PARTNERING ALUMNI ADVOCACY WITH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT.

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1 PARTNERING ALUMNI ADVOCACY WITH GOVERNMENT RELATIONS UNIVERSITY ADVANCEMENT AGRICULTURAL EXTENSION AND ENROLLMENT MANAGEMENT Submitted by Steve Johnson Director of Alumni Relations 1106 Blake Ave. PO Box Moscow, Idaho In cooperation with, Martin Peterson, Special Assistant to the President; Tania Thompson, Director, Media Relations; Charlotte Eberlein, Director, Cooperative Extension; Steve Neiheisel Assoc. Vice President, Enrollment Management

2 DESCRIPTION AND JUSTIFICATION: This proposal outlines a structure for an alumni advocacy organization that will maximize local outreach opportunities by utilizing the University of Idaho s alumni network. To further enhance the advocacy network, the Alumni Relations office will partner with the University of Idaho Extension system and its network of Extension Educator to further identify alumni advocates in each Idaho County. Once the advocacy group is fully functional the university will have at least three advocates identified in each of Idaho s 35 legislative districts, at least two advocates in each Idaho County and at least two advocates from each alumni chapter and club in Idaho. In some instances one advocate may fill the role in all three categories. Following the selection and training of the Alumni advocates the Alumni Relations office will work with the university s government relations office and the communications office to advocate authorized university policy. Alumni Advocates will also serve as enrollment ambassadors. Information for the Alumni Advocates will be developed by the university s Communication and Marketing department. The Alumni Advocates will be mobilized by the University of Idaho Alumni Relations Office. This organization will provide an effective volunteer force of loyal, trained, and focused university alumni to deliver a consistent university approved message that will educate the public and Idaho policy makers about the positive contributions the University of Idaho is making to the State of Idaho, boost public awareness about the Universities needs, advocate the importance of higher education in the State of Idaho, advocate for resources that will help keep the University strong and responsive in future years, and serve as ambassadors in recruiting top quality students to the University of Idaho. The Alumni Advocates will serve the entire university by partnering with the University s administration, government relations staff, the college of Agriculture Extension Service, the university advancement and communications department, and the office of enrollment management. The University has more than 34,000 alumni living in Idaho but has never marshaled this positive and very powerful alumni resource in a structured and organized team approach. By managing this powerful resource the University will be more successful in advancing its image, improving state funding, and recruiting Idaho s top students to the University. STRUCTURE: The volunteer alumni advocates will be administered by the Alumni Relations office. Members of the Alumni Advocates group will not develop policy or determine university messages. Alumni Advocates will take directions from the university administration regarding all legislative policy, all public relations issues, and all student recruitment efforts. 2

3 The Alumni Relations office will work with the appropriate university departments and the university administration to draft all information that the Alumni Relations office will ask volunteers to advocate. The Alumni Relations office, the University of Idaho Alumni Association and the Alumni Advocates will not draft University policy to advocate for. The Alumni Advocates will only advocate for the University of Idaho following authorization from the Director of Alumni Relations who must receive authorization from the President s office. When functionally organized this group of loyal Alumni Advocate can advocate in the following way. 1. Make personal contact with their elected legislators and advocate for a specific authorized University policy as directed by Alumni Relations office. 2. Make personal contact with their local legislators in support of higher education issues authorized by the University s administration. 3. Submit opinion pieces to local newspapers authorized and written by the university. 4. Submit University created letters to the editor in local news papers in support of university issues authorized and written by the University. 5. Be a strong local community advocate for the University of Idaho. 6. Other advocacy methods will be identified as the program evolves. PARTNERS: University of Idaho Alumni Relations Office: The Alumni Relations office will manage the Alumni Advocacy organization and its volunteers. The Alumni Relations office will identify Alumni Advocates from its statewide network of Chapters and Clubs. The Alumni Relations office will also identify advocates in each legislative district in Idaho. Additionally, the Alumni Relations office will work with the University s Extension Educators to further identify and recruit volunteers in each Idaho County to serve as Alumni Advocates. Following the selection of the Alumni Advocates group the Alumni Relations office will provide advocacy training utilizing the university s compressed video system to deliver training as locally as possible. The Alumni Relations office will work with the University s Communications and Marketing department to develop all training, messaging and communication material that the Alumni Advocates program will utilize The Alumni Relations office and the Office of the Assistant to The President for Government Relations will establish a partnership to assist with in state government relations. This partnership will provide the Alumni Relations office and the Assistant to the President for Government Relations office opportunity to equally share a staff position to carry out the objectives of the Alumni Advocacy program and to assist with state government relations. The position title could be Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy. This staff person under the joint direction of the Director of Alumni Relations and the Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations will manage the identification, selection process, manage and provide advocacy training and direct the Alumni Advocates efforts in government relations. 3

