OXFORD: Alumni Branches' Reunion, 2012

Portrait of President Clinton,
Rhodes House

September, 2012 – The Branch Officers' Lunch and Meeting is again held at Rhodes House, where a hazy portrait of Bill Clinton hangs on the wall of the Milner Room. 

Buffet lunch is served, hosted by Baroness Gillian Shephard, Chair of the Oxford University Society Board.

There are about 30 branch representatives here, out of 200 around the world. Cambridge says it has 400 branches. But the Oxford-Cambridge groups, maybe 10 percent of them, will be double-counted, on both lists.

 The agenda of the meeting on September 14, 2012 includes getting to know Richard Lofthouse, the new Editor of Oxford Today. He joins us at lunch and moves around to meet different people.

An innovation this year is that the Cambridge alumni association is represented at the Branch Officers meeting. Cambridge staffer Anna Wright warms a bit to the group during the afternoon.

The Icelandic representative tells me: "Our  Oxford-Cambridge group in Rejkavik used to get support from the banks in Iceland but since 2008 not so much."

Richard Lofthouse (L) discusses his plans for Oxford
 Today with alumni branch officers.

After lunch we repair to the Jameson Room and hear from Alumni Networks Assistant Joby Mullens about the excellent alumni network listing prepared by the Office. 


He and Jackie Hruby, Alumni Networks Manager, review the alumni survey results:

 
Anna Wright of the Cambridge Alumni  Association  and
Christine Fairchild, Director of Alumni Relations, Oxford.

- Oxford has 204 alumni groups around the world (Cambridge FYI has 400, but there is double-counting because some groups are combined Oxford and Cambridge).
- Of the branches, 55 are in Europe, 43 are in the UK, 41 in North America, 25 in Asia and the remaining 40 are in the Middle East (13), Australasia (11), Africa (10) and Central/South America (6).
- The average number of branch members was 220.
- 17% charge a membership fee, which ranges from about $5 to about $60.
- Of the groups that responded, 77% charge for events and 18% obtained sponsors for events.
- The typical branch committee size is 4-7 people.

Anna Wright and Sigurdur Skulason
of the Iceland Oxford-Cambridge group.

- Of the branches, 60% have their own bank account.
- 80% of respondents favored being involved in visits via the Oxford Travel Program.
- 86% favored having a way of greeting students visiting their area.
- Types of events sponsored by branches: drinks receptions, wine tastings, annual boat race dinners or other dinners, speaker events, garden parties, walks, boat cruises, theater and concert outings, freshers' parties (meeting of incoming students), tours, sports events.

Jacqueline Hruby (left), Alumni Networks Manager.

- Some branches link up with other alumni associations, especially where memberships are small (the Iceland branch comes to mind) or the topic of the event is of a specialized nature.
- Five UK branches have "bursaries" or small scholarships to support summer vacation projects by students from their area.
- Some branches have information evenings on how to apply to Oxford. The Oxford-Cambridge Society of Malaysia provides mock interviews to coach students on how to deal with interviews in a confident way.
- The Oxford-Cambridge Society of Capetown has an innovative website for alumni.

Dr. Rachel Odams, chair of the
Three Shires branch (Beds.,
Bucks., Northants.).

Rachel Odams discusses the events held by her branch (OUS Three Shires branch). The branch has just organized and gotten off to a fast start:
May - Castle Ashby, lovely gardens
June - Althorp Literary Festival - impressive castle, two interesting speakers - Claire Tomalin (Newnham, Cambridge), who has written a biography of Charles Dickens, and Jeremy Vine, TV commentators who has just written his memoirs.
July 21 - An evening out to see a production of Richard III.
The branch also had an extremely successful schools event, inviting students to investigate the possibility of coming to Oxford.
Two more events are scheduled in this busy first year, as follows:
September 29 - Tour of the Ashmolean led by Nicholas Barber , CBE.
November 15 - First Annual Dinner in Woburn, Beds.

Paris branch officer Daniel Weiss has a followup question or two.
I visited with him a few days later in Paris. We had lunch at the Yushi restaurant in the Trocadero near his office and we promised to stay in touch. He and Frank Hildebrandt of the Berlin branch have organized the European branches with meetings in 2009 and 2011 and Andrew Moore in Madrid is working on a 2013 European meeting.

Branch officers break into groups to share Best Practices in four areas - communications, events, recruiting young alumni and succession planning.

Notes that follow are based on a summary from the Alumni Office.


Recruiting young alumni
I go to this group chaired by Vicky Lau (Alumni Relations, Events & Communications Manager, University of Oxford China Office).

The key to enlisting young alumni volunteers, it seems, is to give them something specific to do, something they like doing.

Technology is forcing change. Social networks require different thinking. Alumni in their 30s are difficult to engage - they are busy, need proactive communication. They like communication via social media (Facebook or LinkedIn). It can also encourage  word of mouth contact among younger committee members. 

Vicki Lau (right) led the group on young alumni. Photo by
JTMarlin.

