Reaching Out

SOME OF THE REBUILDING PROjects at Dartmouth don't involve bricks and mortar. Organizational charts and metrics are the stuff of new construction in the alumni relations (AR) office. One year after leaving Wall Street for the role of VP of AR, David Spalding '76 says he's got a good grasp of "the nuts and bolts" and has been pleasantly surprised by the helpfulness and flexibility of his colleagues.

His 30th class reunion last summer was "a great chance to experience things from the inside and the outside," he says. It also provided some new business perspectives: first, a realization that more faculty programming is a great way to attract participants, and second, that alumni who lend their organizational talents to work on reunion committees should be retained for other class assignments.

Achieving both those ends is part of Spalding's game plan for the comingyear, which shapes up as follows: Enhance alumni governance (AG). "No matter what happens with the alumni constitution we have to improve the quality of our AG structure," says Spalding. "Neither of the two bodies operating now—the Alumni Council and Alumni Association—are as democratic or as transparent or as efficient as they should be." These bodies realized this themselves, he says, which resulted in the drafting of the proposed constitution voted down in December 2004 and the subsequent alumni governance task force, whose draft is now up for a vote.

Improve two-way communicationwith alumni. While improving communication with the roughly 7,000 alums who live in the Upper Valley or return to campus is an objective, says Spalding,the larger challenge is getting a handle on the concerns of the thousands of other alums who are not often in touch."We need to make decisions based on what we understand about our alums broadly, not listen just to those who call us with suggestions," Spalding says.

Increase faculty-alumni opportunities. Faculty presentations, whether talks before football games or lectures hosted by distant clubs, are among the most appreciated thing AR does, according to Spalding. "Everyone comes to Dartmouth and experiences it in his or her own way," he says. "The one thing that unites us is the extraordinary classroom experience we all shared."

Increase participation in alumnievents. While turnout for campus events continues to break attendance records, AR is evaluating its out-of-town offerings. The hope is to grow active club memberships, for example, by sharing best practices, whether event ideas or marketing, across clubs more effectively.

Provide more support to alumni volunteers. No one—from young parents to active retirees—has the time they once had to work for the College or their classes. "We have to make it easier for them by providing tools that will save time," says Spalding. Succession planning and well-defined roles will also be key to soliciting new volunteers, he adds.

U.S. RACIAL DEMOGRAPHICS COMPARED WITH DARTMOUTH COLLEGE