Harvard University has a tradition of graduating famous alumni, some of whom have gone on to take the oval office or pen award-winning literature. The University of Southern California schooled the likes of George Lucas, who regularly donates back to the college’s School of Cinema-Television.
Now, along with the rest of the 10 campuses in the University of California system, UCSD is searching for its own niche in the alumni market, which lacks the star power present in other colleges.
Considering that the UCSD Alumni Association is 30 years young, the university is grappling with a unique problem, according to Director of Chancellor’s Associates Valerie Townsend.
“UCSD is such a young university, which means that our alumni are also young,” Townsend said. “Historically, we haven’t done a great job reaching out to alumni in many ways, including philanthropy.”
Of the 7,200 current Alumni Association members that have graduated from UCSD, 80 percent are under 38 years of age. Catering to a younger audience has so far proved unfruitful, with alumni accounting for only two percent of the $750 million raised to date in UCSD’s “Imagine What’s Next” private fundraising campaign.
“We don’t have many older, established alumni,” said Thurgood Marshall College alumnus Joseph Leventhal, “Most younger alumni are still gaining their financial footing. We haven’t focused on alumni as much as in recent years.”
Other UC alumni groups aren’t faring any better. According to the association’s statistics, 8.5 percent of UCSD alumni have donated funds, compared to an average giving rate of 8.3 percent for the UC system. While UCLA and Berkeley lead the pack, both averaging roughly 10 percent of its graduates donating, the UC system lags behind the national public school average of 14.5 percent.
“Obviously, when compared with private schools, all publics rate unfavorably below,” said UCSD Alumni Association Director John Valva. “But when compared with other public schools, California is behind the curve. There is something going on with this state and university system that is keeping us behind.”
Since Valva became director in 2001, UCSD has undergone dramatic changes in the Alumni Association’s investment, importance and the number of alumni involved. Before his entrance, UCSD simply did not place much emphasis on graduates, which has hurt the group’s present-day efforts, Valva said.
“This doesn’t mean that we have terrible alumni [donators],” he said. “We have instead been very fortunate with these other local corporations and philanthropic communities. I believe that we have done some of the harder work first and some of the easier work in terms of alumni giving is what’s in front of us.”
Only during the last two years did the group create a magazine and newsletter, hoping to finally establish a connection that has been lacking, according to Leventhal.
But that connection may be hard to create for alumni that may be happy to forget their college era. The fall’s undergraduate student experience report, which found that while 97 percent of UCSD’s undergrads are satisfied academically, only 51 percent are satisfied socially. While UCSD competes with top institutions academically, low alumni contribution may be product of social hollowness, said Leventhal, who co-chaired the committee that wrote the report.
“More than a lack of pride, it’s just a lack of connection,” Leventhal said. “Students are proud of UCSD from academic standpoints but have a lack of connection at an emotional level.”
The report showed many areas that need improvement, including shuttling services, parking, on-campus housing, campus unity, late-night activities and campus “life.” Alumni in the group recalled a barren campus life, with no central gathering places late at night.
“Something as simple as [a gathering place] has a real impact on the way students interact and socialize,” Leventhal said. “The campus doesn’t seem to recognize that students don’t live a nine-to-five lifestyle.”
The age of UCSD’s alumni has more bearing on donations than the social atmosphere, Valva said.
“I am not willing to say that the social discrepancy is a reason for lower alumni giving,” he said. “I do believe that our alumni giving should be higher but I fervently believe that it’s just a matter of time.”
Until that time comes, UCSD is digging into its younger alumni, establishing programs in the hopes to reach students at a younger age. Last spring, the university launched Young Alumni, a sister program of the Chancellor’s Associates. With a donation of $500, alumni who have graduated within the last five years receive perks usually reserved for older alumni, including preferred access to Chancellor Mary Anne Fox and a parking pass to any on-campus space.
“It is important to instill the significance of philanthropy in our alumni from a very early stage,” said Townsend.
The Chancellor’s Associates program contributes approximately $600,000 annually to a special fund, which has been used for projects such as the University Centers Expansion.
