Alumni Engagement 101

WANT TO ENGAGE YOUR ALUMNI? WE CAN HELP.

The Office of Alumni and Student Relations collaborates with faculty and staff collegewide to maximize resources and share alumni engagement efforts.

We've provided you with a mini how-to on this page. But if you need further assistance, please don't hesitate to call our team at (518) 581-5380, email us at alumni@sunyempire.edu or pay us a visit at Alumni House, 28 Union Avenue in Saratoga Springs.

We look forward to hearing from you: Meet the staff.

Alumni Information and Updates
Outreach to Alumni
Department Anniversaries and Special Events
Meet Alumni When You Travel
Request Alumni Speakers from Our Alumni Speakers Circuit
Research Requests Involving Alumni

ALUMNI INFORMATION AND UPDATES

WHO ARE OUR ALUMNI? WHERE ARE THEY? WHAT ARE THEY DOING?

The Office of Alumni and Student Relations along with Advancement Services oversee and manage alumni records to ensure that all alumni names, addresses (postal and email), grad years, majors and employment data are distributed and used appropriately and responsibly, and are consistent with expressed wishes of the individual alumna/us.

KEEPING ALUMNI DATA UP TO DATE.

All alumni contact information, employment updates, notable accomplishments collected by an academic department, regional location, student club, etc., should be sent to the Office of Alumni and Student Relations at alumni@sunyempire.edu.
Alumni can also directly share their news and contact information through the Tell Us Your News feature on the SUNY Empire alumni site.
Connections, and most are acknowledged by personal note.

OUTREACH TO ALUMNI

HOW CAN YOU COMMUNICATE AND ENGAGE WITH YOUR ALUMNI?

The Office of Alumni and Student Relations regularly communicates with alumni through email, social media and other channels helping to coordinate more than 180 events a year. We also have an active volunteer base of 1,500 alumni who are eager to get involved. We are happy to partner with you to develop a communications strategy that will work best for your department.

BENEFITS:

Alumni and Student Relations can support any of your outreach through email communications, social media and by including your events on our alumni student events calendar.
If your department already produces an electronic newsletter, Alumni and Student Relations can assist with the distribution of your newsletter and provide email headers and reports on results to you after it goes out.
We are happy to partner with your department on specific messaging, as well.
Alumni and Student Relations can provide lists of volunteers eager to lend a hand in recruitment efforts, testimonial support, physical event support (such as Commencement, student conferences, info sessions/open houses) and much more.

THINGS TO CONSIDER:

If you post alumni highlights, spotlights or news articles about alumni, please include all graduation years and share the alumni news with us at alumni@sunyempire.edu.
After you work with a volunteer, please share their name along with the volunteer activity they participated in so we can make a note on their record and steward them appropriately.
Please follow SUNY Empire on all our social platforms to stay up to date on student, alumni, faculty and staff stories and the latest goings-on at the college. Follow us on Twitter,Facebook, LinkedIn and Instagram.
Also, if any colleagues or members of your department are alumni, we encourage them to include their grad year in their email signatures.

DEPARTMENT ANNIVERSARIES AND SPECIAL EVENTS

The Office of Alumni and Student Relations is a great partner and resource in planning your alumni activities. Our office is required to be aware of all alumni engagement efforts to help involve appropriate staff of the College or to promote it to the alumni directly. Please note that six to eight weeks advance notice is required for most events to be successful.

THE OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS CAN PARTNER WITH YOUR DEPARTMENT BY:

Promoting the event on the Alumni and Student Relations events calendar
Facilitating email invitations and correspondence
Creating online registration forms and attendee lists
Managing registration fees and coordinating payments

YOUR DEPARTMENT IS ASKED TO:

Share alumni contact information with Alumni and Student Relations prior to invitations being sent
Set up meetings with Alumni and Student Relations staff to plan the event
Personally reach out to alumni you are in contact with to encourage attendance
Provide Alumni and Student Relations with final attendee list and any other relevant information

MEET ALUMNI WHEN YOU TRAVEL

SUNY Empire alumni live in just about every corner of the globe and are very interested in connecting with faculty and students. We invite faculty members to connect with alumni during your business travel to conferences, academic or corporate presentations, or while on sabbatical. If you are willing to meet with our alumni, we are looking to partner with you!

TO PARTICIPATE:

We'll need at least four weeks notice before your travel date.
Give us a time and location when you are available to meet with alumni.

For example: You are attending a conference in Dallas from August 1-3 and you have time between 3 pm and 5 pm at the Dallas Hotel to meet with alumni for coffee.

If you are presenting at a conference, we would like to know more about your presentation so we can inform alumni about your work.
We can also invite alumni to your presentation if they are open to the public. For example, there may be a lecture you are giving at another university that we could invite alumni in the region to attend.

REQUEST ALUMNI SPEAKERS FROM OUR ALUMNI SPEAKERS CIRCUIT

The Office of Alumni and Student Relations is in touch with thousands of graduates willing to help with speaking opportunities and activities. Departments and student clubs can request assistance with planning a class presentation or event involving an alumni speaker, and alumni can also serve as moderators of discussions, panelists or keynote speakers. We are proud to introduce and showcase our alumni speakers and highlight their work and accomplishments. Invitations to alumni take about six to eight weeks to coordinate.

Alumni speakers inspire and influence students by sharing their college experiences and how leadership, mentoring and networking have played critical roles in their professional careers. Alumni speakers are business owners, community leaders, entrepreneurs and corporate and non-profit executives.

THE OFFICE OF ALUMNI AND STUDENT RELATIONS CAN HELP YOU WITH YOUR REQUESTS BY:

Reviewing or recommending an alumni speaker
Following up with a phone call or meeting
Identifying new graduates who could be potential speakers or guests for your activity
Coordinating invitations to alumni and special guests

RESEARCH REQUESTS INVOLVING ALUMNI

We know that the academic research projects by college faculty and staff are happening all the time. To assist in research efforts, the Office of Alumni and Student Relations is here to help. Whether you are looking for specific headcounts of alumni student cohorts, or are interested in reaching out and possibly surveying alumni who have graduated within a certain year range or with a specific degree, we can help coordinate that effort for you.

THE OFFICE OF ALUMNI AND STUDENT RELATIONS CAN PARTNER ON YOUR RESEARCH REQUEST BY:

Providing the sample (list, stats, headcounts) you are looking for
Plan all communication efforts and outreach to alumni and students (if necessary)
Providing follow-up documentation with results and feedback from email, survey, etc.

YOU ARE ASKED TO:

Provide us with the specifics of your research
Include the full criteria of alumni data you are looking for
Provide us with the text for email communications/survey build (if necessary)
Share results/findings as appropriate
Work with our office on stewardship of alumni participants