A plan to combine the alumni association and the foundation is moving forward, as recommended earlier this year in a university-wide communication and constituent engagement assessment.
This week Larissa Holtmyer Jones, president and CEO of the ISU Foundation, and Kurt Tjaden, acting Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed President and CEO of the ISU Alumni Association, submitted to President Wendy Wintersteen a plan outlining how the combination would proceed.
Wintersteen told Holtmyer Jones and Tjaden she was supportive of their plan as the blueprint for moving forward to implementation.
"This is a significant undertaking," Wintersteen said, "but our combined efforts will build upon both organizations' collective strengths and proud histories. It truly is exciting to consider the new opportunities that will emerge and to imagine how we benefit from a unified approach to engaging our tremendously loyal, tremendously supportive students, alumni, donors and friends."
The plan outlines the naming of a steering committee to oversee the processes required for the combination. The steering committee will set direction and expectations for five workstream teams focused on:
- People
- Finances and facilities
- Communications
- Constituent engagement and programming
- Governance
Recommended members of the steering committee are: Chad Harris and Cathy Schmidt, chair and immediate past chair, respectively, of the alumni association board of directors; Mary Jane Hagenson and Terry Tobin, chair and vice chair, respectively, of the foundation board of directors; and Sophia Magill from the university. The steering committee will provide guidance and support for the workstream teams, with a goal for completion of their work by September 29.
The plan outlined three guiding principles for the work and processes to come:
- Ensure the planning supports the overarching mission of the university and advances the university's commitment to excellence.
- Ensure the planning supports an optimal approach for engagement and service to constituents that best serves the university and its long-term priorities and needs.
- Ensure the planning recognizes that organizations work because of the people who work for them -- the valued contributions each person can make. Dignity, respect and fairness for everyone involved should be foremost as planning turns toward implementation.
A Segal recommendation
Combining the alumni association and the foundation was one of five key recommendations made by The Segal Group, the consultant that conducted a five-month communications and constituent engagement assessment. Segal's report outlined its findings and the five recommendations.
As part of its assessment, Segal conducted a peer benchmarking study with 10 of Iowa State's academic and Big 12 Conference peers. The study found that seven of the 10 peer universities were managing alumni and donor engagement inside the same organization.
Early in March, Wintersteen charged a review committee made up of representatives of the two organizations and the university to examine the combination recommendation, which called for creation of a unified organization to streamline operations, leverage resources and strengthen engagement with alumni and donors. The committee affirmed the recommendation and advised Wintersteen that the combination should proceed.
In a message to Wintersteen, Chad Harris, a 2001 alumnus who chaired the review committee, said the committee focused on strengths of both organizations and how combining efforts may further enhance those strengths "while taking an innovative approach to alumni engagement and fundraising strategies for the future benefit of Iowa State University and the experience of alumni, donors and friends of ISU."
The review committee members were: Harris, chair of the ISU Alumni Association board of directors; Craig Denny, secretary, ISU Foundation board of directors; Mary Jane Hagenson, chair, ISU Foundation board of directors; Carol Heaverlo, assistant vice president for operations, ISU Extension and Outreach; Ryan McGuire, senior associate athletics director for external relations, ISU; Cathy Schmidt, immediate past chair, ISU Alumni Association board of directors; David Spalding, Raisbeck Endowed Dean of the Ivy College of Business and vice president of economic development and industry relations, ISU; Terry Tobin, vice chair, ISU Foundation board of directors; and Jeremy Wingerter, director at-large, ISU Alumni Association board of directors.
'One university' approach
After receiving the review committee's decision, Wintersteen asked Holtmyer Jones and Tjaden to develop a plan for creating a unified organization.
"This marks the beginning of a significant new chapter for Iowa State University in how we more effectively and holistically engage with alumni, donors and friends," Wintersteen said.
That was an overarching goal for engaging a third-party consultant, she said, "to broadly assess our communication and engagement model serving our community of alumni, donors, friends and partners, and then to recommend a cohesive strategy and proposed organizational structure that moves us closer to what I refer to as a 'One University' approach focused on delivering the best possible experience for our constituents and lifting up Iowa State in a more unified way."
The alumni association and foundation have proud histories, Wintersteen said.
"I am confident a combined organization will build on those storied pasts, now as part of a unified and mutual history," she said.
Forthcoming will be updates on how the university plans to address four other recommendations from the consultant.