Events should include more socializing, alumni drinks.  Certain events for young alumni may have to be subsidized. Having events where Oxford academics talk to alumni is attractive.  Need up-to-date database – branches should get an updated email list from the central office every year. Programming should address interests of young alumni events – e.g., Happy Hour, Freshers, recent graduates.

Nina Kruglikova (right), St. Petersburg branch, gets a nod
from Daniel Weiss, Paris branch and organizer of 2011
 Europe meeting. Photo by JTMarlin.

Engaging events branches big and small

Chaired by Joby Mullens (Alumni Networks Assistant, University of Oxford Alumni Office)

EUROPEAN BRANCHES

Madrid Branch holds a joint Christmas dinner with Cambridge, a lakeside dinner with

Cambridge in June and monthly lunches on the last Friday of each month. The ability to exchange information between the branches is important, and branch secretary Andrew Moore said it would be helpful to have a list of recommended speakers. The group’s boat race lunch is always a great success. Madrid is planning on being the third venue (in 2013)  for an OUS Europe meeting, following 2009 in Berlin, 2011 in Paris.

Portugal Branch has one main formal event a year - a dinner with a guest speaker,  usually attended by about 200 people. They pay travel expenses and accommodation for one night for their speaker but they do not pay a fee. The dinner is held at a hotel in Lisbon and is organized in conjunction with the British History Society in Portugal and the Churchill Society of Portugal. They would like to increase the number of events they have annually.

Croatia Branch. The branch had a formal dinner with the Ambassador which proved successful, with Cantab and LSE alumni included to get sufficient numbers. The Ambassador has proved helpful in finding venues. The group finds black tie events work  better than informal events.

ASIAN AND AUSTRALASIAN BRANCHES

Malaysia, Oxford & Cambridge Society . The branch had their last Annual Boat Race Dinner at the Exchange Club. They may have formal dinners for significant speakers and have also tried dinner parties in members homes with mixed success. A dozen people were prepared to host them this year but no one responded to an invitation. They also held Small Bites, Big Ideas events - 20 minute discussions with a light supper and speaker. The group said that one of the biggest issues is the education system. A dozen years ago the Government tried to encourage raising standards for English language teaching. They have been running an English language program for 800 students a year. This year the branch held its inaugural debating forum with one of the English-language public schools, which broke into 10 groups for mini debates. The branch doesn’t have money for scholarships but offers support in other ways. Last year they celebrated Bonfire night with a branch event.

Wellington Branch . The High Commissioner organized several successful events. Guy Brown (Branch Secretary) said there is a problem in that he lives 80km from Wellington and 90% per cent of members live in Wellington. He is, however, keen to arrange a barbecue at his house for members.

NORTH AMERICAN BRANCHES

San Diego Branch holds various events including wine tastings. They are holding their first Christmas event this year and hope to get 20-40 people together

for drinks. They are not sure how many people will come so they are currently cautious

about booking a venue. The event will involve a museum tour and a bar with nibbles.

New England Oxford and Cambridge Society is interested in knowing if an Oxford author is passing through their area. They would then reach out to invite them to speak. One way the branch attracts younger members is to offer them an opportunity to speak themselves. The branch has an informal pub night which is sponsored by an MIT professor who is an Oxonian. They also hold a boat race, the Charles River Rowing Race, which is open to all ages and proves quite popular.

UK BRANCHES (see also Three Shires report above)

Manchester Branch secretary Rosemary Broadbent said there should be a distinction between large and small alumni groups and those in rural areas compared to those in the larger cities. The branch held a buffet meal recently where people chose where they sat. This proved more popular than a formal dinner where people are sat in the same seat the whole night. Older members prefer a buffet to a dinner. For the buffet, the branch hires a venue and gets a caterer in to provide the food. The group says their best draw is an academic speaker. They gave the example of Professor John Stein, who talked to the branch about neuroscience research, dyslexia and Parkinson’s Disease. Rosemary Broadbent said in attending the Alumni Weekend she can decide which of the speakers might be worth inviting to speak at a branch. They steer away from political topics.

West Kent Branch secretary John Gelling said the speaker is important. The branch held its 3rd event and works around a framework of a chairman and two speakers for each event. The most recent talk topic was “How Going to University Changed My Life”. A previous topic has been: “What Do You Think About the British Constitution that Doesn’t Exist?”The subsequent feedback the branch has received is that guests like the subjects. Mike Nicholson from Undergraduate Admissions was also spoken of highly. John Gelling also said that one of the challenges is to attract to their events young people interested in going to university. He regretted that the branch doesn’t have events such
as gallery visits, as he does not have the time to organize them.

Hampshire Branch - one of the most successful speakers the branch has had was an Oxford undergraduate.

London Branch secretary Cheryl Lisa Hearne said overseas branches are able to get together with other focused groups, which is a bonus.

