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An Update from Fuqua’s Alumni Council

November 12, 2012

By Lynne Kaye '82, Chair

The Fuqua Alumni Council was created by Dean Tom Keller in 1988. The Council has been bringing alumni from varying classes and programs together with the Dean and the Development and Alumni Relations team twice a year ever since. It is my pleasure to write to you as 2012-2013 Chair of Fuqua's Alumni Council. (The Chair serves a one-year term that follows the academic year. I succeeded Lee Waite '83 as Chair on July 1.)

The Alumni Council currently has 53 members representing Fuqua's MBA programs as well as the Master of Management Studies (MMS) program, the Advanced Management Program, and legacy programs like the MHA and Evening Executive MBA programs. Our members span class years 1978 through 2010. You can learn more about the Alumni Council on the Fuqua alumni website.

The Alumni Council adopted an updated mission statement at our September meeting:

The Fuqua Alumni Council's mission is to foster a strong, lifelong bond between The Fuqua School of Business and its alumni.

The Alumni Council carries out its mission by:

  • Renewing and strengthening Alumni Council members' own bonds with the school. At our meetings, council members talk with the Dean and other members of the administration, hear about cutting-edge research directly from members of our world-class faculty, and learn about students' experiences at Fuqua.
  • Advocating for the alumni community. Alumni Council meetings are an opportunity for the Development and Alumni Relations team, the Dean, members of the administration and council members to discuss new initiatives, provide feedback from alumni on activities at the school and alumni programming, and learn from one another.
  • Growing Team Fuqua. Alumni Council members get to know one another during the on-campus meetings and by working on project teams between meetings. In the process, members develop new personal relationships with and better understand the perspectives of alumni from other programs, class years and companies.
  • Leading by example. Council members are some of the school's most engaged alumni. Members support the school through leadership gifts of $1,000 or more to the Fuqua Annual Fund, and participate in other initiatives like class reunion committees, regional alumni programming, admissions work, and recruiting.
  • Helping alumni strengthen their bonds with the school. The Council has four initiatives underway to help strengthen the bonds among alumni and Fuqua.
    1. Promoting lifelong learning. If you haven't participated in the new Fuqua Faculty Conversations program, I strongly urge you to check out the December session with Leslie Marx and recordings of previous sessions. This program came about in part through feedback from Alumni Council members that alumni wanted more opportunities to update their business education.

      Fuqua Faculty Conversations is a bi-monthly online program that allows alumni to engage with Fuqua's top faculty members. Each conversation features a professor who creates a "pre-reading" video that describes his or her research, and alumni have the opportunity to submit questions for a live online session with that professor a week or two later. Keep an eye out for post cards and e-mails from the school publicizing these sessions, along with e-mails from your classmates on the Alumni Council. 
    2. Improving the school's alumni website. The Development and Alumni Relations team is hard at work on a complete overhaul of the alumni website to provide easier access to the information you're seeking and to highlight the great things that are happening in our alumni community. Members of the Alumni Council are providing guidance on website content, and they will be test driving the updated version before it is launched in the spring.
    3. Welcome get-togethers. The Alumni Council is piloting a new initiative to welcome recent graduates to the community of Fuqua alumni as they arrive in their new cities post-graduation. The project team recently held its first conference call, and is working on designing a pilot program in a handful of cities. Stay tuned for updates.
    4. Fundraising. The Alumni Council has been working with the Development and Alumni Relations team to increase alumni support of the Fuqua Annual Fund. Annual Fund gifts are the lifeblood of the school, supporting merit scholarships to attract the best and brightest students, a world-class faculty whose research is unparalleled, and programs that connect academic theory with real-world practices. Your generosity also has a direct impact on the value of your degree and our reputation in a competitive business school market.

      This year, the Alumni Council's goal is to help Fuqua meet the Team Fuqua Annual Fund Challenge. If 750 people make personal contributions (corporate matches do not count) of $1,000 or more to the Fuqua Annual Fund before June 30, 2013, a generous donor will contribute an additional $100,000. Each Alumni Council member contributes at least $1,000 to the Fuqua Annual Fund. We are working with the Development and Alumni Relations team to invite our fellow alumni to step up to the challenge-please join us!

We want your feedback! Alumni Council members would like to hear your thoughts on how we can enhance your connection with Fuqua. Please share your thoughts with me at Lynne.Kaye@UnisonAdvisory.com, another member of the Alumni Council, or Erin Gasch, Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, at erin.gasch@duke.edu.

On June 30 of each year we have members rolling off the Alumni Council. We are always working to identify the next great group of new members. To learn more or get involved with the Council, please e-mail Erin Gasch, Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving, at erin.gasch@duke.edu.

All the best for a wonderful fall and holiday season!