Alumni Association FY21 Year in Review
The Alumni Association of the University of Michigan is an independent and worldwide organization that nurtures lifelong relationships with and among Michigan alums and the University. Governed by the Board of Directors, the Alumni Association is a committed partner and supporter of the University of Michigan and offers many programs and services that are relevant to alums and the university community.
This Year in Review provides a data-based snapshot highlighting alumni engagement with the University through their participation in various program areas. Underlying all that we do is the belief in the value of education to the well-being of society and a commitment to integrity, diversity, and service through lifelong connection with our alums as well as meaningful cross-campus collaboration.
Alumni Demographics
284,369 engaged domestic alumni. 19,411 engaged global alumni.
Program Engagement
Alumni Association Program
Alumni Association Programs + FY21 Metrics
FY21 Metrics
Membership
Membership enables the Association to support our alumni in every stage of their lives, whether it’s about engaging in alumni communities, looking for the next job, or planning a trip.
Michigania
Camp Michigania provides alumni families unique experiences on Walloon Lake while promoting lifelong connections among alumni. In FY21, Michigania pivoted to engage campers virtually in summer 2020, provided cabin rentals to the U-M community as a respite from the pandemic, and offered a safe and memorable in-person camp in summer 2021.
Travel
With Michigan Alumni Travel, our alumni can cross a few of those long-standing destinations off their bucket list, or go the more immersive route with the new Insider Series. Due to COVID-19, in-person traveling was limited in FY21; however, the travel team continued to engage with alumni through virtual events and volunteer opportunities (e.g., blog writing).
Online Communities
Alumni can join and start discussions around what matters most to them, and this is also where the Alumni Directory can be found. Through this platform, alumni can connect locally with clubs and across the U.S. and globe.
Alumni Education Gateway
Alumni across the globe can access the timely topics, current events, resources, seminars, research, and expertise of the University digitally through the Alumni Education Gateway.
Alumni Career Program
From the Leaders of Industry Series to our Preferred Career Coaches, alumni can find new ways to move ahead at every stage of their career.
Alumni Volunteer
Michigan alumni volunteer in different ways. In FY21, our club officers, alumni student recruiters, and hundreds of alumni volunteers continued giving their time, talent, and treasure in supporting our University’s mission.
Alumni Volunteer Platform
Alumni Volunteer offers a digital space housing volunteer opportunities offered through the University from a total of 21 academic schools and colleges as well as non-academic units across three campuses.
Alumni Student Recruiters
Alumni volunteers can give back to the University and share their U-M pride and loyalty by encouraging academically talented students to apply to – and attend – the University.
Alumni Clubs
With 862 volunteer club officers’ leadership and support, our 95 Michigan alumni clubs harness an awesome part of the collective power of the network from cities across the country and the globe.
Club Scholarship
Each year, our alumni clubs raise money to provide scholarship support to the best, brightest, and neediest students from their local areas.
LEAD Scholarship
The LEAD Scholars program helps to create a more diverse campus by awarding merit-based scholarships to accepted, underrepresented students. For many, this is how the dream of attending Michigan becomes a reality.
Giving to the University
U-M alumni who are also Alumni Association members gave to the University more than 13X compared to non-members in FY21 ($4,000 vs $300) and in lifetime recognition giving ($55,000 vs $4,000).
U-M alumni who are engaged with Alumni Association programming gave to the University more than 2X compared to un-engaged alumni in FY21 ($1,045 vs $480) and in lifetime recognition giving ($14,670 vs $7,335).
Partnership Highlights
Alumni Education Gateway
- “Democracy and Debate” themed semester: highlighting relevant digital events being offered across campus, with the following highlights:
- “Good Trouble” film viewing honoring the legacy of John Lewis.
- Promoted University resources like the “Dialogue in Democracy” series, U-M press collection of free-to-read books covering political topics.
- Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) events featuring Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson speaking on voting security, and author Alice Randall, the author of Black Bottom Saints.
- Co-sponsored a digital event with UMMA, featuring the Asian Art collection with curatorial staff and alum Hamilton Chang.
- Exploring new partnerships with Institute for Healthcare Policy and Innovation (IHPI) and Ford School of Public Policy.
Alumni Career Program
Our Alumni Career Program continued offering programs through mutual collaborations with the Ross School of Business Career Development Office, Ross Alumni Engagement, Rackham, UM-Flint, and UM-Dearborn. Programs were also amplified by Stamps, Michigan Medicine HR, and the Center for Academic Innovation.
- 2-Hour Job Search with author Steve Dalton: co-hosted with Ross and garnered 1,100 registrations. Made possible through shared resource usage. “Revolutionary way of thinking when it comes to job searches. Like the Moneyball of getting hired.” – Alum Participant
- International alumni engagement: “Mastering Your Job Search” in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong.
- Alumni career webinar series offering to all campus partners, including UM-Flint and UM-Dearborn campuses. “For the past year or so, we’ve been partnering with the Alumni Association’s Alumni Career Program. Their resources are available to alumni on all three campuses. It is a godsend!” – UM-Flint
- Annual Alumni Career Collective event, Higher Education & Career Services: A Panel Discussion for U-M Staff.
Alumni Volunteer Program
Launched in early 2021, the Alumni Volunteer platform offers a digital marketplace for opportunities hosted by U-M affiliated units, including non-academic partners and alumni clubs and affinity groups.
- In FY21, > 250 opportunities were offered across 21 participating units, resulting in 839 volunteer connections formed in just a few months.
- We hosted an Alumni Relations Council meeting in June 2021, where an industry expert from Cornell University shared proven practices in volunteer management, followed by a U-M staff panel.
- “We have really enjoyed the partnership. It has connected us with alums who we otherwise may not have gotten to know, especially during the pandemic.” – UM-Dearborn
- “The portal was really helpful on Giving Blueday. We were able to post opportunities to find young alumni who are interested in sharing experiences really quickly.” – LSA Advancement
Alumni Clubs & Campus Collaboration
More than a dozen alumni clubs partnered up with schools, colleges, units, and departments in FY21, delivering the following featured events:
- Congressional Breakfast (partner: Government Relations)
- Inequality, Policing and the 2020 Election (partners: LSA, Department of Political Science)
- The Next Administration: Post Election Recap (partner: Ford School of Public Policy)
- The Flint Water Crisis (partners: SEAS & UM-Flint)
- Chatter – Why the Voices in Our Head Matter (partners: Engineering, Ross, LSA)
- Virtual Football Tailgates (partner: Athletics)
LEAD Scholarship
Since its inception in 2008, LEAD has provided merit-based, 4-year, renewable scholarships of up to $15,000 a year for 243 Black, 180 Latinx, 39 Native American, and 3 white students across all three campuses.
