REPORT TO THE BOARD

JANUARY 2015

The fall activities and tailgates were well attended this year. After we had Super Jay (20’ inflatable Jayhawk) officially cleaned, he has been getting quite a workout. He made all of the Football Fridays events in the front yard, several member tailgates at the Union (new this year), as well as a trip to Wichita for The Roundup. Because of his size, he definitely makes a statement. Getting him back into his travel bag always seems to present a challenge, but we are getting better.

After mounting the Betty Otto break room plaque, we had the old Coke machine removed and installed a series of lockers for the student workers to keep their personal items organized and sale while working at the center. In addition, this helped free up space in the coat closets as well.

At the time of this writing we are re wall papering all of the restrooms. I am not sure when this was done last, but it is certainly a ‘fresh’ change. The new paper is vinyl, no print or pattern, and much lighter in color. All 6 rooms are brighter and appear larger in size.

After consulting with our friends at the Lawrence Fire Department and KU Public safety, we decided on a brand of AED (Automatic Emergency Deflbrillator).. The consensus was that we only needed one unit for the building which we installed outside the Bruckmiller Room on second floor. Within several weeks we will get some instruction on how to use it.

With the transition of incandescent light bulbs to the new LED technology complete, we have seen a fairly substantial reduction in electrical usage for the building, the past 6 months in particular. Some of this may be attributable to the weather, but with the number of fixtures in the building the LED’s are paying for themselves.

Starting on December 24th we will start the demolition and replacement of the original building fire alarm system. The majority of the work will take place between Christmas and New Year’s Day, as there will be few people in the building. The conversion will include a new control panel in the basement, new pull stations and annunciators. The equipment is being supplied by Professional Fire Alarm Systems in Topeka and installed by our building electrician (Jayhawk Power Systems). This new system will accommodate any future expansion In the event we add on to the building.

Other than a few minor fix ups, the mechanical aspects of the building are running pretty smooth.

Tim Brandt

Director, Adams Alumni Center.

Alumni Programs

Happy New Year! Naturally, many of us count our blessings this time of year and set ambitious goals for a new year! I’m thankful for much, including the great team I work with at the Association. As you’ll see in staff reports, we’ve made significant progress in academic programs, legacy recruitment, network growth, and laying the foundation for career programs and services! I’d like to highlight our work on career programs:

Fall 2014 progress:

  • Conducted all alumni survey, which highlighted alumni interest in industry specific events, job opportunities, and online resources
  • Rebranded chapters to networks
  • Worked with marketing team to enhance messaging for events focused on access to the KU Alumni Network
  • Membership team rebranded Dinner with a Dozen Hawks to Networking Nights, which significantly increased attendance
  • Tested creative industry event in Chicago in partnership with BriteBrite Great, a Marketing and Advertising Agency owned by KU Alumni
  • Launched inaugural JOBs (Jayhawks on Business) program in Dallas in partnership with the School of Business featuring Forrest Hoglund, e’56
  • Signed a contract with Brazen Careerist, an interactive communication platform connecting KU Alumni through real-time online events around the world.
  • Established the KU Alumni Mentor Network for students and alumni, led by David Johnston.
  • Lawrence Network Board developed new career/professional series led by Tyler Rockers
  • The Kansas City Network Board is developing a career networking series led by Betsy Winetroub

Looking ahead to 2015:

  • Partnering with KU Endowment and Autodesk for a new KU Tech Trek career series connecting mid-career alumni in the Tech industry and students interested in careers in computing technology – January 13 (Invitation only)
  • We will host our first online networking event by industry – January 29, 12 CST
  • Hosting first Lawrence Network Professional series event – February 6
  • Launch new Kansas City career series - February
  • Launch KU Alumni Mentor Network, engage campus partners in populating both mentors and mentees
  • Increase frequency of industry events within our largest networks
  • Work with the School of Business to expand JOBs program to largest networks, beginning in the Midwest (hosting 3-4 events annually)
  • Dedicate additional staff resources to increasing career programs and services

We are well positioned to have a great year! I’m excited to work with our team as we continue to provide unique value through diverse programs and services. I’m happy to expand on any of these topics during our winter meeting. Thank you for your commitment to the Association and your leadership!

Rock Chalk Jayhawk!

Heath Peterson

Vice President for Alumni Programs

KU Alumni Association

National Network, International Network & Athletic Programs

January 9-10, 2015

Since our last meeting in September we have made a lot of progress and have lots of plans nationally, internationally & athletically. As we gear up our meeting in January let’s take a look back at some highlights from the last couple months and take a peek at what we have coming up this spring!

