Reforming the UCONN Alumni Association

[Da_Aisijimo_Gou]

The UCAA had parameters for establishing local chapters in the past, which involved demographics. They required a certain number of alumni in a metro region before they would devote any time and resources to establishing a chapter. There are probably many large cities in the U.S. that do not have a large enough local population of UCONN alumni to justify trying to start a chapter. I know for a fact that Tulsa and New Orleans are two such metro areas.

Some relevant comments for other locations UConnNick, but unfortunately none of the demographic references held water at the time. To be direct, the largest New England city located roughly 90 miles from Storrs more than adequately met any reasonable demographic parameter.

At the time and even more today, Boston absolutely had more than enough UCONN alumni for Storrs alumni association professionals to build upon. At the time referenced, a core group of reasonably successful alumni volunteers committed for a few years to help kick things off for the alumni association. Of those people, at least a few had prior quality exposure or successful experience assisting with groups in CT and others with their other undergrad or grad alma mater's alumni associations and chapters in the Beantown and other cities (I recall Michigan, IU, and UVA, read B1G and potential B1G). Additionally, access was provided to quality function rooms at offices of their reasonably respected employers (real estate, financial, legal, etc.), access obtained to professional game tickets and other events, etc. Above and beyond sufficient alumni in the area, the core volunteer commitment was more than adequate.

Sadly, the level and quality of alumni association commitment was inconsistent to lacking. For example, with plenty of advance volunteer planning, scheduled events and locations, etc., how challenging is it to expect an alumni association to distribute invitations minimally one month or more in advance? Since that time, things may have improved with the alumni association operations in Storrs and even within a group elected by absolutely miniscule numbers of alumni association members and voting alumni.

Surely, all major US metropolitan areas and likely London and a few other global cities must have sufficient alumni to meet reasonable demographic requirements in 2015. Clearly, Tulsa and New Orleans are not such metro areas nor should anyone expect successful, active alumni groups to be limited to an association's traditionally narrow focus on the Constitution State.

 

[J187Money]

A NO vote simply will simply instruct the board to revise their plan to ensure their endowment is used for its original purposes, e.g. scholarships, since the current plan does not do so.

Only took us 40 pages to get to clarity. Why was it so hard to just say this?

That's a reasonable point of view. If we want to protect the house and the money I think we are probably all in favor of that.

What was all the other rambling about?

 

[husky8273]

Only took us 40 pages to get to clarity. Why was it so hard to just say this?

That's a reasonable point of view. If we want to protect the house and the money I think we are probably all in favor of that.

What was all the other rambling about?

Because the Foundation (read Administration) refused such a proposal and insisted on the vague, ambiguous language which everyone can easily drive a truck through.

 

[Kolumbo]

I have been a life member since the late '80's and I can tell you that I have never once pulled out my membership card for anything. What timing - I actually just shredded my card a few months ago as I was cleaning out my wallet and getting rid of unneeded plastic. We all want to see UCONN flourish academically and athletically. UCONN is at a slight disadvantage in realignment due to its size, so I am hoping a singular focus by the foundation will help. Alumni and fans want to see a packed 50k Rent which as we all know is not near the Alumni House.

 

[J187Money]

Because the Foundation (read Administration) refused such a proposal and insisted on the vague, ambiguous language which everyone can easily drive a truck through.

Go back and read what Carl wrote ON THIS BOARD - that was written only in a way that made people think that a NO vote was going to try and reverse what has happened. Clearly the Foundation (read Administration) can't control what people say on the Boneyard.

My point being is that at least here (where at least we have free speech) - if you are going to convince someone to vote for something, it should at least be a sensible argument.

 

[J187Money]

I'm not talking about the language in the actual deal. Guess what - whoever has the upper hand in any legal negotiations always preserves optionality. If they didn't, they should be fired. The Administration did what anyone with a good lawyer would do.

Reality, however, is something different.

Two thoughts:

1) If, with all of the construction / future plans - it is determined that a different Alumni "house" sort of facility would be in the best interest of UCONN, they want to preserve that right. I'll be honest, the only time I've even been in it is when Laura Cahill wanted me to come to one of the BB pregame events so I could meet people as part of my run for BoD last year. I know that Alumni money was spent on it (including my own life membership $) but honestly if the "needs" of the AA are met, I don't really care about the actual house. I would imagine that 99% of the Alumni have never been in it or honestly care about it. As I mentioned before, if the Alumni care about this, and Newton cares about the Alumni wallet, whatever the donor base wants will be what happens.

2) If Newton et al are successful, and the endowment continues to rise towards $1B, what's the likelihood that "our" $6M gets co-opted for nefarious purposes? Or even if it does, that UCONN at large isn't better off?