4 The Director of Alumni Relations, in cooperation with the Vice President of Advancement, University Communications and Marketing, and the Office of Enrollment Management will manage all other efforts of the Alumni Advocates. Opinion articles, editorials, and the distribution of all materials for local advocacy on behalf of the University will be created by the University s communications and Marketing department. The Director of Alumni Relations will work with the office of Enrollment Management to determine opportunities for the Alumni Advocates to help with enrollment efforts Once the program is authorized by university administration the Alumni Relations office will gather all partners in the group together and establish criteria for selection to the Alumni Advocacy team. Following the establishment of membership criteria the office of Alumni Relations will compile a list of potential advocates from each Idaho legislative district and each Alumni Chapter and Club. The Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy will begin contacting potential Alumni Advocates and identifying alumni willing to serve as Alumni Advocates for the University. In the case of University Extension Educators and the identification of advocates in each Idaho County the Alumni Relations office will compile a list of alumni in each county for the Extension Educator to review. The Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy will meet with each Extension Educator and review the recommendations of the Extension Educators. Final approval of all Alumni Advocates will be made jointly by the Director of Alumni Relations and the Special Assistant to the President for Government Relation. The University President can direct the Director of Alumni Relations to mobilize the Alumni Advocates. The Provost and Executive Vice President, Vice President s of the University or the Dean of a College can also request mobilization of the Alumni Advocate team through the Director of Alumni Relations. Upon approval from the President s office for mobilization of the Alumni Advocates, the Director of Alumni Relations will provide the Alumni Advocates with a message developed by University Communications and Marketing department and the audience identified to receive the message. The Director of Alumni Relations will notify the Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy about the message and audience and mobilize the Alumni Advocates team. If the mobilization request is for student recruitment the Director of Alumni Relations will work with the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management, and University Communications and Marketing department to determine the target audience and create the message. The Director of Alumni Relations will mobilize the Alumni Advocates. 4

5 Assistant to the President for Government Relations: The President s Office and his Assistant for Government Relations will continue to manage the government relations effort for the University of Idaho. The President of the University of Idaho will set all legislative policy and priorities. The President and his Assistant for Government Relations will also determine when the Alumni Advocacy network should be mobilized by making a request to the Director of Alumni Relations who will then mobilize the Alumni Advocates. The partnership between the Alumni Relations office and the President s Assistant for Government Relations and the shared staff position is essential to the Alumni Advocacy program for two critical reasons. 1. To improve the effectiveness of the University s state lobbying effort, the Assistant to the President for Government Relations needs a part time lobbyist during the Idaho legislative session. During the legislative session the shared staff person will assist the Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations. 2. Regular contact with Alumni Advocates is essential. During the late spring, summer and early fall the Alumni Relations office will utilize this person to make contact with current and prospective Alumni Advocates around the state of Idaho. This activity is critical to the program because the Alumni Relations office and the President s Government Relations Office must make personal contact with every advocate selected to insure they are willing to deliver the University message. The success of the advocacy program depends on each Alumni Advocate delivering an accurate, consistent message at all times University of Idaho Agriculture Extension Service: Alumni Relations will work with University of Idaho Extension and the County Extension Educators to identify local alumni in each county who would be good volunteers to participate in the Alumni Advocacy program. The Alumni Relations office will generate a list of alumni in each county and distribute the list to each Extension Educator so they could review the names and make a recommendation to the Alumni Relations office. In some cases Extension Educators could also recommend non alumni who are friends of the University that they feel would be good advocates for the advocacy program. Because federal and state rules bar extension faculty from participating in any form of lobbying activity Extension Educators would not be asked to participate as advocates. Extension Educator s could however volunteer to help with recruitment, or non political advocacy activities if they chose. Because University of Idaho Extension Educators have the most extensive local connection and knowledge of University of Idaho supporters than any group in the university family their participation is critical to the success of the Alumni Advocacy program. University of Idaho Advancement and Communications and Marketing: The University has set a high priority on developing a consistent and accurate university message for delivery to our stakeholders, alumni and the general public. To insure proper delivery of the 5