  • We hosted our first career specific networking in Chicago. The event was co-sponsored by KUAA and BBG Marketing (owned by a KU grad). This event was intended for all Jayhawks working creative jobs in the Chicago area. We had 80 signed up for the event. Looking forward we are working on similar events in LA/NYC/DC/Dallas/Houston/St Louis & Denver.
  • Our Minneapolis network is working on a company profile & networking event at The Toro Company. Alumnus and Presidents Club member Mike Happe is a Vice President with Toro and is obtaining approval for this event.
  • Dallas, Houston, Phoenix and Denver all host either monthly or quarterly networking gatherings. We are encouraging our largest networks to host casual networking events.
  • We partnered with the KU Libraries to bring the “Evolution of the Jayhawk” event to Houston, Austin, DC & Richmond
  • This spring we’ll focus on developing strong volunteer support and programming in St Louis, Chicago, and Houston similar to Dallas, Denver, and Phoenix.
  • Charles Bunkhart, Assistant Vice Provost reached out to KUAA regarding our efforts internationally. They see us as a valuable partner internationally and he would like International Student Services (ISS), Study Abroad, International Student Recruitment & Endowment to work with us on outreach.
  • In June we will be taking the Chancellor to London to see our alumni network, meet with donors and partner universities. We are waiting to see if there are opportunities for her in conjunction with the World University Games in South Korea
  • Women’s Volleyball made the NCAA tournament again this year and were able to host the opening rounds in Topeka (due to the KU vs Florida game). We advertised the game to all alumni within a 100 mile radius of the arena and hosted a pregame reception (60 in attendance).
  • Women’s Soccer hosted the opening round of the NCAA tournament this year at Rock Chalk Park versus Mizzou. We hosted a tailgate in the parking lot of the stadium.
  • Road Tailgates: Duke – 200 attendees
  • Home Tailgates: Presidents Club Tailgate Avg: 175 people; Members Only Tailgate Avg: 125
  • Basketball pre games: Kentucky – 500, Orlando – 300, Georgetown – 350; we will host pregame gatherings for the Temple, Baylor, TCU, Texas & OU
  • Athletics would like to partner with us to get new football coach David Beaty out in the state in February. Athletics would like to host events in Lawrence, KC, Wichita, Topeka, and multiple other stops throughout Kansas. More info to follow

Thank you for your support!

Danny Lewis

Director of Alumni Programs

Academic Programs Board Report

Winter 2015

Greetings from the Hill! As always, it’s a great time to be a Jayhawk on campus as finals week is in full swing and we are in the midst of the holiday season. We even kicked off December with the news that we were awarded a bronze award from CASE District VI in the Alumni Relations Programs – New Initiatives category for our partnership with the KU Libraries. It is always nice to receive recognition for work among our peers and we look forward to receiving this award at the conference in January.

The fall has been very productive on the academic programs front and I am especially excited to share that the long-awaited Jayhawks on Business program series has finally started. The first edition was held in Dallas in late October with KU School of Business Dean NeeliBendapudi moderating a great discussion with Forrest Hoglund as he discussed his long and successful career in the energy industry. Networking time was provided before and after the discussion as well as time for Q&A from attendees.

As we hope to take this program series across the country to highlight some of our most successful Jayhawks, Dallas proved to be a great starting point as Mr. Hoglund proved to be an excellent speaker and huge proponent of KU that anyone at any stage of their career could learn and take insights from. We were also fortunate enough to bring back high quality video content for the website so that those who weren’t able to make it to the event could get a taste of what they missed. If you haven’t had a chance, I encourage you to check out the video and blog post on our website.

Another highlight every year around the holidays is the annual Kansas City Jayhawk Engineering Reception in Kansas City. This year it was held at Mission Hills Country Club and again featured updates from Dean Michael Branicky as well as each department chair. The list of “brag points” for KU engineers is really quite impressive. Parents of current engineering students from the KC-area were again invited this year and an even greater number attended than last year. This year’s new additions to the invite list were the current students in KU’s Self Engineering Leadership Fellows program. Any time current students are added to a program, the feedback is always positive and this was no different as these are KU’s best and brightest from the School of Engineering and it proved to be a great chance for these students to network with alumni who may be looking to hire Jayhawks in the future.

Looking ahead to 2015, my focus will again be on these types of programs that provide quality content, highlight KU’s success, and provide a chance to do industry-specific networking. As these programs evolve, the feedback I get from alumni has become fairly consistent in that all three aspects are important and effective in causing people to attend an event.

We have some great examples of these types of events coming up early next year as we are partnering with KU Endowment to invite San Francisco-area Jayhawks in the tech industry to meet and network with 22 students that are taking a trip to be introduced to potential computing careers in Silicon Valley. Brian McClendon of Google fame is also participating and we expect this to be another great chance to mix current students and alumni in a productive and fun way.

Of course, the School of Engineering is never to be outdone as we have lined up their annual Texas swing through Dallas and Houston where we will duplicate the KC program that not only provides some great KU Engineering “brag points,” but also provides networking and career development opportunities in two of our engineering hotbeds. We are looking forward to a productive and exciting new year.

