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How we built an alumni advocacy programme befitting a great university
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
1
(1),
63-73
(2016)
Abstract
The state of Wisconsin is the single largest donor to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maintaining strong and positive relationships with elected officials — who determine the level of that funding — is vital. In early 2015 Wisconsin governor Scott Walker proposed a significant cut to the university budget. Engaging alumni advocates to fight that proposal was a key component of the university budget strategy. Luckily, the Wisconsin Alumni Association (WAA) was prepared. In this paper readers will learn how WAA rallied alumni and parents to be advocates, utilising a variety of outreach tools. The paper also outlines methods for setting goals and measuring outcomes. Lastly, new trends and ideas in grassroots alumni advocacy are explored. Any organisation that supports higher education will find the methods WAA utilised, and the successes and failures of their efforts, to be useful for their own state and federal public policy battles.
Keywords: advocacy; alumni; grass-roots; public policy
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Mike Fahey is managing director for state relations at the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WAA) where, since 2004, he has led grassroots alumni advocacy efforts in support of the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Mike leads the association’s programme to build a volunteer coalition of university ambassadors and advocates. His work informs and supports these alumni, parents and friends across the state and nation as they contact and engage in dialogue with state and federal elected officials in support of the university. He also directs WAA’s state-wide outreach strategies, raising the profile of UW-Madison among state residents, and leads engagement with alumni chapters in Wisconsin and Washington, DC. Mike’s background includes service in the Wisconsin state legislature, in the US House of Representatives and at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. He is a founding member and serves on the steering committee for the Professional Higher Education Legislative Advocacy Professionals (PHELAP), an organisation of alumni advocacy professionals at higher education institutions around the country. Mike has presented at numerous conferences and for several national higher education organisations.
