June 2021
Written by: Janet Sailian
Featuring Advancement Leaders from SAIT, UofT, Laurentian University & Trinity College School
Seasoned advancement leaders understand the importance of working effectively with faculty members and academic leadership to enhance relationships with alumni, potential and current donors and external communities.
The perennial popularity of CCAE’s Development for Deans Workshops – led by McMaster University’s incomparable Lorna Somers – testifies to academics’ and advancement’s mutual need to raise engagement and support for the essential work of educational institutions.
In part 2 of Advancement and Academics, we conclude with a Q and A on advancement and academics with representatives of two universities, one Institute of Technology and an independent school:
Brian Bowman, Director of Alumni and Development, SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology)
Darina Landa, Executive Director, Advancement at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Tracy MacLeod, CFRE, Chief Advancement Officer, Laurentian University
Doug Mann, Executive Director of Philanthropy and Alumni, Trinity College School
Go back and read Part 1 of Advancement and Academics with Joanne Shoveller
How can advancement staff work effectively with academic support units to maximize impact among alumni, donors, external partners and the community?
Brian: The collaboration between advancement and academic partners is essential to maintaining a well-functioning development program. This requires regular contact and each making the other a priority. It’s important to keep the connection to alumni, donors, external partners, etc. top of mind.
An effective tool is to engage academic support units in discussions around advancement activities by, for example, sharing the alumni engagement strategy, discussing fundraising priorities or campaign strategies. Building rapport and establishing trust are essential and require that advancement officers follow up on any action items stemming from these discussions. Most academic units are fascinated by the work of advancement and are keen to learn more about it.
Also, involve advancement staff in strategic discussions or team meetings of the academic unit to gain insights into pressure points, misconceptions, and opportunities to remind academic partners of potential connection points. As Director of Alumni and Development, I have a monthly meeting with the VP Academic, which gives us an opportunity to share developments on both sides.
At SAIT, we are in the process of rolling out a new Alumni Engagement Strategy. We are meeting with the Dean of each faculty and getting their input to improve the plan. We have also identified many opportunities to elevate the importance of alumni in their own schools and how we can better work together to leverage the relationships with our grads.
Darina: It’s important for academic leaders to realize that fundraising for their priorities must occur in partnership with advancement. There must be trust, and it takes time to develop. It takes patience. Little wins, little stumbles lead to incremental steps toward success.
Endorsement by academic leadership is very important. I need to be in the know about the inner workings. What we try to do for our fundraisers is be embedded in the executive levels of the academic unit. Not a peer in a traditional way, but a partner.
Tracy: We have focused our limited efforts on working with a coalition of the willing. It’s all about partnerships, such as working with the Director of a School to raise funds to enhance a specific initiative to benefit students in their program.
We recognize faculty are the subject experts. We listen to people and do the “rah-rah” for the university as a whole. The Advancement team can speak at a high level as to why Laurentian is has expertise in subject matter X. Then we include the faculty who can bring their expertise and knowledge to bear. Cohesion is key. We used to attend a big mining conference together annually.
Doug: For independent schools, the scale of academic activity is limited to primary and secondary education curriculum delivery, and generally does not include academic research.
Independent schools have much more robust parent giving programs than post-secondary institutions, Many parents develop personal relationships with teachers and other staff that work with their children. As a result, many of these parents welcome the input of teaching staff regarding academic fundraising priorities. For example, a popular science teacher can play a highly influential role in explaining the impact of a science laboratory renovation to prospective parent donors.
Similarly, alumni often develop lifelong relationships with teachers starting in their student days. These faculty members can be key influencers with prospective alumni donors.
Finally, the Principals of independent schools often have much longer tenures than their post-secondary counterparts. These Principals often become iconic figures with decades of alumni and parents, and often enjoy considerable access to alumni and parents for philanthropic purposes.
What best practices at all levels help maximize academic / advancement relationships on a continuing basis?
Brian: Make advancement a partner in achieving the vision of the organization. Money follows mission.
Advancement must be at the table in strategic planning for the institution. The external voice of alumni, industry partners, etc. needs to be heard. Advancement needs to be clear on its priorities and communicate them to internal stakeholders. We should not be order takers.
On the ground, advancement needs to earn a place as a respected partner in every interaction. On a foundation of trust, much can be accomplished.
Darina: We had to demonstrate our value proposition. We had to make our case for academic leaders and faculty. In the past five years we sort of got past that and we are now embedded in the fabric.
We need to find alignment and help academic leaders understand the donor cycle. We occasionally had a coffee, a lunch, went to conferences together – those offline conversations build alignment. Celebrate wins, be there to help solve problems.
