Administration works to foster alumni relations, gift-giving

Tufts has been working to erase its image as a school with poor alumni relations and networks, according to the Alumni Relations Director Tim Brooks.

"Prior to the year 2000, students felt as though Tufts was not thoughtful concerning student services, and that the school was nickel and diming them at every possible opportunity," Brooks said.

Before graduating, every student is required to complete an 80 page survey that details their sentiments concerning all aspects of life at Tufts. The survey provides valuable information to the alumni department.

Over the course of the last several years, the survey has begun to reflect a change in attitudes in students making the transition to alumni status, according to Brooks.

"We have seen a huge change in students' sentiments. Portions of the survey that once reflected high levels of dissatisfaction among students are now showing increasingly positive ones," he said.

Brooks largely attributes this reversal in sentiments to changes students have been experiencing during their time at Tufts.

"The administration listened to the problems students listed in their surveys, and have moved aggressively to change conditions," he said.

One of these, Brooks said, was the construction of Dowling Hall, which centralized student-service offices into one building. Dowling was opened after the survey reflected a large amount of complaints concerning the inefficiency and inconvenience of having these offices scattered throughout the campus.

The alumni look at current students as "alumni-in-training," Brooks said.

Furthermore, to dispel the notion that the administration is relatively disinterested in graduates-to-be, President Bacow partakes in Senior Dinners, where he eats with students to create a sense of a more tight-knit and caring community.

While the administration is attempting to adapt and cater more to students' wishes, there are still many who feel giving back to Tufts, especially after recently graduating, is unreasonable.

Matt Reardon (LA '03), said "Tufts is a very expensive school and many students and recent alumni -- especially those that are still paying back student loans -- can be a little bitter about the costs so the last thing on their mind is giving more money to Tufts."

"Down the line when these same alumni have the life they had hoped for and have enough money in their pocket, they can begin to look back at the good times they had at Tufts," he said. "It was the Tufts education that helped them get as far as they did in life."

About 30 percent of Tufts' alumni donate money each year.

According to Brooks, "while this is above average, compared to the roughly 3,000 colleges and universities in the US, we feel that we can do better. Elite schools, like Dartmouth and Harvard, enjoy annual gifts anywhere from 40-60 percent of their alums."

Most top-tier schools score between 30-40 percent, though a whopping 64 percent of Princeton's alumni give back annually, according to the US News and World Report.

Brooks said the alumni offices at Tufts are looking at how schools with large endowments cater to their alums, in the hopes of incorporating some of those strategies into the Tufts model.

But not all alumni think Tufts really needs money. A Fletcher student who asked to remain anonymous, said "when it comes time for the [administration] to 'beg for supper' so to speak, it becomes difficult to convince the more removed community that the University really does need funds."

He said "Tufts' tendency to 'nickel and dime' the students with seemingly petty charges -- the $200 transfer of credit fee springs to mind -- creates a climate somewhat less than conducive from which to solicit."

The administration hopes upon graduation, students will find a strong network of alumni contacts.

"Regional chapters of the Tufts University Alumni Association have been created in major cities throughout the world," Brooks said. These chapters have been reinforced by the creation of the Tufts Online Community, which lists alums' locations, e-mail addresses, and phone numbers.

"The simple act of staying connected with fellow Tufts alums is doing much to foster and maintain those peoples' relationship with the school itself," Brooks said.

Because of the increasingly encompassing alumni network being created, recent graduates can more easily find Tufts connections in terms of where they live and their professions. This, according to Brooks, is another way in which Tufts is generating positive feedback from its younger alums.

There are currently 32 Special Constituency alumni groups, which connect alumni involved in specific activities.

According to President Larry Bacow, these constituencies ultimately "serve as a resource for current students."

The newly created Tufts Lawyers Constituency has 2,200 members. The group is holding career lectures, networking with students, and creating mock classrooms to prepare students for the rigors of law school.

"If alums feel well informed, get invitations to events from other alums and from Tufts, feel connected and are happy and proud with their school, they will be more likely to give to Tufts. And there are increasing numbers of alums who feel just this way," Brooks said.

"We're starting to see the benefits of more contact with alumni -- back-to-back years of double-digit increases in alumni giving," Bacow said.

While Tufts is unquestionably moving towards greater alumni giving and positive post-graduate relationships with the school, some say there is still work to be done.

"There is still very little of what could be called 'Tufts Spirit' here," the Fletcher student said. "That's not to say that the students don't like the school, on the whole I think they do, but there doesn't seem to be enough done to promote school identity. Change that, and I think the money will come rolling in."