The executive director of the Alumni Association holds a dual position as director of alumni affairs for the university. In this role, the executive director works closely with the university's vice-president (external), the associate vice-president (external) and directors in public affairs, government relations, development, advancement services and external relations on Bannatyne Campus.
In 2006, the Association celebrated its 85th anniversary. An Association with such a long life has faced many challenges and seen many changes. For example, until 1988, the Alumni Association had the responsibility for soliciting alumni donations to the university. Now all fundraising is consolidated within the department of development. A significant milestone occurred on May 10, 1999, when the president of the University of Manitoba and the president of the Alumni Association signed a funding agreement that allowed for no-fee alumni membership to all University of Manitoba graduates. This agreement was renewed in 2002 and 2005 and was up for renewal in 2008. As a result of the agreement, the university provides funding to the association to send all graduates each issue of On Manitoba (three times a year).
Historical Scan: Alumni Association
1877
University of Manitoba was organized.
1917
University of Manitoba was reincorporated, which gave it much broader teaching and degree granting powers.
1918
Broadway site was expanded because of overcrowding.
1920
Students Union Alumni Committee founded, later became a key proponent of the Alumni Association.
1921
Alumni Association was founded on May 20th by a handful of graduates
Volunteers took up positions in the editorial, membership, athletic, entertainment and financial committees Alumni supplement to The Manitoban $1.00 membership fee.
1926
First publication of The University of Manitoba Quarterly, designed to retain the interest and allegiance of ever-growing numbers of graduates
Association organized social events like class reunions, dances, plays, parties, the annual convocation luncheon and Alumni meeting, curling bonspiels, etc. Established Homecoming celebrations.
First out-of-town club of the Association organized in Vancouver.
1929
Marked the first time the Association tried to raise money other than membership fees; plan to raise a $50.00 scholarship endowment fund to assist needy students. Radio lecture series begun to improve the improve the image of the University and instruct Manitobans.
1930
Government selected the Fort Garry site
The Alumni Quarterly consisted of 12 pages and ninety ads. Group of alumni organized in Toronto.
1933
The Association was invited to participate in the radio series to promote its cause.
1934
Membership fees reduced to $1.00
Less than 4% of all graduates were fee-paying members. Association approached the University administration for financial support; University had no money to spare. The Quarterly was expanded and mailed to approximately 6,500 graduates; then eliminated. The Association established an employment bureau to help graduates find work.
1935
Alumni Association was incorporated by the Provincial Government to give it independent legal status and allow for tax deductions on donations; to relieve volunteer officers of any personal liability. Under the new constitution, special interest alumni groups were incorporated into the parent association. The first Board of Governors election organized by the Association contributed to its efforts at centralizing allegiances. 250 fee-paying members. Alumni Fund established to be made of financial donations for specific purposes to the University – at the time was premature and unsustainable; raised $641.77
Membership continued to decline. Demise of several of the smaller, competing independent college alumni groups and associations which had published their own newsletters, collected their own fees, and operated entirely independently of each other. The Alumni fund had $641.00 in it.
1936
The Alumni Journal was first published, a one page newsletter format. Published quarterly. Addendum to The University Bulletin publicized social events. Toronto chapter had 200 members.
1937
Creation of the Alumni Jubilee Award (Distinguished Alumni Awards) to help commemorate the University’s 60th Anniversary. To honour a student from any faculty for outstanding extracurricular contributions, only one awarded over several years. Development of alumni branches in Ottawa, Montreal, and Vancouver.
1938
Ralph Ham designed a two-and-one-half storey Home Management House, the "Practice House" for the Home Economics Department, which was completed in 1939.
1939
Outbreak of World War Two. Alumni Association entered a period of dormancy. Enrolment was 2,800 students.
1943
Alumni Journal published once. Skeletal organization was maintained; no officers elected from 1943 until 1946. No annual report was prepared for 1944/45. The Association was voluntarily suspended in 1943.
