Fort Lewis College Annual Reports Summer Issue 2014 | Page 14

A F lumni events with Fort Lewis College are in a state of parallax. Traditional alumni events are marinated in the tradition and lore of what drew a crowd years ago. By simply replicating these traditional events and trying to change as little as possible we are unable to draw new alumni into the fold. We have lost the days of alumni gatherings drawing a large crowd by simply offering beer and hotdogs. As we continue to move forward with engaging alumni events we find that our audience is in flux with their demands of their alma mater. Update from the Alumni Association David Kerns We had a very successful alumni and community event honoring Dr. Duane Smith’s legacy of teaching here at Fort Lewis College a few weeks ago, and the success of the Dr. Duane Smith Last Lecture is a testament to the newer form of alumni engagement that we now strive to deliver. The lecture covered far more than Dr. Smith’s nearly five decade career teaching and writing at FLC. Dr. Smith is an irreplaceable member of the Fort Lewis College faculty and by leveraging his tenure we hosted the largest alumni gathering in Fort Lewis College Alumni History. Just by billing the Thursday night event as “Dr. Duane Smith’s Last Lecture” the Community Concert Hall tickets were sold out. Between the 600+ people in attendance, the 48 that watched the live streaming, and the 112 that have watched the lecture “on demand”, the evening was an inordinate success. The Alumni Relations staff received compliments from graduates asking for additional alumni events like this one. We also heard about graduates driving as far as 10 hours to attend this lecture for the alumni and community! We need new ideas and you have been sending them our way via the recent alumni survey. We have received almost a thousand suggestions on how our alumni base wants to engage with their alma mater. The survey tool that we are using allows us to divide and segment our data in order to understand the wishes of specific groups. We may discover that we need to have a new graduate career networking event in Seattle, or host a group of graduates at a spring training game in Phoenix. I strongly encourage you to fill out the alumni survey that was e-mailed to you from [email protected]. We believe this information is very important for the future of Alumni Relations at Fort Lewis College, and the responses that are provided by you will guide our efforts for years to come. The Duane Smith Last Lecture was the recommendation of a graduate who had classes with Dr. Smith over thirty years ago, and he watched the event live from 1,870 miles away. This survey is incredibly important to the work that we can do for you. In addition, we will also include everyone who completes the survey in a drawing for a new iPad. You have the power to make Fort Lewis College Alumni work for you – thank you for your participation! Stay in touch, Dave ort Lewis College continues to grow in exciting ways. Each year our reputation for offering excellent programs in the natural sciences is recognized nationally. And, each year, the number of students wanting to be part of these outstanding programs continues to grow at a very fast pace. In 2010 the engineering /physics department had less than fifty declared majors. In 2013 there were more than two-hundred and fifty (and a waiting list) who had already determined their future paths in these areas. That is tremendous growth in such a short period of time. Update from the Foundation Director Margie Deane Gray In 2010 there were 87 declared majors in the Geosciences, and by 2013 that number had grown to 110, with indicators for many more students signing up because of continued growth in a vital field of study. These students are studying at Fort Lewis College because they are that sure about what the college will offer them and how they will reap the benefits in the future. While we are obviously doing something right to attract all these outstanding students and have two “hit” majors on our hands, we also have a resource problem. This growth is exciting and certainly solidifies our reputation. While it is a great problem to have— it is still a problem. All good things come with a price. How will we manage the growth so we can continue to give our students the best educational opportunities? How can we expect these students to be successful if they and the faculty don’t have the necessary tools they need to succeed in the working world of the sciences? We must be able to offer them proper classroom space, top-of-the-line equipment and opportunities for top-notch research. All of a sudden, the need to offer these young scientists a place to learn, to experiment, to excel are no longer an items on a wish-list but an essential must have for the students —no questions asked. Today our academic facilities for these students clearly need an update. The wing where the Geosciences and Physics/Engineering departments are located hasn’t been renovated since it was built in the 1960s! With that realization, our next step must be to build a state-of-the-art Geosciences, Physics and Engineering Building on campus. This new facility will solve major issues for our science students, faculty and departments. We all know that State funding is pulled back more each year, and we can’t totally depend on the State to help us financially to create educational opportunities. While we are grateful f or the State funding we will receive for this and future projects, we also need to depend on the support of current and future friends of Fort Lewis. As we develop plans for a capital campaign to build the much-needed GPE Building, we hope we can count on you for counsel and financial support to make this building a reality. I guarantee that this can be a win-win situation for all—the students, the college and the community. Many, many thanks for your continued support of Fort Lewis College. We are extremely grateful. Dave Kerns Warmly, Director of Alumni Relations Fort Lewis College Office: 970.247.7427 [email protected] Gather Here. Go Further. -Margaret Deane Gray Executive Director