Update on Advancement, events, and Light the Way campaign
As the Fall 2023 semester begins, UNCG’s comprehensive Light the Way campaign reaches two full years in its public phase. Vice Chancellor for Advancement Beth Fischer sat down for a UNCG Campus Weekly interview to share the campaign status, what’s new in her division, and what campus community members will want to mark on their calendars.
Beth, what’s the latest news about the Light the Way campaign?
Since launching the campaign publicly, we have built tremendous momentum. We’ve raised $164 million toward our ambitious goal of $200 million.
None of that success happens in a silo. For every donor who has participated in this campaign, their experience likely started somewhere outside of Advancement. It started in a classroom with a faculty member who took extra time to help a student understand a challenging concept or it started with a staff member in Career and Professional Development who made sure to connect a student with just the right internship opportunity. All of those interactions feed into the experience that people have when they choose to support the Light the Way campaign.
Our success in Advancement is built upon other entry points within campus. It’s the volunteers. It’s the faculty and staff. It’s the board leadership. That’s what has helped get us to this point where we have incredible momentum, and I’m excited about building on that momentum.
This will be the fourth UNCG Magazine during the campaign’s public phase. Does it play a role in that momentum?
Yes! I remain very proud of our UNCG Magazine. The fact that we have people request more copies with each issue is very telling to me – and I’m excited about the fall issue and the content that we’re sharing. Our most recent survey of donors shows that the magazine ranks as their most valuable source of information about UNCG.
In the upcoming issue, the magazine highlights the history and legacy of Woman’s College, but also features the excellence that our faculty deliver every single day on this campus. It’s a great range of strategically chosen features. The print copies will be distributed in October, in time to help promote Homecoming.
What are the changes in Advancement in recent months?
We’ve merged the Advancement Communications team and Alumni Engagement team. The reason we’ve merged those is so we can better reach our 140,000 alumni and think about how we are constantly elevating the alumni message and using the channels that are available to us to engage our alumni. Alumni engagement is not defined solely by giving, of course — one of the metrics we use is whether you read the content we’re giving you. It is, in a word, communications.
A new leadership position has been posted for about a month. We are designing a very inclusive search process that focuses on external and internal representation.
Also, two promotions I should note are for David Landers and Sam Wagner. David has been Director of Planned Giving and is now Executive Director of Development. Sam has been Director of Development for the School of Health and Human Sciences and is now Executive Director of Development. They are two longstanding, high-performing people on the team. It’s so great when we can promote from within and recognize superior work.
We have had some turnover, especially in Alumni Engagement. It’s always hard to lose good people. However, it’s easy to be excited for each of them. Whether they are returning to their degree program full time or they got a big promotion outside the University because of the work they did here or they’re enjoying their retirement, you feel so happy for them.
We’re in a post-pandemic environment and I do think some of the model of how we do things is changing. For example, our Alumni All Access programming? This year, we’re moving to an online format, so instead of a concentrated weekend to spend time with our faculty and hear their lectures, we have it online where you have an opportunity to tap in throughout the year – from wherever that faculty member may be. And I mentioned earlier about our alumni volunteers really making Homecoming a great one this fall.
Also, we’re creating what we call the “Last Lecture Series.” It’s partly inspired by the incredible “last lecture” Dr. Vidya Gargeya gave at the Bryan School during last spring’s Alumni All Access. We’ll share the full details on that series later this semester, but I can share the first “Last Lecture” event, featuring Dr. Denise Baker, will be held on October 4.
Are there more dates to look forward to?
Founders Day on October 5 is always special, and we will carry on the tradition of handing out cake and cupcakes in the cafeteria for our students to celebrate.
Homecoming will be on October 20-22. It’ll be volunteer-led to a greater extent than ever before because our staffing is in transition in Alumni Engagement. Volunteers have raised their hand and said, “Hey, this is what’s important to us, these different parts of Homecoming Week!” And Alumni Engagement has been able to work with our volunteers to make that happen.
Plus, our University has the Board of Governors visit coming up on November 14-15. I’m always excited when we can highlight our fantastic University.
Something that is bigger and better each year is the Red Carpet Reception for graduating students and their families. It’ll be December 7.
On the day before classes began, as first-year students crossed in front of the Alumni House and placed daisies in a daisy chain – a long tradition on our campus – we made sure every student knew that one of the things we do that we’re really proud of is our Red Carpet Reception in the Alumni House. It’s really their house, and the event is a big celebration of their accomplishment. And so, if you need a little rejuvenation of why we are all doing what we’re doing, the Red Carpet Reception, always held the day before Commencement, is the perfect way to see that firsthand.