Tracy: Our advancement operation is very lean. We don’t have individual Faculty development officers. We centrally serve all of them. Either myself or a member of the Advancement team meets with new academic leaders to offer our partnership. The academic colleague leads the conversation about their subject matter and the Advancement office leads the conversation about the finances.
What advancement strategies best engage academic partners to work well with external audiences?
Brian: Offering a “Development for Deans” course is beneficial. One of the best ways is to include them in meetings with external audiences and then offer feedback. It’s always better to rely on academic partners as subject matter experts rather than trying to turn them into fundraisers.
Darina: Be explicit about why a particular gift matters. The fundraiser may have a donor and be advancing a gift, but if it doesn’t align with the department’s priorities or budget, the disconnect can harm the relationship.
When our academic leads are also physicians, we need to acknowledge the trust factor, the gratitude of a patient toward a physician. A negative feedback loop can occur when a past patient is not happy having their physician make the ask.
We need a proposal based on their motivations, well thought out; not just a quick and dirty ask.
Tracy: Some Deans and directors who have strong expertise are not comfortable interacting with donors and partners. We spend a lot of time on professional development with them so they can understand what we do and that we are their partners. They don’t need to ask for money or talk numbers; they are there to talk about their research and projects that we know are of interest to the donor.
CCAE’s Development for Deans has been very useful, especially when it was held in person. Lorna Somers came to do a day on this topic on the Laurentian campus and our faculty partners found it extremely helpful.
When issues or conflicts arise, how can advancement staff work to repair relationships with academics and their staff?
Brian: Being honest and transparent is essential in these situations. It’s important to understand the academic perspective, explain why decisions were made, listen to concerns without being defensive, and recognize that ultimately everyone is working toward the same objective.
It can be very challenging to repair relationships, so it’s best to ensure there’s a lot of collateral to begin with. Building on a foundation of trust by being honest, authentic and transparent will almost always save the day.
When leadership changes occur, being proactive is important. Where possible, ensure that a transition plan is developed prior to a change. Creating a seamless transition saves time and keeps momentum, so it’s critical to take steps to prevent any gap in communication. Transfer the relationships, write a note or email, provide an opportunity for an introduction, keep up-to-date contact notes, and don’t assume anyone else is doing anything.
Darina: Understand where the pressure points are. Philanthropy can be a gain but it isn’t everyone’s priority. Academics are not as focused on the gift total or our campaign goals.
A good relationship strengthens and lifts the work, but it is not essential to the work. We need to learn and incorporate their comfort level, style, preferences. We do a debrief after every encounter and we need to be open and transparent. We need to be in service of the work. Attention and intention.
Doug: The most difficult conflict that arises between advancement and faculty at independent schools relates to two areas: admissions and parent philanthropy. The integrity of the admissions process is vital to the reputation of independent schools. Prospective families, including alumni, must be educated that donation offers do not influence the admissions prospects for their children. Similarly, parent donors must be educated that their role as donors has no impact on how their children are treated in the school. There can be no real or inferred perception that the children of donors receive preferential treatment.
What has changed in recent years that makes these partnerships more challenging or more productive?
Brian: Industry is changing rapidly and the pandemic has accelerated restructuring, resulting in lots of turnover. Within our organization, budget constraints contribute to lay-offs and staff / faculty changes. Keeping excellent notes and records, focusing on more senior-level connections (who are less likely to be impacted) and focusing on the big picture are strategies that help.
People have less time and shorter attention spans than before. Shorter meetings, short emails with only one subject, avoiding assigning work and recommending solutions to issues can help to keep relationships moving forward efficiently.
We’ve entered a whole new world of technology, so leveraging Zoom to keep meetings convenient and effective is likely to become more common and popular.
Darina: The pandemic certainly accelerated some philanthropy. Although we announced the entire $250 million Temerty gift in September 2020, the family had advanced $10 million in March 2020 as a stand-alone gift. They asked what we needed immediately. Students, frontline clinicians became an emergency priority. Their trust in our Dean was why this unrestricted $10 million came through.
Tracy: I miss person to person interaction and the serendipity of conversations that spring up.
Post-pandemic, there are definitely some virtual initiatives I’d like to keep, such as our Alumni AGM. It used to be like pulling teeth to get people to attend, and when we held it virtually in 2020 we had amazing attendance, including alumni from all over the world. Zoom works well if you include breakout rooms for small-group conversations.
June 2021
Written by: Janet Sailian
Featuring: Joanne Shoveller, University of Waterloo
Seasoned advancement leaders understand the importance of working effectively with faculty members and academic leadership to enhance relationships with alumni, potential and current donors and external communities.
The perennial popularity of CCAE’s Development for Deans Workshops – led by McMaster University’s incomparable Lorna Somers – testifies to academics’ and advancement’s mutual need to raise engagement and support for the essential work of educational institutions.
