We’re wrapping up the year on Alumless with a special holiday episode inspired by A Christmas Carol! This festive edition explores the Ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future—alumni engagement style. Joining us are six special guests to help us reflect on our field, where we’ve come from, and where we’re headed in 2025 and beyond.

Hey, Alumless community! Join Chris and Ryan this week for our latest edition. We will explore how institutions can prioritize alumni engagement over the long term and what it takes to bring a campus together around the endeavor. Our special guest on this episode is Amy Layman, Associate Vice President for External Engagement at Franklin & Marshall College. On the show, Amy will share insights from a transformative three-year initiative to raise alumni involvement across campus. 

Amy will also discuss the project's origins, milestones, lessons learned, faculty collaboration, and success metrics. 

Thanks to our newest presenting partner, AlumniQ for supporting Alumless. Find out more about AlumniQ’s events plus everything else platform by visiting https://alumniq.com/

In this episode of Alumless, Chris and Ryan chat with Lauren Villanueva, Vice President for Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving at Syracuse University, to explore the transformative work behind Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University. Lauren shares insights into the ambitious engagement goals set for the campaign and the strategies her team used to bring them to life.

Join us for a thought-provoking episode featuring our newest colleague, Shane Dunn, Vice President and Senior Consultant at CMAC and founder of Shane Dunn Social Sector Strategies. We dive deep into the evolving world of alumni and philanthropic engagement across various nonprofit sectors.

We explore why “alumni-ness” is becoming a crucial focus for organizations beyond higher education. Our discussion includes proven strategies for engagement and fundraising success across various social sectors. 

Shane shares how his volunteer leadership experience with GLAD Law gives him a unique perspective that influences his approach to consulting. We also explore the art and science behind successful fundraising campaigns, including lessons learned from building impactful donor relationships.

If you're thinking about a new event management and volunteer engagement solution, visit alumnIQ.com for details and to schedule a demo. 

This episode is all about reorganizing constituent engagement for the future. We’ll explore how The Ohio State University is working to redefine its approach and build a modern, holistic engagement strategy.

On the show, we welcome Steve Rittler, Founder and CEO of AlumnIQ, as our special guest! Steve shares his expertise in producing high-quality alumni events and we discuss technology's role in shaping alumni engagement's future.

Originally published on September 13, 2024. In this episode of Alumless, Ryan and Chris are joined by Lauren Simione, Associate Vice President for Alumni Engagement at the University of Delaware, to discuss strategic planning in alumni engagement. From Lauren's partnership with CMAC to developing alumni surveys and engagement metrics, this episode dives deep into assembling a strategy that works.

In this episode of Alumless, we dive into strategic engagement in university advancement with special guest Heather Junod, Associate VP for Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving at the University of Central Florida. We explore the challenges and opportunities schools face when crafting next-generation engagement strategies.

What should alumni leaders focus on as summer winds down and the new academic year approaches? How do the roles differ between decentralized college positions and central alumni association roles?In this edition of Alumless we dive deep into these critical questions!

We're grateful to be back with a new episode of Alumless this week featuring Matt Brandon, Associate VP for Alumni Engagement and CEO of the W&M Alumni Association.