Succession planning

Chaired by Jackie Hruby (Alumni Networks Manager, University of Oxford Alumni Office)

How do you reduce your exposure without giving up power / influence ? How do you empower committee members? In OUS Hertfordshire the committee is the organizing team, all of whom have the title of “Prime Mover” (each of whom takes responsibility for one event). There is a need for energetic committee members, as well as flexibility. How do we ask people? How do you recruit people on to your committee who will do something? This should be easy in theory but is difficult in practice. Need to attract younger members. Use events to attract people.  It’s good to have a personal approach. Volunteers can be “selected” from regular event attendees. Extend invitation to more Branch Officers to lunch/meeting – say two per branch and the branch leadership can then select future leaders to attend. Offer incentives from Oxford.

Communications

Chaired by Alison Edwards (Head of Alumni Communications, University of Oxford Alumni Office)

Websites & social media: What are the essential pages on a website? Is it better to have a basic website with minimal maintenance and only the essential information (events, who to contact, membership information) or add additional interestpages, which makes the site more difficult to maintain? Should there be a page where people can upload their own data to central website and/or a centrallyprovided system for managing all branch digital activity (email members, invite to events and take bookings, manage memberships, etc)? Should branch websites be accessible to anyone, or be private? Alumni should be able to join more than one branch = any centrallyprovided system would need to allow for multiple memberships Spreading the work between multiple committee members was seen as an effective approach to managing branch online presences. Many branches have started to take an integrated approach to digital, where the majority of communication with members is via email, with a push to the website/Facebook (e.g., email to promote next event, links to Facebook for more info and booking/payment, then gallery for pics afterwards). Website acts as an introduction to the group (reactive?) or should it be proactive in some way? How? Where do social media fit? Could there be a central budget for Facebook advertising, to encourage new members to join branches? Group sites should include links to the central alumni website. LinkedIn group for branches: many branch secretaries present didn’t know about this group. JM/JH to send an invite via LinkedIn all branch secretaries to join this group.

Email: How to centrally manage email lists, allowing for joining more than one branch (multiple memberships) but managing the failed addresses/bounces, keep track of open rates. Give branch members access to this information. Because email is proactive, is it the most effective communications tool? Need for more specific email/regional lists and training for branch officers, such as via videos about peer-to-peer learning. Should this be part of the Oxford Alumni Weekend?

Mary Gardill and Caroline Baxter at the Alumni
Reception with the Vice Chancellor. Photo by
JTMarlin.

Alumni Reception 

At the alumni reception, I talk with Mary Gardill of the New England Oxford-Cambridge branch. She was chatting with Caroline Baxter, Deputy Director of Alumni Relations.

I meet with Mary the next morning to plan for the Boat Race Dinners in April 2013.  She attended the 2012 dinner in New York City. Both the New England and the New York branches have had alumni boat races. 

Mary Gardill and John Tepper Marlin at the
Old Parsonage.

The list of delegates to the Oxford University Alumni weekend shows nearly 500 alumni registered, not counting their partners or children. St. Anne's College had the highest attendance with 36 alums. Of the 42 colleges and halls represented on the alumni list, the five "women's" colleges (formerly women-only) lead the attendance with an average of 30 alums per college.

Any alum can attend so the "delegate" status really applies only to the relatively small number of branch officers, who met on the first day, Friday, from lunchtime through about 4 pm at Rhodes House.

The three days of alumni meetings are filled with activities in the colleges and at university-wide institutions such as the museums and libraries. The alumni weekend coincides with both college alumni weekends and university-wide open days for prospective students.

The academic specialization of each alum is shown in the delegate listing. Of those attending, Balliol has the highest percentage of alums who read PPE or another subject with Economics included, 55 percent. Half of the small number of Mansfield and Regent's Park alums also read economics. Five other colleges show one-fourth or more of delegates reading economics: Queen's, Merton, Trinity, Oriel and Nuffield.

Here is the composition of the delegates:

College	No.	PPE-Eco	%
Balliol	11	6	55
Brasenose	10	2	20
Christ Church	8	0	0
Corpus Christi	12	0	0
Exeter	13	1	8
Green Templeton	6	0	0
Hertford	13	2	15
Jesus	17	1	6
Keble	19	2	11
Kellogg	8	0	0
LMH	28	0	0
Linacre	3	0	0
Lincoln	10	1	10
Magdalen	7	1	14
Mansfield	4	2	50
Merton	6	2	33
New	14	1	7
Nuffield	4	1	25
Oriel	12	3	25
Pembroke	18	2	11
Regent's Park	2	1	50
Ruskin	1	0	0
Said	3	0	0
Somerville	24	2	8
St. Anne's	36	3	8
St. Antony's	2	0	0
St. Catherine's	17	2	12
St. Cross	7	0	0
St Edmund Hall	14	1	7
St. Hilda's	31	5	16
St. Hugh's	28	2	7
St. John's	18	3	17
St. Peter's	9	1	11
St. Stephen's	1	0	0
Queen's	15	5	33
Trinity	14	4	29
Univ	15	2	13
Wadham	13	1	8
Westminster	1	0	0
Wolfson	2	0	0
Worcester	20	0	0
Wycliffe	1	0	0
Total	497	59	12

Postscript 2017: Five years after the 2012 Alumni Weekend, once again St. Anne's leads the colleges on the reported attendance at the alumni reunion, with 34 alumni attending. What are they doing right?