by Frank Pritchett '88 '92
Do you have your degree(s) from UWG hanging in your office? At home? Or, are they in a box or drawer somewhere? If the latter, please, get them out, dust them off and put them in a very public space. The value of that piece of paper has exponentially increased since my summer 1988 graduation.
In my 26 years of service to UWG, rarely have I thought of the added value of my degrees. Then I read a blog by Robert D. Shoss entitled Creating Alumni Success. In essence it explored the question about how alumni relations programs across the country could gain a higher degree of engagement with their graduates. We are doing this now through many programs – such as the regional alumni networks, among other initiatives.
The premise is that the most important aspect of alumni engagement is directly related to alumni wanting to know that the equity of their degree is increasing over time. So, yes, get those degrees up on the wall and be proud that you Went West.
In the end, this short blog says that alumni professionals should be asking: What are we doing as a university to help our alumni succeed?
Shoot me an email and tell me what we can do to make you more successful, and what you can do to make UWG more successful.
Did you know? Most all alumni are familiar with the wildly successful branding campaign called Go West. In the summer of 2010, 42.6 percent of people in a 10 county survey area were unfamiliar with UWG. In contrast, in summer of 2013 the same survey was conducted and the percentage of people who were unfamiliar had dropped to 16.5 percent and 82.6 had heard of us. Now that’s something to hang your degree on. Go West. Go Wolves!
Frank Pritchett is the director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving.