Part 1 of Advancement and Academics, includes a wide-ranging conversation with Joanne Shoveller, Vice-President, Advancement, University of Waterloo. Shoveller shared lessons and principles from her 34-year advancement career that encompasses three Ontario universities, a two-year posting in Hong Kong and four years at INSEAD Business School in France. Her perspective on connecting and communicating was honed as Marketing and Communications Coordinator in the Faculty of Part-Time and Continuing Education at Western University, from 1987 – 94.
Joanne’s experiences, insights and key learnings from her time at each institution are followed by global lessons over the course of her career to date.
In part 2 of Advancement and Academics, we conclude with a Q and A on advancement and academics with representatives of two universities, one Institute of Technology and an independent school:
Brian Bowman, Director of Alumni and Development, SAIT (Southern Alberta Institute of Technology)
Darina Landa, Executive Director, Advancement at the Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
Tracy MacLeod, CFRE, Chief Advancement Officer, Laurentian University
Doug Mann, Executive Director of Philanthropy and Alumni, Trinity College School
Insights from Ivey Business School
Roles:
Major Gift Officer and Manager, Ivey Campaign, 1994 – 97
Director, Asian Development, Ivey Business School, Western University, 1997 – 99, Hong Kong
Director, Alumni and Corporate Development, 1999 – 2001; and Director, MBA Program Office, Ivey Business School, 2001 – 04
At Western I partnered closely with three or four academics who were champions for advancement. In 1995 we had a new President who wanted to build a presence in Asia, and the Dean had a vision to internationalize the Business School by sending faculty to Asia for three-week immersive sessions of teaching, case-writing and research.
As coordinator of the President’s first trip to Asia in 1995, I started working with the Dean, Associate Deans and Director of the Ivey Hong Kong Campus to build the school’s relationship with our major Asian benefactor.
I lived in Hong Kong for two years to support establishment of the Hong Kong Campus, heading Asian advancement for the Ivey Business School, setting up a $20 million fundraising platform for teaching and research, and ultimately playing a key role in the successful completion of $75 million Ivey Campaign.
I felt that my role was to be the “do-er”. l listened hard to the donors’ and the academics’ vision and worked to demonstrate that I understood their needs, concerns and constraints.
Key learnings from Shoveller’s time at Ivey include:
Find allies at every level and niche – individual academics, Deans, administrators and other leaders.
Earn the right to be heard by listening intently to academics and to donors.
Find the wins. Get things done.
Insights from the University of Guelph
Role: Vice-President, Advancement, University of Guelph, 2004 – 2012
At Guelph I focused on the story and the vision, with a close ally in the Director of Communications who was also eager to develop the brand messaging.
Our major donors wanted a differentiated, credible, relevant story. The themes that emerged were: food, environment, animal and human health, and communities.
I worked with Deans, VPs and faculty members, listening closely to their visions and ambitions. I participated in many brainstorming sessions, prepared white papers, and ran them by people on the ground in the Faculties. Then I spent a lot of time listening to donors and matching their desire for impact with the vision of the academics.
I liked tough faculty members. If you’re intelligent and truly curious, they will work with you. I earned the right to go back and ask new questions, test out ideas. The “thank you” for their time is to do something valuable for them that brings results. If you can turn their ideas into something they can fundraise for, they will support you.
After we developed the Better Planet Project, the Deans incorporated its themes as pillars of their strategic plan. This was an incredible validation of the shared vision. But a small number of academic leaders didn’t agree with the focus. You have to understand and accept that not everyone will agree with all decisions.
The result: In seven years, at Guelph we tripled annual fundraising to almost $30 million.
Key learnings from Shoveller’s time at UofG include:
Hone your ability to educate faculty on how to interact with donors. Faculty love working with donors who “get it”.
Get very connected to faculty priorities and academic agendas. Work hard at establishing and cultivating relationships with academics, just like with donors.
Cultivate humility and genuine interest. Recognize academics’ high intellect and that they are topic experts who have spent years on their subject area.
Understand that academics have a very different perspective on time. They are tenured and have time to research. It’s a different scenario than for advancement staff, who have quarterly and yearly metrics and operate on a much tighter timeline.
Watch for any possible resentment or disagreement among other senior academic administrators of a particular direction in fundraising.
Insights from INSEAD
Role: Associate Dean, Advancement and Alumni Relations, INSEAD Business School (Fontainebleau, France), 2012 – 2016
INSEAD is an academic institution, a business school and a cause. It receives no government funding, and runs on degree and executive education tuition.
Faculty in the MBA program do research and also provide executive education to almost 12,000 students per year. Education is provided in three languages: English, French and German.
