feel welcomed back, to have a place on campus
— not unlike a dorm room or favorite spot — to call their own.”
in addition to the Leeolou Alumni Center, the board has
established a virtual welcome center at www.jmu.edu/alumni.
this regularly updated web site is a convenient way for alumni
to stay informed about their alma mater and to learn about
upcoming alumni events and programs.
the strategic plan’s second
goal is to enhance communications
with Madison’s
95,000-plus alumni. “that
means staying in touch with
all our alumni,” says Jessica
Lumsden (’04), assistant
director of alumni relations.
“there’s a lot we offer alumni
— programs, services, opportunities
— that we want them
to know about.”
Lumsden, who joined the
alumni staff in 2007, developed
and implemented the
new web site. “Getting information
to alumni is a big part
of our job. it gives them an
easy way to stay engaged and
informed,” she says.
the web site provides
information about what’s
happening on campus,
announcements about alumni
events and involvement opportunities across the country.
Goal three is the spider-web goal — to connect and develop
relationships among alumni, current groups such as the Duke
Club and all JMU constituencies that affect alumni. “For
alumni with children interested in JMU, for instance, that
could be the admissions office,” Privott says. For others, it may
include academic links to ongoing education. “Ultimately the
goal is to make the Madison experience an ongoing relationship
that transitions seamlessly from student days into life.”
Board member Meda Lane (’71), who lives in richmond, says,
“the school has changed so much. the challenge,” she adds, “is
to tap the interests and talents of an enormously diverse alumni
pool and to connect them back to the university.”
the strategic plan’s fourth goal is perhaps the most exciting
for alumni — and the most challenging for the alumni staff. it
is creating contact points where alumni can be in touch with
one another. Many areas of the country already have active
alumni groups, and the numbers are growing. Still, according
to Privott, there are many avenues alumni can become involved
in, and she would love to hear from alumni.
enhancing the “grassroots organizations” associated with JMU is
an important role in supporting the lifelong Madison experience.
JMU Alumni Association Board president Jon Offley (‘89) tells Homecoming
participants, “It’s important that we develop connections ... to
create an atmosphere of unity bringing alumni back to JMU.”
winter 2009
AlumniNews
57