Campus tries to boost alumni ties

Buffalo State alumni have gone far, becoming CEOs, high-ranking officials at major movie studios and members of the House of Representatives. Even the current mayor of Buffalo, Byron Brown, graduated from Buffalo State. But despite these successes, the college's achievements can often go unnoticed.

Officials hope that showing off these success stories will help improve alumni involvement at Buffalo State in order to boost a bottom line that they say isn't meeting its potential.

Alumni with a strong connection to their alma mater can bring in big bucks for colleges.

On average, 9.8 percent of alumni across the nation donate money to their alma mater, according to the Chronicle of Higher Education. This money plays a big role for institutions, and is used to fund scholarships and construction projects, among other things.

At Buffalo State, only 3,448 of the college's nearly 96,000 living alumni donated last year, a giving rate of about 3.6 percent, according to information from the Alumni Affairs Office.

Public colleges face more challenges than private institutions when trying to raise funds, said Kelly Mazella, communications manager for Buffalo State's Alumni Affairs Office. Budget cuts have left public colleges with few extra funds to staff an alumni center or hold events.

In its efforts to improve involvement, Buffalo State's Alumni Affairs Office began collecting data, ranging from financial information to the number of "likes" on the alumni Facebook page, to get a feel for how alumni connect with the college. This is the first time this type of data has been measured, and as the years go on it will provide new ideas for increasing involvement, Mazella said.

"We'll be able to compare these and see how we've improved," she said.

Another way to examine Buffalo State's efforts is to compare the school to similar colleges.

New Jersey City University is similar to Buffalo State in many ways. It is an urban, public liberal-arts college with a diverse population that is made up mostly of commuters. It has also taken serious hits from state budget cuts in recent years. Its alumni giving rate is 3.9 percent.

 "We're facing some of the issues that all state schools are facing," said Jane McClellan, Executive Director of Alumni Relations at New Jersey City University.

Meanwhile, the prestige of top-tier schools like Yale and Princeton assure a strong alumni network. People who are proud of their alma mater are much more likely to stay in touch with their fellow students or give back to their campus, Mazella said.

Over 60 percent of Princeton alumni donated to their university last year.

"When you go to that school you're pretty much guaranteed in finding a position in whatever your chosen field," McClellan said of Ivy League colleges. "We want to build a little bit more of that culture here."

Alumni involvement and the college brand can boost each other, Mazella said. While big-name colleges can help create a good alumni group, strong alumni ties can also help improve a college's reputation.

While Buffalo State or New Jersey City University will never be Harvard or Yale, there can still be efforts made to promote the college and keep graduates motivated to stay involved. One way to do this is to show off some of Buffalo State alumni's biggest achievements.

"What we're trying to do is share some of our alumni success stories," Mazella said.

New Jersey City University has been holding more events for specific groups within their alumni community, McClellan said, such as recent graduates or alumni with a specific major. The turnout is often small, but attendees are more likely to attend later events.

"We find that regardless of what their age is, they have that commonality and they're interested in coming back," she said.

Buffalo State has made similar attempts, like this semester's reunion for alumni who participated in SUNY's annual study-abroad program in Siena, Italy.

Buffalo State has also discovered the importance of getting students involved in the Alumni Affairs Office while they are still on campus. If students feel connected to their college while they are still attending school, they will be more likely to stay involved and donate in the future, Mazella said.

 Currently, many students don't know much about Buffalo State alumni groups.

"I know it exists, but that's about it," said Jonathan Marlinski, a freshman social studies education major. Nevertheless, Marlinski said it's important for alumni to support their school. His older sister attended Buffalo State and loved it, and her enthusiasm prompted him to attend.

"It's good to support the things you like," he said.

Computer Information Systems major Cassandra Stevick agrees that students don't know much about alumni affairs.

"I don't think they're that visible to me personally," said Stevick, a junior.

The Alumni Affairs Office hopes to change this lack of awareness through the new Partnering Alumni With Students program, which will create a group of students who will volunteer at alumni events and serve as ambassadors between the student body and alumni.

Rising student involvement has already been a profitable step. Alumni donations went up after students participated in the college's fundraising phone-a-thon for the first time, said, Benjamin Marchione, Administrative Director of Development at Buffalo State.

The college is also trying to reach out to alumni who have moved far away from Buffalo.

When Joe Amadio, who graduated from Buffalo State in 1988, moved to Texas to work as a web manager, he noticed how strong many alumni's ties are to big-name colleges, such as Texas A&M University. He decided to try to accomplish the same thing for Buffalo State alumni living in the Dallas area, and in 2003 created a Buffalo State alumni club in Texas.

"We're one of the more remote outposts, I think," he said. The response has been enthusiastic, but limited. About 150 Buffalo State alumni live in the area, but only seven attended the club's latest event, a Bills-watching party at a local bar.

"The alumni I do meet here have fond memories of Buffalo State. They have a soft spot in their hearts for Buffalo," Amadio said. "We try to keep at it."

Although 74 percent of Buffalo State graduates still live in Western New York, the Alumni Affairs Office hopes to leave no stone unturned and has started outreach efforts in various cities. The office has found alumni volunteers to run events in Miami, Long Island and Washington D.C. in the coming months.

Jacob Tierney can be reached by email at tierney.record@live.com.