Conclusion: Realizing the Vision

If it is to uphold its stature and fulfill its aspirations, the University of Virginia has no choice but to make fundamental improvements to its alumni relations program. The University has long recognized that it cannot rely on state funding as its only core resource. As it adopts a funding model that mirrors its private peers more than its public counterparts, the University must maintain lifelong ties to its alumni and inspire them to translate their natural affection for the institution into ongoing philanthropic support.

This report provides a blueprint for establishing one of the best alumni relations programs in the nation. Its recommendations form an integrated vision. They must be viewed as a whole, and they must be implemented together through an organizational structure fully devoted to nurturing the University's bond with its alumni. By making the University an abiding presence in the lives of its former students, and by ensuring that they share the institution's core values, hear its key messages, and understand its goals and priorities, the program outlined here would open a new era in alumni engagement. As the founders of our first alumni organization intended, it would yield "the happiest effects" and would serve, in substantial and lasting ways, the best interests of an institution that continues to shape our lives and the world around us.