At INSEAD, business is considered a global force for good and diversity is highly valued. No more than ten percent of any class can come from any one culture, and the 60 people on the INSEAD advancement team came from more than 20 countries.
When I arrived in 2012, alumni felt abandoned. They had organized on their own, spinning off 47 separate national alumni associations. Our task was to invite and pull in all the disparate alumni groups. With the support of the Dean, Alumni Association, Advisory Board and many faculty, we engaged more than 50,000 global leaders in the vision that business is a force for good.
Under the Dean’s leadership, our team developed the foundation for the €200 million Force for Good campaign, and some exciting major gifts resulted. In the period that I was there, we quadrupled fundraising results by working with faculty and really getting the case for support to gel.
Key Learnings from Shoveller’s time at INSEAD include:
Find the hubs where casual interactions build relationships with faculty and help you delve into their culture. At INSEAD it was the lunchroom. We needed to socialize with faculty a lot to build rapport, in addition to attending their meetings and immersing ourselves in their work.
Cultivate the alumni and donors whom the faculty deeply respect. Leveraging those links can be key.
Understand the academic structure. There are always politics, and some will be opaque to you as a fundraiser. Find your champions who can help to navigate the system.
Insights from the University of Waterloo
Role: Vice-President, Advancement, University of Waterloo, 2017 – present
In 2018 I realized we had an opportunity to align the campaign plan and strategic plan. This was an extraordinary opportunity to have academic leadership build a future campaign platform. We have fundraising teams within the Faculties that could rally to the cause, and there is exceptional external support for what we are building in the quiet phase of a major fundraising campaign.
The dynamics between academic leaders and advancement are continuously changing, particularly in a very decentralized institution. As we have built this campaign, we have had to adjust to structural and strategic views continuously. What has provided continuous guidance and strength has been our external volunteers and donors who want to see the university excel.
With over 150 fundraising and alumni staff, we have transformed alumni engagement and communications programs with a responsive, metrics-driven approach to engaging 200,000+ alumni in reputation building and fundraising.
Key Learnings from Shoveller’s current role at uWaterloo include:
Academics need to hear from their academic peers.
You can’t anticipate some dynamics because they don’t involve you. They are built on culture, academic structure, tradition – and you need to accept and understand their importance.
Conversations often need to happen in stages to build broad understanding and acceptance.
If a faculty member deeply respects an alum or even a student, include them in the project.
Faculty love data, peer reviews and quantifiable metrics.
Global learnings about advancement and academics:
Know thyself. Fundraisers are serious people pleasers. Recognize that you are built to be overly empathetic, and are primed to dissect meaning and over-analyze. Sometimes a situation isn’t yours to own.
Some institutions do not yet have a strong culture of philanthropy, and you have an opportunity to provide considerable education about the ways of advancement.
There are 15 to 20% of academics that you just won’t be able to reach or influence, as they are simply not interested in philanthropy. Focus on the ones who see the potential.
If you’re going towards a mountain, you can see it from a long distance. But you can’t see the next hill until you summit the closest one. Take things in stages: Climb high, sleep low.
While Canadian education has been slow to embark on full equity, diversity, inclusion and indigeneity (EDII), the journey is accelerating. This article explores principles and key action steps toward greater EDII in educational advancement. Future articles will offer examples of specific EDII programs and initiatives in advancement at Canadian universities, colleges and schools.
Demands for educational institutions that not only include but embrace a wide diversity of people have burgeoned in the past few years thanks to social-political movements and world events. Professorial, human resources, counselling and admissions strategies and positions to foster inclusion of Indigenous people and ways of knowing began to increase after the 2015 publication of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s Calls to Action. BIPOC and LGBTQ2+ organizations and individuals, among others, have instigated greater inclusion across education.
Initiatives to broaden EDII in educational advancement may have lagged behind those in academic and HR areas, yet innovations are now blooming. Major strides are evident to define, strategize and enact principles and plans that will lead to deep, sustained changes in the complexion of advancement.
The book Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Advancement by Angelique S.C. Grant and Ronald J. Schiller (CASE, 2020) is a rich, sector-specific resource that roadmaps the way “from awareness to assessment and understanding and then to action” (p. 5).
The book’s authors led a CCAE webinar on this topic on October 18, 2021 as part of the CCAE EDII Forum, held in Fall 2021. Highlights of the webinar outline definitions for EDI, and present practical steps that advancement teams can take to move from awareness about EDI, to action that yields results. The conversation covered three critical areas: 1) creating a culture of inclusion; 2) recruiting and retaining a more diverse team, and 3) inclusive volunteer engagement and fundraising.
