The alumni association keeps the Marshall flame burning long after graduation.
The alumni association Four long years. Or two, or perhaps eight, or more.
What seemed out of reach just a few years earlier, a moment hidden behind late night cramming sessions, exhausting early morning classes, and an endless barrage of reading assignments, research and exams, is now here. Graduation. The pinnacle moment of the modern college experience.
But what now?
After all of that work, all those years given to a chosen field of study, former students — now alumni — step off campus and into a sea of uncertainty. Suddenly, tests and social gatherings are replaced with mortgages, work deadlines and families. It can all be a bit overwhelming.
But there is help, a solid foundation that graduates — both young and old — can seek to find guidance through the storm. Your alumni association.
Every school has one, but just what does an alumni association do?
Simply put, an Alumni Association plays an important role in helping to shape the future of a university by representing the views of its members and contributing to building an engaged and supportive alumni community.
In short, the Marshall University Alumni Association is here for the Sons and Daughters of Marshall.
Through unique programs, offerings, outreach and support, the Marshall University Alumni Association (MUAA) strives to keep alumni connected to the university while advancing the goals and objectives of our alma mater. Guided by the needs of Marshall, the MUAA pursues meaningful lifelong, mutually beneficial relationships among all groups and organizations, resulting in optimal levels of engagement and philanthropic support.
Through the core values of diversity, integrity, loyalty, pride and respect, the MUAA forms a framework for the development and implementation of all activities and services in the promotion of the association and its work with Marshall University, its students, alumni and friends.
“Throughout our institution’s history, Marshall alumni have achieved success at the highest levels. Our alma mater has afforded each of us tremendous opportunities and responsibilities in both our professional and personal lives,” said Executive Director of Alumni Relations Matt Hayes, who heads a staff of three in the Erickson Alumni Center, based on the first floor of Marshall’s Brad D. Smith Foundation Hall. “Numerous alumni from Marshall University have risen to the highest ranks in organizations around the world. Leveraging this level of commitment, pride and energy in support of the university is what we strive to do each day.”
Among the ways in which the MUAA helps to further these relationships is through outreach. Working closely with the university, the Alumni Relations office organizes a wide range of events — some social, some knowledge sharing, some celebratory. It is also committed to supporting alumni in their careers and works closely with the university’s Office of Career Education to support mentoring and internship opportunities.
The alumni association also helps keep alums connected. Through an extensive club network, like-minded individuals in a given area can come together to form a supportive arm of the university in a city or region in the U.S. or around the world. These alumni clubs offer, not only a unique social atmosphere for watching and attending Thundering Herd events, but an important recruiting and fundraising arm for the university, supporting hundreds of students each year through scholarships. The MUAA also works to keep Herd supporters in tune with the university through digital, social and physical media assets.
In addition, the Marshall University Alumni Association offers special discounts and incentives to all active members, or those that have given financially to the university in the past year. These offers include national discounts on travel, food, lodging, insurance and apparel, along with local deals at establishments such as The Rec Center, Marshall University Bookstore, Marshall Hall of Fame Café and more.
Contrary to popular belief, an alumni association is much more than a fundraising platform for the university. The MUAA works tirelessly to keep alumni connected through national outreach, alumni clubs, engaging activities both on campus and in major cities across the U.S., and through special incentives available only to Marshall University alumni.
Learn more about what the alumni association can offer you. Find out about upcoming events, update your personal information, sign up for Herd Heaven (the official e-newsletter of the MUAA), or to start or join an alumni club in your area, visit HerdAlum.com or e-mail the alumni office at alumni@marshall.edu.
Larry Crum is associate director of alumni events and programs at Marshall University.
Photos: (Top) From left, Matt Hayes, executive director of alumni relations, Larry Crum, associate director of alumni events and programs, and Rob Ellis, associate director of alumni marketing and membership, keep MU’s alumni relations office and its activities running smoothly. Photo by Rick Lee. (Second from top) The highlight of Alumni Weekend, held in the spring each year, is the Alumni Awards Banquet where distinguished Marshall alumni, friends and students are recognized in an award presentation. This year marked the 80th annual event. Photo by Rick Haye. (Below) Matt Hayes speaks at Hotel John Marshall in Richmond, Virginia, the evening before a group from the university did maintenance work at John Marshall’s gravesite at Shockoe Hill Cemetery. Photo by Rick Haye.