Other than "well its ours and someone is trying to steal it" I'm still not really sure about the actual real-world implications.

 

[CL82]

Only took us 40 pages to get to clarity. Why was it so hard to just say this?

That's a reasonable point of view. If we want to protect the house and the money I think we are probably all in favor of that.

Unless the consensus is that the Foundation leadership would be better stewards that the former AA leadership.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

There are quite a few great posts on this thread about the future of the Alumni. One of the posts that caught my eye particularly was how the alumni group in any fashion will help UCONN move forward in terms of respect from other universities/conferences and hopefully land us in a big name conference. I don't know the answer to that other than to say the manner in which the UCONN Alumni Association was "taken down" does not reflect well on our alma mater. The university president didn't offer any other options but to defund the alumni, remove our ability to use our logos/branding and as the UCAA Board of Directors moved toward a combined organization, the transition ideas continued to get rejected SUCH AS allowing alumni to elect a certain portion of the committee that advises the Foundation on alumni activities. Listen, the right answer in the future may be to combine these missions, but as it stands today (read the transition plan), if you vote YES, these things happen: 1) You lose your elected alumni representation. Sure if the Foundation wants to do something that alums don't like, we can all write letters, send emails, make phone calls but a YES vote to dissolution removes the alumni voice in any official capacity. 2) We don't know what the future of the Alumni Center is - when the university decides the building is no longer suitable for an alumni center, it gets demolished, re-purposed etc. and there is no guarantee where our alumni operations will be - none; could become a cubicle in the student union. 3) The $6M in the coiffures gets sent over a with purpose BUT NOT LIMITED to that purpose so we don't really know how that will be spent. 4)there still is no plan from the Foundation how this will be better - Newton has done a super job with the Foundation but now he is inheriting a new mission with a fairly new executive director and the staff that has been there for many years and the UCONN BoD (volunteers) is writing the transition plan; the Foundation is not; collaboration is happening but the BoD is providing the ideas and there is little direction on how the Foundation will make this all better or how chapters will benefit; today (a week after the ballots were sent), a website update (http://uconnalumni.com/vote) has one line on how this will affect chapters, "We plan to increase events, volunteer opportunities, and benefits for ALL alumni who want to stay connected to UConn!" The work on this dissolution option started in March and today alums get this one-liner. Really? Finally, remember a NOT vote doesn't mean "NO" forever; it could in fact send a message to UCONN to get this uber-important transition right and stop trying to ramrod this exceptionally poor effort down the alumni's throat.

 

[SubbaBub]

Not a UCONN alum, but I find this all to be a conversation of little consequence. The math says the school and the alumni need to do something else. If there are 200k living UCONN alums and the endowment is as pathetic as it is, then that's all you need to know about the effectiveness of the association however it is structured.

As examples, Mrs. Bub is an alum of a (Big) public university and I a smaller STEM school. Both AA's operate pretty much the same way with slightly different aesthetics. Hers is broader and stronger, mine is more focused and direct. For you Game of Thrones fans, think the Mountain vs. Red viper.

Tortured metaphors aside, both provide a large number of events and programs designed to engage alums with the school and connect with each other. These are accompanied by fundraising calls and letters in addition to the vig added to the events themselves. Both have swanky on campus buildings to schmooze large and small donors a like, so I wouldn't worry about the building. If they move it, the new one will be better because it's entire purpose us to solicit donations.

If I had to pick, I'd say my wife's is a better overall organization. Mine is probably better at making connections, but it's a lot more work. All she has to do is say the name and people come out of the woodwork. Most alums from my school have other degrees from other schools so loyalty is divided, plus most aren't boola boola types.

In any event I've seen her events and Uconn's events and it's not close. The donations reflect that relationship.

Papa Bub, is a Uconn alum and became a life member to stop the calls. His donations consist of extra donation money for sports tickets. I suspect his view is a common one amongst the alumni.

When we went to the Fiesta Bowl, I was shocked at how disorganized the official trip was. We always take the official tour for the Mrs' team and it is always outstanding. I was stunned at how little Uconn was giving for the outrageous prices they wanted to charge through WorldTravel. It doesn't take a lot.

This should be a easy thing for a school with a darn fine athletic department. The FF in Houston was worse if stories are to be believed.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

Remember, the UCAA was without a leader for over 12 months during some of the events you mentioned i.e. the university didn't hire anyone to run the show. Change is needed - you are right - how we affect that change is important. If dissolution takes place, I am willing to bet you will find the same "issues/challenges" in a year that you see now. Your post is spot on - thanks for sharing.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

I was completely unaware of that, Husky8273.