6 University message it is essential that all messaging be developed by the University s Communications and Marketing staff. Through the Vice President for University Advancement the Communications and Marketing department will determine and develop all university messaging this program will ask our Alumni Advocates to deliver. The Alumni Relations office will work closely with the University Communications and Marketing department to update the message regularly in order to keep all university messaging fresh and accurate. Universities Enrollment Management Office: This office will work with the Alumni Relations office to develop ways that the Alumni Advocates can serve as spokesmen to improve enrollment at the University of Idaho. The Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management will work directly with University Communications and Marketing to develop messaging and information that can be used by the Alumni Advocacy group to assist with recruiting quality students to the University of Idaho. The Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management will determine the role that Alumni Advocates will play in the enrollment process. Once that determination is made the Associate Vice President of Enrollment Management will contact the University s Communications and Marketing department and jointly develop an enrollment message for the Alumni Advocates to deliver. The Director of Alumni Relations or the Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy will mobilize the Alumni Advocacy team. STAFFING: The proposal recommends that a new staff position, Associate Director for State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy be authorized, shared and funded by the Special Assistant to the President s office for Government Relations and the Alumni Relations office. The new position would spend one-half time on state government relations for the Special Assistant to the President s Office for Government Relations and one-half time developing and managing the Alumni Advocacy program for the Alumni Relations office. IMPLEMENTATION TIMELINE: Full implementation of the Alumni Advocacy program may take as much as twenty four months. July Sept. 1, 2009: Following program approval, begin the hiring process to select the Associate Director of State Government Relations and Alumni Advocacy. Sept. 1, November 1, 2009: Begin the process of identifying and interviewing and selecting Alumni Advocates. During this process a small group of approximately 10 advocates could be identified, selected and trained for service during April 1, August 1, 2010: Continue the identification, interviewing and selection process. 6

7 August 1, 2010 Sept. 15, 2010: Finalize selection of Alumni Advocates from all Chapters and Clubs and three Alumni Advocates in each Idaho legislative District. Sept 15, 2010 November 1, 2010: Conduct and complete training workshops for all selected Alumni Advocates. April 1, 2011 August 1, 2011: Finalize the selection of three Alumni Advocates from each Idaho County. August 1, 2011 Sept. 15, 2011: Conduct and complete new training workshops for all Alumni Advocates. Sept. 15, 2011: Program fully functional. The goal for the program is to reach the fully functional level by November 1, The program has built in additional time to insure proper selections are made and adequate training is conducted. TRAINING: All Alumni Advocates will be required to attend training provided by the Alumni Relations office. Alumni Advocates will receive leadership training, and advocacy training. The Alumni Advocacy program will utilize the University s statewide compressed Video system to provide all training in as many local areas as possible. The Alumni Relations office will work with University Communications and Marketing department to develop advocacy and leadership training material. Alumni Relations will also utilize several sources of public training material including information from the Council for the Advancement and Support for Education training material. FINANCIAL IMPACT: This program will require one full time staff position jointly funded by the Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations office and the University s Alumni Relations office. The program will also require some funding for advocacy training using the university s compressed video system. The cost of this program will be approximately $90, annually and equally shared by the Alumni relations office and the Special Assistant to the President for Government Relations office. Salary and Fringe Benefit: $ 80, Program expenses 10, In State Travel 5, $90,

8 RETURN ON INVESTMENT: The Alumni Advocacy program will pay for its self annually through increased enrollment, and increased state funding for the entire University. With Alumni Advocates in every Idaho County, every Idaho Legislative District the Alumni Advocacy program will become a major contributor to the advancement and sustainability of the University of Idaho. 8