Spotlight
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Letter from the Alumni Association president
My first six months as the Alumni Association president have been energizing and insightful. To represent ESU in this capacity is a tremendous honor. It would not be possible without the remarkable talents of the board members and the alumni office.
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Cobb |
During my years on the alumni board, we have taken steps to become a more active board. First, we updated our vision statement: “To facilitate positive relationships and sustained involvement between Emporia State University and alumni and friends.” Second, we’ve welcomed Dr. Michael Lane as the ESU president. We are also working diligently on four different goals.
Implement activities/events to connect with alumni. We need your help to recruit and develop volunteers to host events and coordinate ESU alumni chapters. While we cannot expect ESU representatives to be at every event, it is important that we stay in touch with alumni and increase participation. This is where you enter the picture.
Increase awareness of ESU among community and state leaders. This particular point is critical to ESU’s overall success. While President Lane is spending considerable time on the road between Emporia and Topeka to spread our message, each of you can play a major role from your hometown. This is especially true when we need comments on particular issues to reach our Kansas legislators.
Support ESU fundraising. The alumni board is exploring ways to support ESU. First, we are reviewing the recent surveys concerning a dues-based membership program, meant to enhance your experience with the association and to increase revenue. Thank you for taking the time to respond! Second, we hope you received the application for the new ESU credit card. The more we use this card the more it helps our alumni association. Third, we’re working with the Annual Fund to generate alumni support and increase the percentage of alumni who give.
Build and foster positive student relationships and experiences. We applaud the South Central Kansas Alumni Chapter and Mim Hiesterman for their tremendous effort in the START (Students Through Alumni Recruitment Teams) program. If you would like to work with schools in your area, please contact the alumni office. We are also focused on developing stronger relationships with current students and recent alumni. We understand that the needs of this younger group are different, and we want to serve you. Help us help you – please send us your ideas.
I sincerely appreciate the opportunity to serve as your board president. I hope each of you understands that we all play a part in ensuring the success of ESU, and I encourage you to take advantage of this opportunity to become more involved with ESU.
Myrl Cobb (BSB 1965, MS 1966)
Alumni Association president
Last Updated April 17, 2008