Rock Chalk,

Brad Eland

Director of Academic Programs

KU Alumni Association

Affinity Chapters and Reunions Board Report

January 9-10, 2015

Affinity Programs

Black Alumni Network: The Black Alumni Network hosted a pizza party for African-American freshmen on December 12. The event was held in Ellsworth Hall in order to make the location more convenient for students. We had approximately 25 students in attendance.

The Black Alumni Network has been planning events for the bi-annual reunion scheduled to be held September 25-27, 2015. The featured event will be the KU Black Alumni Awards Banquet featuring the Leaders and Innovators honorees. The Leaders and Innovators Award recognizes African-American leaders from the KU community for their impact on society. The nomination form is available online at We will be accepting nominations through March 16, 2015.

The Black Alumni Chapter Scholarship Fund has grown to $150,000. This scholarship campaign is meant to generate academic support for African-American students.

Hispanic Alumni Network: Heading into the New Year, the Hispanic Alumni Network will be focused on Hispanic student recruitment and retention at KU. All Hispanic Alumni will be encouraged to sign up as a HAWK volunteer through KU Admissions. In January, Hispanic Alumni will be participating in a post card campaign to admitted students. Other efforts that Hispanic Alumni will get involved with include attending local college fairs that KU is represented at and attending recruitment events.

Veterans Alumni Network: The Veterans Alumni Network hosted a Veterans Meet and Greet in early September for all students, alumni, and faculty and staff who are veterans. We had approximately 65 people in attendance representing all of our Armed Services. We have received multiple requests to hold another event to create a social environment for our local KU veterans. Moving forward, the Veterans Alumni Network will hold a Meet and Greet at the beginning of the fall and spring semesters. The next event is scheduled for January 30, 2015.

The third annual Veteran’s Day run, co-sponsored by the Veterans Alumni Chapter and the Collegiate Veterans Association, was held on Sunday, November 9 on the KU campus. We also received support from local veteran friendly organizations such as Team Red, White, and Blue and CrossFit Lawrence. Approximately 200 Lawrence and surrounding area community members participated. Revenue generated from the run will go to support the KU Wounded Warriors Scholarship Fund and the KU Memorials Fund.

The 2014 Senior Advisory Board meeting took place November 14 at the Adams Alumni Center. The Veterans Alumni Network welcomed 24 active and retired military alumni as part of the Senior Advisory Board. The board meeting provided Veteran program updates and provoked discussion regarding KU’s higher education outreach to the United States Armed Forces and veterans. Following the meeting, Senior Advisory Board members attended the KU vs. UC Santa Barbara basketball game.

Reunions

Upcoming

April 9-11: Class of 1965 50-Year Reunion

April 11: Gold Medal Club Reunion

Class of 1965 50-Year Reunion

The Class of 1965 will be celebrating their 50-year class reunion from April 9-11, 2015.

Reunion efforts have been led by John Mays, Class of 1965 president. Complete reunion registrations will be made available by mail and online in January. Keynote events for the weekend include a welcome reception, a tour of the Dole Institute of Politics, the annual Pinning Dinner and Presentation, and a show at the Lied Center entitled “The Million Dollar Quartet.”

Gold Medal Club

The Gold Medal Club Reunion will take place on Saturday, April 11, 2015. William Benso, e’58, from Lawrence, KS is this year’s Gold Medal Club president. The first meeting took place on November 11, 2014. The goal of the 2015 reunion will be to create an environment to reconnect with old friends. Gold Medal Club Reunion registrations were made available by mail and online in January.

Rock Chalk!

Jacey Krehbiel, d’12

Alumni Programs - January 2015

Greetings from a cold and wintery Hill! The fall semester has passed and our focus now has a renewed sense of goals and aspirations that come with a New Year and semester. The fall semester was a fast paced five months that included traveling nationally and in-state where we focused on the transition from “chapters” to “networks.” We believed that the word “network” better describes many benefits Jayhawks can derive from being involved in their local areas and a part of the larger, powerful alliance worldwide. We simplified our structure to 114 networks worldwide, enabling us to provide more consistent communications and programs. The response to this transition was overwhelmingly positive and many are looking forward to future events that focus on increasing membership and really growing our career and academic programs in all areas and networks.

In state, the beginning part of the semester was focused on conference calls and network meetings to start to plan our winter and spring events. We had a conference call with our Southwest Network and a group from our Great Plains Network came up to Lawrence and we hosted a network meeting over lunch. Both of those meetings resulted in choosing dates for their annual events. The Southwest Tumble (February 23rd) and the Great Plains Shrimp Boil (February 7th). For the Great Plains Shrimp Boil, the Biodiversity Institute will join us in Garden City for a demonstration on native Kansas plants and how some of those plants are surprisingly members of the hops family. We will be using our partnership with the Biodiversity Institute again in February for an event we are doing with our North Central Network in Salina at their downtown brewery. We have utilized our weekdays for travel in-state travel and stewardship. For our West Kansas Network we will be doing a kickoff event with KU Athletics in Dodge City sometime this spring.