Look, I've met Josh Newton on a few occasions and I think he's a great guy, and he may very well have the expertise and PR knowhow to pull this off. What troubles me isn't him, it's the decision of the university administration to shove this whole plan down everybodys' throats, without any input or consultation with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the donor category. Why risk alienating anybody in this whole process? You profess to embrace an all-inclusive business model, yet you clearly don't intend to include certain key components? I don't blame him because I suspect he doesn't have much of a choice in the decisions that are being made for him.

One of the university deans indicated to me that everybody is "terrified" of Susan Herbst. He wasn't joking. Unless you're a tenured faculty member right now at UCONN, you're walking on eggshells with this administration. One wrong move and you're probably gone. We have gone through multiple employees in the same positions just during Herbst's tenure, which hasn't been all that long. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she's difficult to deal with and work for, at the very least.

If Susan Herbst is that divisive within the UCONN family, how does that look to outside parties (i.e. prospective conference members) when we try to put our best foot forward regarding conference realignment?

Josh Newton is a great guy and has done phenomenal work. Now, he has to continue to excel in raising money and running all of the alumni chapters around the globe. What is the plan to do that?

 

[J187Money]

Unless the consensus is that the Foundation leadership would be better stewards that the former AA leadership.

That's my point. If I'm understanding this correctly:

YES = move on and stop worrying about it
NO = force the Administration to listen to concerns primarily re: the Alumni House and the $6M of UCAA money, but the Foundation still will run it going forward

Naysayers, am I missing something?

 

[buddy]

I was completely unaware of that, Husky8273.

Look, I've met Josh Newton on a few occasions and I think he's a great guy, and he may very well have the expertise and PR knowhow to pull this off. What troubles me isn't him, it's the decision of the university administration to shove this whole plan down everybodys' throats, without any input or consultation with some of the biggest movers and shakers in the donor category. Why risk alienating anybody in this whole process? You profess to embrace an all-inclusive business model, yet you clearly don't intend to include certain key components? I don't blame him because I suspect he doesn't have much of a choice in the decisions that are being made for him.

One of the university deans indicated to me that everybody is "terrified" of Susan Herbst. He wasn't joking. Unless you're a tenured faculty member right now at UCONN, you're walking on eggshells with this administration. One wrong move and you're probably gone. We have gone through multiple employees in the same positions just during Herbst's tenure, which hasn't been all that long. It doesn't take a genius to figure out that she's difficult to deal with and work for, at the very least.

If Susan Herbst is that divisive within the UCONN family, how does that look to outside parties (i.e. prospective conference members) when we try to put our best foot forward regarding conference realignment?

If everybody is terrified, then maybe it is because they are not performing up to the standards of a high ranking university and they need to be weeded out. That is good news and if it is true we should be applauding our President.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

as illogical as ever

For those of you that saw my post on $15B in fund raising by the Foundation, my apologies - I fat fingered it and that number, obviously, is inaccurate. Again, my apologies - safe to say though, Newton has done a great job but our university has a way to go to catch up with our universities in terms of endowments, funds donated etc.

 

[CL82]

From my prospective I do not believe that UConn will demolish the Alumni house or turn it to another purpose without first establishing a suitable replacement. I am also confident that the $6M will be used appropriately. Dedicated funds will be used consistently with the dedication and remainder will be used appropriately as delineated in the agreement. The including but not limited language is fairly typical. It is not a loophole. I guess it comes down to who you trust. The AA which has been a glorified club during it's tenure, or the Foundation who were very helpful, professional and supportive on the Boneyard's dedication of two defibrillators as a remembrance of Jim Calhoun's great coaching career. It isn't a difficult choice, in my view.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

With talks that the Foundation is essentially pushing the Alumni Association out, I feel this is a good time to discuss how to best reform/reconfigure our alumni network (merge the two?). Quite frankly, I believe it could be much improved across the United States. As the influence of the foundation grows, the time is critical to get this right (and simultaneously help our endowment exponentially).

Summary;

The Foundation/Alumni association sets up new, streamlined, facebook/linkedin groups for each city that serve as meet-up and networking opportunities. Yes, I am aware that these groups exist right now, however, they are amateur and disorganized. There is no collaboration between the University and the 5-10 recent alumni who run the groups like a glorified HS class group (ex. lets meet at this bar on a random Tuesday).

How to improve;

-Each major U.S. city has a Foundation lead that administers the groups and organizes at least 3 events per year that do not include sporting events. Think quality over quantity. They then choose (by application) 2-3 recent alumni to help organize.