Angelique Grant recommends establishing an Inclusion Council to conduct a thorough assessment of your school’s climate and to ensure that EDII thinking is embedded across the institution or department.
“Equity is different than equality. It’s not about giving people exactly the same experience. It’s about addressing where they are, what they need to be able to do their best work for you, and to engage with your organization in the best way.”
~ Ron Schiller, Founding Partner and Senior Consultant, Aspen Leadership Group
Diverse teams arise from a diversity and inclusion culture
Building a culture of EDII in your shop starts with assessing the current culture and climate. Ask current Board members, staff and volunteers about their experiences with your department and where inclusivity falls short.
Being intentional about hiring and retaining staff from an array of backgrounds and experiences is a prerequisite to building a diverse, inclusive culture. This involves multiple layers, from talent pipelines, recruitment, assessment to on-boarding and retention.
It is important to acknowledge the stage of your shop on the continuum toward being an EDII workplace. Have authentic conversations. This can be challenging because the journey is ongoing and most advancement offices that have responded to CCAE queries consider their EDII work to be in preliminary stages.
“Diversity is inviting people from different ethnicities, backgrounds, and abilities to the party; inclusion is about making sure they get the chance to dance.” (Grant and Schiller, p. 113) Retention is among the most-cited challenges among HR professionals. Inclusion is essential to retention, and losing good employees who don’t feel they fit the culture is costly in every way.
As with all staff, respectful treatment, trust, adequate compensation, opportunities for growth and professional development, and networking are key to retention. Career mapping and regular “stay interviews” help employees feel heard and valued.
Part of culture is addressing people in a respectful, inclusive manner. Using thoughtful terminology and an individual’s preferred pronouns are acts of welcoming that invite full participation and authenticity.
Leading the CCAE webinar on Raising The Bar: Making Meaningful Inclusive Conversation, Sandeep Nair (he/they), Manager of Business Operations, Pride At Work Canada, detailed the ways that language matters to members of the LGBTQ2+ community, and hence to the workplace.
Learn the meanings of component terms such as lesbian, gay, transgender, queer and two-spirited; the latter applies only to Indigenous people. Sandeep detailed these definitions and the need for thoughtful use of both chosen and gender-neutral pronouns and other words.
The many aspects of being an ally
Ann-Marie Pham, MPA, is Executive Director of the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. In her CCAE webinar, Being an ally in the workplace (November 1, 2021), she offered the following definition of allyship:
“An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion; to intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole. An ally is not a member of an underrepresented group, but they take action to support that group.”
Ms Pham outlined the types and phases of allyship as:
Advocate: Provide access
Amplifier: Provide a platform
Champion: Promote competence
Confidant: Provide an ear
Scholar: Personalize knowledge
Sponsor: Recommend
Upstander: Protect
“Reflect on your privilege and biases, and create a plan to improve. Own your privilege and learn to use it as a force for good. . . . The best apology is changed behavior. Allyship is a verb. Make like a verb and take action.”
~Ann-Marie Pham, MPA ED, Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion
EDII examples in Canadian advancement
Advancement shops are moving toward deeper EDII in the culture of their shops and as a reflection of their schools’ changing values. From colleges and universities to independent schools, anti-racism and inclusivity are rising to the forefront of how educational institutions communicate, celebrate alumni and raise or distribute funds.
Keep the conversation going, and continue to learn more
There is a lot to digest from the EDII forum that pertains to institutions of all types, sizes, regions, and capacities. To gain the full scope of the discussion and how to start your path to EDII, sessions from the Forum can be viewed by purchasing CCAE on-demand professional education sessions at ccaecanada.org.
March 2022
Written by: Janet Gottlieb Sailian
Featuring: Lee Hays, Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement at Trent University, and Gemma Grover ‘07, Past President, Trent University Alumni Association
While Canada’s advancement offices are at various stages and phases of integrating Equity, Diversity, Inclusivity and Indigeneity into their strategies and operations, advancement leaders across all institution types are working to encompass these essential principles.
Following on its acclaimed CCAE EDII Forum in Fall 2021, CCAE has reached out to advancement leaders to learn about and share their initiatives, at whatever stage they find their operations along the continuing journey to embed EDII principles and practices.
Lee Hays, Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement at Trent University, detailed the work of her shop, while Trent University Alumni Association’s Past President, Gemma Grover, shared her insights on how the TUAA has worked to better reflect Trent’s diverse alumni community.
Lee Hays, Director of Alumni & Donor Engagement
What steps is your alumni operation taking to strategically diversify your alumni association, department and programs?
The first step that the Trent University Alumni office took on the road to embedding EDII in all their initiatives and perspectives was to establish diversification and inclusion as a priority by including it as a focus in our strategic plans. This objective was shared with the Alumni Association Council and colleagues throughout Advancement.
