At the UI Alumni Association Board of Directors meeting on Sept. 11, the Board endorsed the next step in the Year 1 transitional period of its Strategic Plan, which is to extend the mission of the Student Alumni Ambassadors program to have a more impactful student advocacy focus. That means the UI Alumni Association is now ready to open the discussions about what the future SAA may look like in light of this new realignment of mission.
To accomplish this, after seeking SAA volunteers, a Working Group composed of current SAA members and SA/SAA alumni, in conjunction with the Urbana Campus Alumni Advisory Board, has been formed to help determine the details of such a transition. For example, questions to be addressed include:
- Should there be one SAA group or two?
- Who does or should SAA report to?
- What activities will be sponsored through the UI Alumni Association?
- Who will "own" the SAA name?
- Which SAA leader will represent the program to the UI Alumni Association's Board of Directors?
In addition, the UI Alumni Association's draft proposal for what the advocacy activities of a student alumni group may do in the future will be discussed and vetted. The Board expects a formal plan by December 2015.
In an effort to keep these discussions open for input and transparent to all impacted, we will be posting formal minutes below. Please note that in addition to the Working Group, we will be hosting two additional meetings between SAA Leadership and the Alumni Association.
- Biweekly Checkpoint Meetings: Matt Wilson with Alex Smart and designated SAA Leaders.
- Steering Team Meetings: Andrea Ballinger with SAA Leadership.
Minutes
| Working Group | Checkpoint |
Steering Team |
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Background
For those not already familiar with the UI Alumni Association's Strategic Plan, the initial exercises yielded a series of recommendations for a future state where all the organization's resources would be aligned to focus on connecting, engaging and celebrating alumni. After carefully and broadly seeking input using surveys, online feedback and hundreds of meetings with stakeholders, the plan was validated as a high-level aspiration. A Tactical Plan was then drafted to bring that high-level aspiration to reality within three years. In that plan, the UI Alumni Association makes it clear that it expects the transitional plans (from current state to future state) to take a full year, starting in February 2015. (The plan was unanimously approved in January by the Board of Directors.)
From that point on, the UI Alumni Association continued to operate as it had in the past, including providing financial and operational support (office space, office supplies, website) to SAA activities. What has changed is that Matt Wilson (AVP for Alumni Community Development) was named as the SAA staff liaison, and the Urbana's Office of the Vice Chancellor for Institutional Advancement was included in preliminary discussions with current SAA President Alex Smart because many of the current SAA activities are campus-focused (Homecoming, iHelp, etc.) and, based on the goals of realigning the activities with the right offices, those activities may fall within the purview of campus leadership.
The UI Alumni Association values and is proud of the history it has had with the SA/SAA program, dating back to its humble start. Your input and feedback on this transition plan are welcomed and encouraged.
Thank you for your past, present and future dedication to student alumni programs.