March Madness is upon us. For any of you watching the NCAA Basketball Tournament, it’s pretty easy to feel the passion that the various alums have for their alma maters.
Even though the UNMC College of Medicine does not have a basketball team, our alumni nevertheless take great pride in our accomplishments and we in theirs.
Nothing is more precious than good health. And, without question, the College of Medicine is in the business of keeping people healthy.
From life-saving organ transplants to cutting-edge cancer research to training the physicians of tomorrow, it’s safe to say the College of Medicine has an impact on people’s lives that extends way beyond the fleeting joy of winning a basketball game with a buzzer-beating jump shot.
Our numbers are relatively small – we only graduate about 130 students each year. But, what a difference these individuals can make to communities in Nebraska and across the country.
About six months ago, the College of Medicine, as well as several other UNMC colleges, launched a new initiative for our alumni, referred to as the “New Era of Engagement.”
It marks a whole new way of connecting with our alumni. Membership dues to the Alumni Association have been eliminated. Everyone who graduates from the College of Medicine will automatically be a member of our alumni association. In addition, the scope of who is recognized as alumni has been expanded to include resident physicians and fellows.
This approach has been implemented by other Big 10 universities, such as Ohio State, and with great success.
Our College of Medicine Alumni Association will now be called the College of Medicine Alumni Engagement Council. The key word here is engagement. We want our graduates to be more engaged with the college and our current students.
This engagement can come in many forms – that may involve time, talent, financial support or some combination thereof.
Examples include:
- Visiting campus;
- Serving as mentors;
- Participating in teaching activities;
- Hosting or providing information to students who are interviewing for residencies; and
- Helping to fund student scholarships, innovative programming, White Coat ceremonies and technology upgrades through financial support.
In turn, we want to explore what additional value we can bring to our alumni.
Working collaboratively, the Engagement Council, the University of Nebraska Foundation and the dean’s office will develop strategic goals (aka “Big Ideas”) for fundraising and alumni engagement – particularly for the advancement of students.
We’ve created the College of Medicine Innovation Fund, and it will become the focus of annual giving for our alums. Money raised will help turn the “Big Ideas” into reality.
Each year, when College of Medicine alums return to campus for the alumni reunion, one message comes through loud and clear – they can’t believe how much the campus has changed since they graduated.
It makes them proud to see what a world-class medical center their alma mater has become, and they can see first-hand how their contributions have helped elevate the status of our institution.
It was time for a change. Our goal was simple – we want to be better connected with our incredible alumni. We want all our graduates to revel in our success and to discover ways that we can continue to contribute to theirs. Together, we can continue the medical center’s tremendous trajectory.
I can’t thank our alums enough for their past support. They have truly transformed our campus. We’ve come a long way. The new system will hopefully create an environment that will take this partnership to a whole new level.
Let’s make it happen.