The association will host its newest event, “On the Green Weekend,” during the last weekend of May.
The new event will allow alumni to participate in class sessions and different university programs for an “academic Homecoming,” said Dawn Werry, the association’s director of external relations.
Athens, though, isn’t the only place reunions are held. Werry travels several times each month to regional events, including stops in Cleveland and Chicago, which each attracted more than 400 OU alumni, Werry said.
“We’re engaging a large number of alumni off campus, which is pretty exciting for us,” Werry said.
In addition to helping students network and old friends reunite, the association helps generate university donations by informing alumni of what’s happening on campus and engaging them through societies or chapters based on ethnicity, discipline or geographical location, said Jennifer Neubauer, the association’s executive director, in an email.
Alumni donations are a part of OU’s Promise Lives campaign for fundraising. The campaign’s current balance is $441,788,000, according to the Board of Trustees’ January agenda.
The organization operates on a budget of about $1.9 million, receiving $567,950 from OU for salaries and $817,190 for payroll support and other expenses such as travel. It also generates $522,619 in revenue, Neubauer said.
Those travel funds will be necessary for the Charlotte Networking Week, which is put on by OU alumni. Students will travel Feb. 20–22 to Charlotte, N.C., to shadow alumni who work in the area.
“Alumni can help provide the context of what life holds for you after you leave Athens , and how you can continue to be a part of the university,” Neubauer said.
The alumni association also works extensively with OU’s Student Alumni Board, said David Bambrey, the alumni association’s director of campus relations.
“They’re also learning a lot from the current students about different technology trends and just different trends that come with the times that they may or may not be aware of, so the relationships are really growing very quickly within that group,” Bambrey said.
The Student Alumni Board puts on many service and campus related events throughout the academic year, such as the “Paint the Town Green” food drive and “Bare on the Bricks,” an annual nearly-naked mile-long run and clothing drive which is set for later this month.
The board also offers student and alumni networking options, said Jackson Lavelle, alumni board president and a senior studying political science and history.
The 73 student members of the co-ed board are working to recruit more members by holding their second annual recruitment.
Members recently tabled outside the fourth floor of Baker University Center, where organization representatives handed out free hot chocolate and ice cream.
Along with its membership drives, the Student Alumni Board has a table at the Fall Campus Involvement Fair to help get the word out about their organization and what they are all about.
“Our goal is to make students more aware of the Alumni Association and to facilitate student interaction with the alumni,” Lavelle said.
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