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Snapshot
March 23, 2011
President Issues Alumni "Call to Action"
Samford University is enlisting alumni as active participants in the Samford Alumni Association to raise support for the university.
Samford President Andrew Westmoreland, in a video message to the university’s more than 30,000 living alumni, has called on all alumni to be involved “on a scale never before seen” in generating support for the university, engaging alumni in an ongoing relationship, enlisting prospective students and building community awareness of “this beloved university.”
Westmoreland stresses the importance of alumni involvement and the many needs the university has. “We need an army of volunteers if we are going to get this done,” he says in the video.
The alumni recruitment initiative has been four years in the planning, according to David B. Goodwin, director of alumni and parent programs, and supports the president’s request that every Samford graduate have some contact or connection with the university in the next 12 months.
“The goal is to increase financial support for Samford,” Goodwin said. “Tuition and fees cover a little more than two-thirds of the annual cost per student, so additional annual gifts are critical to the university’s financial success.”
But, it is about more than just financial support, Goodwin emphasized. Samford needs alumni to assist in recruitment, networking and special events. There are four levels of participation, allowing alumni to “self-select” the place they feel they can best serve.
More details about ways for alumni to be involved are included in the spring issue of Seasons magazine, which is being mailed about April 1.
“We’re trying to make it as easy and as fulfilling as possible for alumni to do what they can to help Samford,” Goodwin added.