1946
The University provided the Association with $2,000.00 to hire a full-time secretary for one year to compile an updated list of graduates. An office was set up in room 252A of the downtown Broadway building; covered only a portion of operating costs; membership fees, Journal publishing and other income sources were required. Enrolment was tripling to 8,000 students. Started a list of graduates. The Association was in a better position to reach out to graduates for the financial support needed to help build the new Student Union Building and Athletic Centre on the Fort Garry campus. Raised $20,500.00 from 1,019 graduates. Potential of the Alumni Association crystallized.
1947
There were 7,200 students at the University of Manitoba. The University increased its operating grant to $6,000.00 which enabled the appointment of a full-time Executive Director.
1948
The Association had a Executive Director and a secretary. Membership skyrocketed, a successful outreach program to rural areas was established and social activities proliferated. The "club-like" congeniality of membership centred around social events such as dances and golf tournaments. The Association took a major part in planning Homecoming and reinstated Alumni Week. 990 fee-paying graduates.
1949
The Alumni Fund was re-established at the request of the Board of Governors. Money collected was kept separate from membership fees. The University’s capital funds were going to relocating the University and constructing new facilities.
1950
Unparalleled growth in enrolments and physical facilities in the 1950s and 1960s was confirmation of the University’s role in Manitoba society.
2,400 members (20% of all graduates). Because of efforts to locate the addresses of lost graduates and membership fees were $1.00. Fund contributions grew from $3,400 to $6,000. First $300 disbursement went to poultry research. Executive Director became involved in organizing tours of rural Manitoba towns to meet with alumni and potential students. Year of the Red River flood that covered the entire campus. The Alumni Journal was an expanded four-page tabloid Full-time student enrolment was 4,783 and 1,226 graduates.
1951
Alumni offices are moved into larger quarters in Room 213 of the Broadway Building.
1952
The Association’s major contribution to the University’s 75th anniversary was $8,500.00 towards the purchase of furnishings and equipment for the Student Union Building. Creation of a small interest-free loan fund for needy students.
1955
Alumni offices were moved to the Student Union Building at the Fort Garry campus. The Association placed its emphasis on improving the social and athletic programs and services; golf tournaments and curling bonspiels were popular.
1956
The Alumni Fund was projecting annual disbursements of over $10,000 to needed campus projects. Hundreds of thousands in research grants were flowing into the University.
1957
Membership fees were $2.00 annually. Membership had plateaued at 15% of all graduates. The University’s operating grant was $8,000.00 and contributions had decreased noticeably. Enrolment decline to 4,755 full-time students. Volunteer committees were set up, including editorial, membership, athletic, entertainment, and finance committees. A tentative first step towards an ambitious scholarship program was taken with $3,000.00 set aside from the Alumni Fund to help 12 academically superior students. The Association was still operating with a $8.0 budget. The "Practice House" became a private residence for university administrative personnel.
1958
New Executive Director hired; he was also the public relations assistant to the president of the University. Two objectives were pursued – maintain and coordinate graduate interest and more aggressively extend adult education to alumni. Direct mail campaign to over 10,000 known alumni. Membership, at the time, was 2,200. New staff person was hired, a full-time Assistant Executive Secretary. The Alumni Journal was overhauled from a drab newsletter to a colorful magazine. The "Search for Talent" scholarship bursary program was organized to attract the best of Manitoba’s high school graduates. Between 1958 and 1970, the "Search for Talent" fund provided $110,000 worth of scholarships, bursaries and loans to over 550 students.
1959
Membership was 5,500. The Jubilee Award program was reintroduced, but this time with an outreach emphasis; rather than a student award it was redesigned to honour an earlier alumni whose contributions to society were outstanding. The first "intellectual homecoming" for graduates was implemented in the form of the Annual Alumni Conference, which featured well-known authorities; it drew a large crowd. Alumni Fund was established to raise money from graduates in support of the university.
During the 1960s
The small campus gave way to a much busier, more populated, more bureaucratic campus. It became difficult to maintain school spirit; social traditions died and The Brown and Gold student yearbook was discontinued. Loyalty to the University decreased in direct proportion to the increase in student population; the Alumni Association was negatively affected by this change in mood.
1962
Alumni membership was 7,000. Fund raising was proving relatively successful – increased membership fee revenues and Alumni Fund contributions; the Association also raised $325,000 between 1961 and 1963 to help the university for its Capital Campaign Drive.
