Alumni Focus

How might your Alumni Association help you be actively involved in the fantastic story that is William & Mary? A key measure of a quality university are the degree to which alumni give back to their alma mater — not just through philanthropy but with time, talent and connections as well. We are in the top 20 public universities in the nation once again because you say yes to the invitations to participate. You ensure that others can benefit from a W&M experience and that we continue to provide the best preparation for lives of meaning and purpose.

And how do we say, “THANK YOU”? Inspired by a summer reading and pulling lessons from Will Guidara’s book, “Unreasonable Hospitality,” the alumni engagement team stands ready to deliver delight and curated forms of appreciation. Our goal is to ensure you have incredible and rewarding experiences with William & Mary, whether in your community or on campus.

The recent W&M Weekend in Washington, D.C., where more than 1,000 alumni and friends gathered, demonstrated how this ambition fosters meaningful connections and joyful moments in service to the Alma Mater of the Nation. We had an exceptional turnout and support from our young alumni. Over 26% of attendees were young alumni, with 14% from our “First Three” most recent graduating classes. These numbers were intentional to make the Weekend memorable for all ages.

This momentum continued for our new graduates this fall with Welcome to the City experiential events across the country, designed specifically to help them build relationships, explore local resources and thrive in post-grad life.

In the next year, your Alumni Association will be working with our colleagues to also focus on getting the details right. The Alumni Survey last fall was the first step in an effort to serve you better and more personally by doing things like improving our accuracy in contacting you about the things you care about. We want to know what you want from your alma mater. Can we inspire you to share more of your time and talent with the William & Mary community?

This is an intentional effort to know you better, then to serve you better. It is our plan to do our part in creating a preeminent university community. I hope you will accept our invitation to help us build that vision into reality!