Increasingly, there is a growing realization in alumni relations that successful alumni programs, benefits, and services are not ends in and of themselves. Rather, alumni engagement is ultimately all about the institution. Success in alumni relations ideally advances an institution's overall forward progress. Twenty years ago, alumni strategic…

As president of Miami University of Ohio from 1996 until 2006, James C. Garland redefined the public institution as a "semi-private" university by implementing the same tuition for both in-state and out-of-state students. Students from Ohio with need received large scholarships--but those who could afford to pay more did so. The reform,…

Most colleges and universities that launch into social media do so by dipping one toe in the water rather than swan diving into the deep end. And while many people define "social media" as Facebook and perhaps Twitter, the term actually encompasses everything from blogs to photo- and video-sharing sites to LinkedIn to any of dozens of…