Members of the advancement team participated in CCAE workshops to gain a better understanding of the issues facing marginalized people, and steps Trent could take to become more diversely representative and inclusive.
The Alumni staff searched through LinkedIn and alumni Facebook groups to find a variety of alumni who could bring different perspectives; specifically, alumni from the BIPOC and LGBTQ2S+ communities.
This search expanded the pool of volunteers and volunteer leaders, and of alumni to profile, invite to events, or have a conversation with.
Staff has been intentional to seek diversity in:
Nominations for alumni awards
Voices involved in each event and initiative
The alumni magazine, TRENT, with more representation of Trent’s diverse alumni population than ever before, featuring covers and articles that promote the voices of marginalized individuals and groups
Digital, video and print publications
The Indigenous Alumni Chapter, established in 2010, is involved in organizing alumni reunions during an annual Elders’ Gathering event at the University.
Several issues of TRENT have been dedicated to Indigenous matters featuring Indigenous alumni. Convocation ceremonies (organized by the Alumni department) include Indigenous ceremonial components.
The new Trent Alumni Strategy Advisory includes a wide diversity of alumni that discusses EDII and ways to make progress at each meeting.
We have also been intentional to expand the diversity of our teams. We have had some success in this area, but we know we need to continue to seek a broader diversity of candidates as positions come available.
What have the results been to date and how will you measure progress / success?
There has been a marked difference in our alumni volunteer leadership and visibility of our diverse alumni population. We have not had specific measures in place to date. There is still so much work to be done and this will remain a priority for our organization.
For the future, Trent is setting specific EDII goals, including targets for:
Number of alumni events and initiatives specifically designed to address diversity.
Number of of magazine articles and of alumni profiles for the magazine and
Opportunities for a diversity of Trent alumni to be featured speakers or contributors to external conferences, events, publications, and / or to be nominated for awards.
See below for the Trent media examples of EDII applied to outreach, communications and alumni profiles.
Gemma Grover ‘07, Past President, Trent University Alumni Association
Grover, who identifies as lesbian and disabled, reflects on the evolution of the TUAA during her term as President. This conversation has been edited.
Trent hasn’t necessarily “changed” its culture on EDII since I was a first-year student in 2002 as much as it has enhanced it and invested greater resources into equity and inclusion, in particular.
When I applied to Trent, it was in part because there was already a greater Indigenous presence. As a queer teenager, I definitely knew the reputation of Trent as a very queer-friendly school. I came to Trent from New Brunswick, sight unseen, because of factors like that.
Over the last 20 years, a great deal has been done to invest in better representation. Especially within the alumni association, we have continuous conversations about who is sitting around our tables and which voices are missing.
I’ve absolutely seen what inclusion looks like change at the university. There is greater and greater effort to include diverse voices from the ground up. I think, for instance, of the handbook that was created around institution / Indigenous relations, which won a CCAE award. Moments like that are not the beginning of a change in how things are done; they are the result of the change being underway.
Voices from nearby Indigenous communities weren’t just listened to; they are leading the conversations and dictating the terms on which they happen – which is vital for these changes to be meaningful and create more equitable relationships.
A key change has been in how visible minorities are represented at university events and in university media. When I was a student, a lot of racialized folks (especially Black and Asian folks) were assumed to be international students, and the representation was very Othering. While students who come from those areas (both as international students and as immigrants /children of immigrants in Canada) are important, it’s vital to recognize that it’s not a dichotomy of “white students are from here” and everyone else is from “away.”
Now, representation of racialized folks and visible minorities doesn’t focus on heritage, unless it’s directly relevant. This does a lot to naturalize a plurality of ethnicities all belonging, and that leads to more and more types of people feeling at home on campus and as part of our alumni family.
The newer student buildings – like the Student Centre which opened just a few years ago – are beacons of accessibility and inclusion.
These changes and the progress that has been made are happening in three key areas, all of which are important:
Physically, there is more visual representation of difference through publications and in the spaces (i.e., all-gender bathrooms) of campus.
Financially, there are more resources being put into ensuring more voices are heard and it’s uniform across the community.
The nature of inclusion is changing too – it’s much more consultative, grassroots, and based on listening and discussion, not just top-down directives that may or may not resonate with the communities they aim to represent.
Mentorship programs are incredibly successful. We see many alumni return for events like the annual Elders Conference. Staff have worked very hard to ensure that lots of voices are highlighted.
For our younger alum and students, seeing people who look like them and sound like them and share identities with them being successful AND Trent recognizing that by including them as mentors is incredibly validating. Representation matters!
