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How Union College's Garnet Society Revolutionized the Student Alumni Association Model

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How Union College's Garnet Society Revolutionized the Student Alumni Association Model

Student alumni associations are nothing new. Their mission: To bridge the gap between students and alumni and to prevent the engagement drop off that occurs when students transition into alumnihood.

But not every student alumni association accomplishes those goals. Those that do, and do it well, are notable. That's why Union College's Garnet Society should be a model for anyone running or thinking about starting a student alumni association.

We asked Union's Associate Director of Alumni & Parent Engagement, Damond Heath, to explain The Garnet Society's success and how its unique system of governance is at its root.

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Why Davidson is Publishing a Print Alumni Directory for the First Time in Over a Decade

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Why Davidson is Publishing a Print Alumni Directory for the First Time in Over a Decade

Printed alumni directories are largely a thing of the past.

But for one school that gets requests from alumni for printed directories every week, resurrecting the practice became an appealing way to satisfy their constituents and update their contact information at the same time.

Davidson College's Director of Alumni Relations Marya Howell explained why her office decided to take on the project.

Scaling and Crowdsourcing Career Expertise

Scaling and Crowdsourcing Career Expertise

A seismic change is occurring in higher education. Some schools are not surviving, and only the innovative are thriving. To stay competitive, schools need to prove their worth to an increasingly skeptical audience. Career services can be on the front lines of that fight. Those with the ability to meet the needs of their students and alumni at scale have the competitive advantage.

Seeing the Big Picture: What We Read to Keep up with Change in Higher Ed

Seeing the Big Picture: What We Read to Keep up with Change in Higher Ed

Higher education is changing fast, whether you can see it happening or not. Where we at Team Switchboard sit—the intersection of alumni relations, advancement, and career services—it can be especially hard to keep up.

There are a few go-to publications we all read for insight, like Inside Higher Ed, the Chronicle of Higher Education, and Times Higher Education, but there are dozens more sources of in-depth coverage of higher education.

Here is a list of nine think tanks and publications whose work we read regularly to stay informed.

"It is not from ourselves that we learn to be better than we are." —Wendell Berry