Alumni Association focuses on personal identity
Thousands of students graduate from the University of South Dakota each year. Kersten Johnson’s goal is to make sure those student are familiar with the phrase “Once a Coyote, always a Coyote.”
As the executive director of USD’s Alumni Association since 2009, Johnson has been working to revitalize the association’s presence among alumni, current students and other university entities.
“The collegiate years are really the beginning of a lifelong relationship with the university,” Johnson said. “Whether you attended or graduated from the university, we consider you to be an alum of USD.”
To raise awareness of what Johnson calls a “lifetime link” between alumni and the university, she has made it a priority to revamp the association’s outreach communications. The Alumni Association distributes a printed newsletter to alumni twice a year, but Johnson felt this wasn’t adequately keeping alumni informed of what was going on with their alma mater.
So in addition to the printed newsletter, Johnson coordinated the distribution of an electronic newsletter that alumni receive each month. The association’s social media presence has also been a focus for Johnson.
“It keeps alumni engaged and informed throughout the year,” she said.
Johnson’s main priority is to create a transition from student to alum that is “as seamless as possible.” Once a student has graduated, the Alumni Association tries to maintain its connection to the university, Johnson said.
With a membership base of more than 2,600, Johnson said the next step in forging this “link” is building relationships with current students.
One way the association does this is by cosponsoring events around campus and being present at sporting event activities such as tailgating.
Junior Gretchen McLaughlin has been working for the Alumni Association since her freshman year at USD and said the interaction between alumni and students is encouraging because of the community it builds.
“It makes it real,” she said. “I can see (the alumni) were in my spot at one time and to see the school spirit they still have. It makes me want to be involved after I graduate.
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Cramped quarters
As the Alumni Association continues to expand its goals, Johnson said it is starting to outgrow their current facility space in the Wagner Center.
One option Johnson said the Alumni Association and the university are considering is moving to a new location. While nothing is specifically planned, President James Abbott has been eyeing a property next to the President’s House on Main Street for quite some time.
“I’ve been looking at the Thompson house for 18 years,” Abbott said. “I’ve looked at the property, I would like to find a use for it, I would like to buy it for a reasonable price if I can find a donor for it.”
Johnson said while being housed with the USD Foundation has been beneficial for cooperation between the two organizations, being housed in the same facility has its drawbacks.
“We work very closely with the Foundation, but we have separate and distinct missions,” Johnson said.
She added people can sometimes get confused about what the Alumni Association does and what the Foundation does.
“It makes sense that if we’re needing more space and needing to better distinguish ourselves from the Foundation… this separation would help understand our roles a little bit better,” Johnson said.
(Photo: Gretchen McLaughlin, a work study student for the Alumni Association, examines the adult-specific Coyote gear sold at the Wagner Center. Trent Opstedahl / The Volante)
