Boston Globe
10-08-07
Graduates taking a pass on UMass
Alumni association membership lagging
By Peter Schworm, Globe Staff
Alumni of the University of Massachusetts at Amherst network over business
breakfasts, powwow at power lunches, and toast their college years at tailgate
parties. But in startling numbers, they are steering clear of joining the school's
alumni association.
Just 3 percent of graduates of the state university's flagship campus belong to
the association. The paltry membership pales in comparison to that at most
universities across the country and signals a sharp divide between UMass
graduates and their alma mater's campaign to further involve them in university
life.
The issue goes beyond attendance at football games and events at such places
as the University of Massachusetts Club in downtown Boston, many graduates
say. It carries implications for the university's ability to raise money, gain political
clout, recruit students, and enhance UMass's image as it seeks to reach the
upper echelon of public universities nationally.
"It's enormous in building the constituency of the university," said Mike DeMattia,
a Norwood resident and past alumni association member who let his
membership lapse three years ago. Low membership hurts the university's ability
to promote its interests, he said.
Just 6,271 of the university's approximately 210,000 living graduates, about half
of whom live in Massachusetts, are members of the association, which provides
a range of perks and privileges from newsletters to discounts on plane tickets
and hotel rooms. Public colleges typically charge an annual membership fee (at
UMass, it's $40); private colleges tend not to charge fees and allow graduates to
automatically become members.
The national average among 85 universities surveyed last year is a membership
rate of 18 percent, but that figure is higher at many public state universities.
Penn State's alumni association, for example, boasts a membership of 34
percent. The University of Michigan draws 25 percent, and Texas garners 20
percent. At Iowa State University, which UMass officials identify as a peer
school, 19 percent of the alums are dues-paying members.
Officials at other universities say membership is a critical barometer of alumni
support.
"Membership is the bottom line," said Kim Gundersen, director of marketing for
the University of Texas alumni association, called Texas Exes. Members help the
association finance more events, increase communications with graduates, and
heighten its political influence with state lawmakers.
UMass officials say using association membership as a benchmark is misleading
and that attendance at alumni events has nearly doubled in the past three years
after an ambitious campaign to expand the alumni base and bring graduates into
the fold of university life.
"Alumni Association membership is only one measure of alumni involvement,"
Kathleen Mitchell, president of the UMass-Amherst Alumni Association, wrote in
an e-mailed statement. "We continually strive to increase alumni participation as
the 210,000 alumni worldwide propel the university forward as the flagship within
a world-class university system."
Many graduates participate in alumni events and donate money to the university
without feeling the need to join the campus-wide group. University officials and
some graduates note that 13 percent of alumni give money to the university,
slightly above the national average.
"I think we're doing quite a good job collectively," said Glenn Mangurian, 58, of
Hingham, an association member who holds large breakfast meetings with highpowered graduates who work in business. "The universal feeling I've tapped into
is that people feel a great debt to the university and want to stay involved and
give something back."
UMass-Amherst officials said the university has accelerated efforts to improve
alumni involvement in recent years, airing television ads starring high-profile
graduates, opening new alumni clubs around the country, and holding new
career development and networking events.
Mary Custard, a vice president of the UMass Alumni Association, said the group
is working hard to boost membership, primarily by updating its alumni database.
"When we look at those membership numbers, it's kind of hard to believe," she
said. "That's our first priority." Custard said it has been difficult to find current
addresses for some recent graduates.
"I think most of it is communications," she said. "Once we get in contact with
people, almost everyone I speak with loves the university and wants to
reconnect."
But membership has declined 8 percent in the past two years despite the
school's efforts. Many active alumni say the low turnout reflects discontent with
how graduates are treated by the college's alumni relations and development
staff.
"The university wants our money, but doesn't want our involvement or our
advice," said Jack Leader, a past president of the alumni association. "Alumni
relations are not important to them."
Lackluster alumni support could threaten the university's ambitions to gain
greater prominence, observers say.
"It's an enormous task for an institution that for a long while didn't pay much
attention to its alumni," said Claire Van Ummersen, vice president of the
American Council on Education and a former chancellor of UMass-Boston. "They
need to figure out how to stay more connected to their graduates."
Others say the problem runs deeper. For decades, when UMass-Amherst relied
almost exclusively on state support, private fund-raising was not seen as a
priority, many graduates say. As a result, the college made only halting efforts to
keep graduates involved and alumni drifted away.
"Building relations with alumni has always been a stepchild," Leader said. "In
other parts of the country, public universities hold a much greater place in
people's hearts."
Sports appears to play a major role: although the UMass athletic program is
highly competitive, it does not garner the exposure of such flagship schools as
Texas, Florida, and Ohio State, which draw thousands of loyal alumni to games
and benefit from national television coverage.