-The foundation links up each network's alumni with University career services. This gives a sophomore-junior the opportunity to align his internship/entry-level job options with a certain city ( this is a common practice for many nescac/b1g schools). By localizing your alumni networks (especially NYC, Boston, Hartford, Philly and DC), you foster the build of a greater network. The simplicity of this idea is understated (IMO) and would take us far.


What are your ideas?

For those of you that saw my post on $15B, that was an error; I fat fingered it - safe to say, Josh Newton has done a nice job of raising money but we have a way to go to get in the same neighborhood as many of our rival universities.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

For those of you who saw my post regarding $15B, it was an error; I fat fingered it. My apologies. Other posts on this thread have a closer-to-accurate amount. Safe to say, Josh Newton has done some great work but the university disbanding the Alumni Association is not going to help raise money. Remember, a NO vote doesn't mean NO CHANGE, it sends a message to the university to come up with a plan that is inclusive.

 

[Waquoit]

Clearly the UCAA is way past it's sell-by date. Blowing it up is the only way to go. It's sounds like a couple of folks have their fee-fees hurt by the development, but if they are grown-ups they'll get over it.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

Blow it up? What is the replacement?

 

[UConn9604]

That's my point. If I'm understanding this correctly:

YES = move on and stop worrying about it
NO = force the Administration to listen to concerns primarily re: the Alumni House and the $6M of UCAA money, but the Foundation still will run it going forward

Naysayers, am I missing something?

If this "no" movement succeeds, anyone who thinks that the University will listen to the AA on anything of consequence (or anything at all) probably thinks we turned down a B1G invite to stay in the AAC.

 

[Waquoit]

One of the university deans indicated to me that everybody is "terrified" of Susan Herbst. He wasn't joking. Unless you're a tenured faculty member right now at UCONN, you're walking on eggshells with this administration. One wrong move and you're probably gone.

This is a bad thing? There is so much deadwood and incompetence in Storrs that UConn needed a Herbst to weed it out. I'm glad these losers are in fear.

 

[Carl S. Ey]

If this "no" movement succeeds, anyone who thinks that the University will listen to the AA on anything of consequence (or anything at all) probably thinks we turned down a B1G invite to stay in the AAC.

NO vote sends a message and also means we can re-address in a more collegial manner - change is needed; forcing the UCAA dissolution and moving under the Foundation umbrella isn't the right answer. Don't be fooled into voting YES and hoping. HOPE IS NOT A METHOD!

 

[Carl S. Ey]

This is a bad thing? There is so much deadwood and incompetence in Storrs that UConn needed a Herbst to weed it out. I'm glad these losers are in fear.

NO vote sends a message and also means we can re-address in a more collegial manner - change is needed; forcing the UCAA dissolution and moving under the Foundation umbrella isn't the right answer. Don't be fooled into voting YES and hoping. HOPE IS NOT A METHOD!

 

[hardcorehusky]

Within the last 5 years - you wouldn't have had to ask in the last year as the model changed to everyone being a member.

We also had money in scholarship form at the Foundation and we funded that and utilized it every year.

Whatever chapter you are part of was different than the one I ran. What does that say for how things were run by the UCAA?

Are you talking about recently (within past five years) or ancient history?

All I know is I've been a chapter president for a little over a year and no one at the UCAA has ever told me to sign up new dues paying members, I've never asked anyone to join and pay dues, and I've never once asked anyone to donate money to either the UCAA or UCONN Foundation. We are strictly a social organization that sponsors group events for any UCONN alum or their guests that want to attend. No requirements.

I understand there was a time when they did emphasize getting new dues-paying members, but I've been involved with a chapter off and on for the past 20 years and no one ever encouraged me to pay dues to join. I was already a life member, but we never solicited new members at any of our events going that far back. Apparently things were done differently elsewhere.

We sponsored an event in 1999 and I don't recall if we charged a different price for dues paying vs. non-dues paying members, but I honestly can't remember charging more for non-members. I even had a few guests there that didn't have any connection to UCONN. If there was a difference, it was maybe five bucks per ticket.

 

[SubbaBub]

This is a bad thing? There is so much deadwood and incompetence in Storrs that UConn needed a Herbst to weed it out. I'm glad these losers are in fear.

No, it isn't. It's long overdue. UConn, for decades was a safety school for CT kids. More recently it has emerged as a tremendous value for higher education. The next step is for it to become a world class institution. If you are not pushing that agenda hard, then you should be on your way. CT can't survive a drought of talent coming out of storrs. The world is becoming too competitive and our geographic advantage while still substantial, isn't what it used to be.