Our awards evaluations now include references to diversity, and we aim to encourage applications from as many folks as possible – and our awards are not based solely on high-level career/academic achievement. The Spirit of Trent Award (my favourite!) is for those who carry the spirit of inclusion, the spirit of changing the world, the spirit of belonging, in their lives.
Women are very well represented in many staff and volunteer areas (often way more than 60% of any particular committee), but we have great strides to make in terms of trans and non-binary representation. Folks who are underrepresented in post-secondary areas are underrepresented in almost all areas of life. I also think there needs to be more financial compensation for marginalized folks when we ask for their intellectual and emotional labour.
Finally, it’s going to take a lot of patience. You need to keep leaving a seat open everywhere – even if it’s not filled, it is a visual marker of what’s missing. That’s key to EDII – we aren’t adding people/representation to a complete group, we are noting that we are fundamentally lacking something now. That will take a lot of cultural, structural, and mental shifts, and a lot of emotional, mental, and financial investment.
Trent media examples of EDII
Trent Magazine 52.1 (trentu.ca) – Fall 2021 issue – Includes a Q&A interview (cover story) with Indigenous alumni reflecting on the legacy of residential schools and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada
Trent Magazine 51.2_web2 (trentu.ca) – Spring 2021 issue – Features a cover-story interview with alumna Anita Erskine ’99, named one of the Top 100 Most Influential Women in Africa. Erskine, who is from Ghana, established multi-platform Anita Erskine Media which focuses on women and girls across Africa.
Trent Alumni (@trent_alumni) • Instagram photos and videos
Trent Alumni (@trent_alumni) • Instagram photos and videos
Trent University :: AGM Introduces New Leaders – myTrent Community – (our new leaders are a gay man and an international graduate from Mexico).
Trent University :: Jake Dockstator Film – myTrent Community
Trent University :: Trent News – myTrent Community
Trent University :: Trent News – 41 – myTrent Community
Trent University :: Trent Talks – myTrent Community – A series that ran in 2020, featuring thousands of alumni, that Trent plans to re-ignite.
July 19th, 2019
Featuring: McGill University, Carleton University & Algonquin College
Written by: Janet Sailian
True YA engagement starts early
CCAE presents case studies of 3 institutions that have developed Prix d’Excellence-worthy YA strategies.
All 3 offer a targeted program to young alumni (less than 10 years post-grad, under age 35) and / or upper-year undergraduates. Students and YA who see alumni as a valued resource are more likely to feel affiliated with alma mater long after they receive their degree, diploma or certificate.
McGill University
Life After Your Degree (LifeAYD) program: Future – and success – oriented
2018 Prix d’Excellence Gold Award in Category 13: Best Student and/or Young Alumni Initiative
Resource: Shana Szikman, Associate Director, Student & Young Alumni Programs, McGill University
An inter-departmental, multi-channel alumni / student engagement program that delivers in-person and online events to offer McGill’s upper-year students career and life transition skills.
Who organizes the program?
McGill Alumni Association, (MAA), Campus Life and Engagement (CL&E), Career Planning Services (CaPS), and the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)
Why this program?
“We want entering students to know McGill has a program to support them in their upper years as they transition to either graduate school or a career. We also showcase the reach and scope of the McGill alumni network, and its role in enhancing the student experience.”
How is it promoted?
Listservs, newsletters, promotional vehicles in various Faculties and through social media. Presentations, workshops and panel discussions feature alumni with a large social media following who help promote the events.
How have upper-year students’ and YA needs changed?
As careers evolve, McGill alumni leverage their degrees into new opportunities. A Science grad, for example, may become a food blogger. “We find alumni who can speak to career-focused tips, soft skills, ethics in the workplace and more. LifeAYD delves into different themes each year, such as mental health and wellness.”
What percentages of YA / students participate online or at in-person events?
About 80% of the 1,800 participants are upper-year students, with 10% from other years and 10% who are YA.
A student’s view:
“One of the biggest fears of many university students is leaving the academic environment and being dropped into the world, tasked with finding gainful employment. That’s where LifeAYD comes in: It provides valuable and practical resources, networking events, and workshops for students, smoothing the difficult transition from academia to the workforce.” – Matthew McLaughlin, BCom’21
A boutique, one-to-one mentorship program – now in its 4th year – that supports the academic-to-career transition of upper-year students and recent (3 years or less) graduates.
How was the program developed?
After alumni relations staff studied mentorship programs across Canada and the U.S., they selected exemplar programs on which to model a pilot initiative: McGill, U of Toronto, Stanford, Columbia and Princeton. The pilot’s success led to implementation of an ongoing program.
How is it structured?