1965
Membership was 10,000 (40% of all alumni). Student orientation program of campus tours and exhibitions was designed to assist recruiting efforts; it was attracting 1,400 students to campus annually.
1969
The annual conference was adopted by the University and made a part of its annual Festival of Life and Learning.
1970
The Alumni Journal had 37,000 readers. The "Practice House" was converted into an office facility for the university employee relations department.
1972
Full-time student enrolment was 16,075; 4,200 graduates.
1975
A new Executive Director was hired. The Association needed new direction and a fresh impetus. University grants to the Association were $23,000, plus the salaries of the two senior positions. The Alumni Journal was mailed out only to members and not to all graduates as before. The Board of Governors (BOG) election was modified so that only members of the Association received ballots automatically.
1977
The Association offered to operate and coordinate the University Centennial celebrations – Centennial Week, alumni Homecoming Dinner, Centennial Symposium etc. The Association also pledged $500,000 towards the Centennial Capital Campaign. To establish a firmer financial footing, membership fees were raised. Computerized data base was initiated.
1978
Alumni memberships and donations were accepted by Chargex/Visa
Between 1978 and 1980, the University helped the Association computerize its 60,000 alumni records; a computerized bank of membership and records of donations.
1980
An Insurance Services Division was introduced which broadened the Association’s services: important extra source of income for the Association. The Association now had a profit of over $56,000, had raised over $750,000 towards the Centennial Capital Fund Campaign and significantly increased the value of the Alumni Fund. The computer database became operable. Association by-laws were overhauled and made more effective; the 50 member board was reduced to 24, 3 permanent seats on Board (the presidents of university, students' union and faculty association). The "Practice House" became Alumni House, the permanent home of the Alumni Association.
1981
The Jubilee Award continued. The Alumni Fund sponsored fifteen $1,000 entrance scholarships, four special $500 "Reach for the Top" winners, ten $600 undergraduate scholarships, a $2,000 emergency bursary and a $500 prize in economics. Enduring problem of increasing the membership base continued. Keeping current records was an endless task (some 20,000 record changes annually).
1986
Major renovations to Alumni House were completed to make it available to the University community for meeting and social purposes. The Alumni Journal was being mailed out to all members.
1988
An annual Homecoming was launched. The Bank of Montreal Alumni Master Card was introduced; revenue from the program was one of the Association's principle sources of income. Visits to alumni outside of Winnipeg included events in Toronto and Victoria; an 800 number was set up for alumni to respond to invitations. Class reunions were aggressively organized; there were 18 class reunions at Homecoming. Faculty newsletters were inserted for the first time into the Alumni Journal. Merchandise, travel and group life insurance programs were expanded. Winter issue of the Alumni Journal was broadened to include all alumni and not just members of the Association. Until 1988, the Alumni Association had the responsibility for soliciting alumni donations to the university; this function was transferred to the department of private funding (now department of development) to consolidate all fund raising in one department; in exchange the Association agreed to undertake expanded alumni relations. Drive for Excellence was launched and met and exceeded its goal, raising $68.
1990
Alumni staff became employees of the University; necessitated by decree of Revenue Canada; included a staff benefits package; the Association reimbursed the University for the salaries and benefits involved.
1993 and 1994
The University introduced days off without pay in an attempt to deal with fiscal restrictions; "do more with less was the way of the day". The Association undertook a restructuring plan to identify more internal resources that could be channeled to alumni relations.
1995
A new executive director was hired. Responsibility for alumni records was transferred to the department of private funding; two staff were also transferred. There were 125,000 alumni. Homecoming became an entire weekend (4 days). Prior to 1995, Campus Security Services (formerly the Campus Police) collected food, which was used to make food hampers for needy students. In the fall of 1995, the faculty members of the university were on strike, which impacted on this food collection program. The Student Relations and Recent Alumni Committee were asked to help and organized a single "Loonie Line" in November, which raised $800 in three hours. The monies raised were then used to purchase food for the hampers, which were assembled and distributed from Alumni House.