Mentee application is open to any upper-year student or young alum. Mentors are selected by peer-to-peer referrals from existing volunteers to match mentee backgrounds, interests and needs. One-to-one meetings are facilitated by the mentee. Optional group events include networking receptions, varsity and professional games, and professional development opportunities.
Where and to whom is this in-person mentorship available?
The program operates in Carleton’s home city of Ottawa and now, by demand, in Toronto. A few matches in other Canadian cities and the U.S. resulted from known alignments. Several Ravens Football alumni mentor current student-athletes.
Challenges
The 125 paired mentors / mentees are still laboriously hand-matched. Carleton is seeking an algorithm to facilitate computer-assisted matching.
Successes
Mentors have included the Mayor of Ottawa, a Juno Award winner, and the Past President of the university. 88% of mentees said their mentor fast-tracked their professional growth. Donations have increased among program participants.
Algonquin College DSW Cooperative: A niche alumni success story
2018 Prix d’Excellence Bronze Award in Category 13: Best Student and/or Young Alumni Initiative
Resource: Liz van Kooy, Founding Member, DSW Cooperative
Founded by Algonquin College alumni from the Developmental Services Worker program, DSW Cooperative is a worker-owned cooperative that provides high-quality services and support to persons with developmental disabilities. This first cooperative of its kind in Ontario offers continuity of care for clients from vetted, credentialed DSW graduates. It gives DSW workers a stake and a say in their employment and better job security, improving their satisfaction and engagement.
Encouraged by a DSW professor at Algonquin College, four alumni worked with a co-op developer to craft a new model of both employment and community service. The Cooperative offers employees – all Ontario DSW grads – a regular payroll, police and background checks, insurance, PD opportunities and other administrative services. Employees work with clients in their homes and in the community.
How is the DSW Cooperative related to Algonquin College’s advancement strategies?
This is a “niche alumni” success story. Members of the DSW Cooperative credit Algonquin with support to promote the Cooperative among alumni: through a job fair, in publications and on the college’s social media platforms. In 2017, the Cooperative won a $15,000 William G. Davis Innovation Fund award. With help from Algonquin College Communications, the group used the funds to develop a professional website.
The DSW Cooperative hopes to become a placement option for upper-year DSW students and to contribute new material to the curriculum. “This has been a true collaborative effort between the college, the cooperative and the community,” said Liz van Kooy. “Algonquin College is our go-to resource.”
Related Resources:
YA trend scan
For a scan of current young alumni engagement and fundraising trends, check out the slide deck from the 2019 CCAE National Conference presentation: The Future of Young Alumni Engagement in Canada, by Brian Gawor, CFRE, Vice President, Fundraising Research, Ruffalo Noel Levitz. Brian shared results from a recent survey of over 100 CCAE members about their efforts to engage student / young alumni donors and boost participation.
A scalable, sustainable strategy to engage young alumni (YA) requires a thorough understanding of how YA view your school. Support them as students and offer what they need in the first 5 years after graduation to gain lasting loyalty and affiliation.
Ben Seewald of Queen’s University shared his insights into building a successful YA engagement program from the essential starting point: while future alumni are still students.
Aim high
Measure your YA programming against exemplars and peers. Adapt some of their successful strategies to your school.
Layer a YA element into existing events and programs; provide visibility for YA as leaders / ambassadors at high-profiles events.
Use pilot projects to test out new strategies at low cost / risk.
Employ campus allies to build bench strength: Deans, service departments, popular faculty members.
Transitions matter
Graduating high-school students receive lots of recruiting attention from universities and colleges, but once they enroll, that attention ends. Alumni relations can help ease the transition into post-secondary education with tailored programs.
Engage student leaders, interns and others as ambassadors or mentors to new students.
Get students into the “future alumni” mindset through branding, perks and discounts.
Provide career-prep events to help the transition from new grad to employee:
Backpack 2 Briefcase tips (with support from Career Services)
Coaching on how to write a good resumé, build a LinkedIn profile, develop soft skills: financial literacy, personal branding
Interview rehearsals
Mentoring / career advice from prominent alumni in a related field (alumni love to be engaged)
Dress for success / business etiquette lessons
Pilot projects build innovation
Jump-start change with small, focused projects.
Choose a social media platform (Instagram vs Twitter) and focus on it extensively for a trial period.
Feature blogs by YA aimed at other YA and promoted through social media.
Build the YA focus into alumni awards, magazine articles, social media posts.
Think like a Millennial / Gen Z
Relate to this demographic now; it gets harder to capture attention with time and distance from graduation.
Provide the experience of a mall rather than one store: a suite of discounts, access, perks.
Listen to their needs and wants; make it easy for them to say yes to smaller commitments.
Crowd-source fundraising appeals.
Provide 7 – 9 touch points before any financial ask.