1996
The Counseling Services Department of Student Affairs began a Student Ambassador Program. Its purpose was to promote the "Introduction to University" course, develop student leaders, and to provide the means for new students to form a peer group. Campus Security Services approached the Alumni Association to take on responsibility for the co-ordination of the "loonie line" program. The association organized fifteen Loonie Lines and raised over $3,000, which resulted in eighty-six food hampers being made.
1997
Student Affairs approached the Alumni Association asking that it "take responsibility for the co-ordination of the Ambassador program".
1998
The University of Manitoba produced a final report of the Task Force on Strategic Planning in February, 1998 entitled "Building on Strengths;" it identified the need to increase communications to all graduates. The Association developed its web page. There was a new on-line version of the Alumni Journal created.
1999
The Association and the University signed a three-year agreement to extend no-fee membership to all University of Manitoba graduates; all graduates now have access to a complete range of benefits including the Alumni Journal. The Association introduced a new On-line Community Network to foster electronic graduate-to-graduate connections.
2000
New executive director hired
The Alumni Travel Program is re-launched as a joint initiative with the University of Winnipeg and the University of Brandon.
2001
In November, the University launched Building on Strengths: Campaign for the University of Manitoba, with a goal of $200 million. Alumni Association in conjunction with Educational Support Services introduced and coordinated the sale and distribution of a convocation video. A portion of the Alumni Fund ($500,000.00) was invested in the global balanced growth fund with Royal Managed Portfolios. The Association celebrated its 80th Anniversary with events throughout the year and culminating at Homecoming.
2002
Student enrolment is 23,618, nearing record numbers. New Alumni card introduced with distribution to all new graduates. Out-of-province events, with alumni, were reintroduced.
The Association and the University negotiated a renewed funding agreement for a 3 year term. On average, there are 4,500 students graduating from the University of Manitoba each year. The University of Manitoba celebrated its 125th Anniversary on February 28, 2002. The Association introduced a new name for the Alumni Journal magazine – On Manitoba.
2003
Student enrolment reached an all time high of 27,132 students. The Building on Strengths: Campaign for the University of Manitoba raised $237 million. Money went toward providing new and upgraded facilities and greatly increased support for students, researchers and programs in every area of the university. The Alumni Association launched a new electronic newsletter—On Manitoba Online.
2004
6.5% of students are international, representing 100 countries. There have been 161,051 graduates since 1877.
2005
Homecoming celebrations are growing from a reunion weekend to more of a community event which includes a Bison football game, gala dinner, concert and much more. The Association and University negotiated a second renewal of the funding agreement for another three years (2005 to 2008). Because of the introduction of new federal legislation, the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), The Association and the University developed and signed a formal Privacy Agreement to facilitate the flow of information between the two institutions.
2006
The Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences celebrates its centennial with a reunion weekend in July, contributing to a record-breaking year for class reunions for a total of 80.
2007
A reception was held for graduates of Icelandic descent in Winnipeg on April 26 with over 300 graduates and friends attending. Special guest for the evening was Iceland’s President Olafur Ragnar Grimsson.
The Faculty of Engineering celebrated its centennial during Homecoming weekend, bringing home hundreds of alumni including the engineering band.
A new executive director was hired.
2009
Alumni Association relocates from Alumni House to temporary office space at 21 Dafoe Rd. West.
2011
Alumni Association enters 90th year of operation. Alumni Association office relocates to Chancellor’s Hall at 177 Dysart Rd.
Sources:
- The Alumni Journal, Volume 54, No. 3, Summer, 1994, pages 15-17.
- The Alumni Journal, "It Gathers Strength as it Goes," by Richard Bennet, University of Manitoba Archivist, 1982, pages 2-16.
- The Alumni Journal, Spring 1995, "Revising History," by Laird Rankin, pages 10-11. The Alumni Journal, "A House of Some Repute" extract from the Canadian Home Economics Journal, Volume 51, No. 4, Autumn 1991, pages 16-17.
Mission
The Alumni Association exists to build a dynamic community of engaged alumni that benefits both the alumni and the University of Manitoba.
Vision
To inspire a proud and lifelong relationship among all alumni with the University of Manitoba.