Affinity Group Structure

The Office of Alumni & Family Engagement at The College of Wooster provides active alumni affinity groups with organizational support to encourage alumni connections with the College and each other. Each of the affinity groups has a structure to maintain these connections.

Affinity Group Structure

Mission

The mission of College alumni affinity groups is threefold: (1) to engage alumni with current students, faculty, staff, the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement, and the campus community, (2) to discover how alumni can help advance the mission of the College and improve the student experience, and (3) to support alumni and improve the alumni experience.

Leadership

Officially recognized alumni affinity groups must always have, at a minimum, one person to serve as the group’s point of contact. This information can be updated at this website, should it change. Affinity groups can opt to have an entire leadership structure, rather than a single person. This can be a governing board or other leadership structure, as decided by the group. However, if that is what the group decides, the group must also establish a succession plan and written guidance for governance, which must be provided to the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement.

Campus Partners

The College of Wooster has many offices on campus, in addition to the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement, which will be happy to partner with or support your affinity group whenever possible. We suggest you start with this website to locate potential campus partners. You can also contact the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement to help get you connected to the correct office(s).

Student Contacts

Official alumni affinity groups are expected to engage with the campus community, including current students. While such interactions will often be provided by or coordinated by the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement (such as during Black & Gold Weekend or Alumni Weekend), we also encourage you to connect with current students on your own! We encourage you to do so through the Fighting Scots Career Connections platform, which is our platform for alumni-student mentoring, or by connecting directly with student organizations on campus. Identity-based affinity groups are encouraged to make connections through the Assistant Director of Regional and Multicultural Engagement, Makayla Smith, who oversees the Multicultural Student Alumni Liaison Program. Career-based affinity groups are encouraged to make connections through the Senior Assistant Director of Volunteer Engagement, Kailey Schwallie, who serves as the APEX, pathways, and experiential learning liaison for the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement.

Goals & Action Items

To be an officially recognized alumni affinity group, you will need to have at least two set goals per year and structured action items to reach these goals. Sample goals and action items are provided below for you, but you can also create your own as a group.

• Host an alumni-student event
  • Connect with Kailey (career-based affinity groups) or Makayla (identity-based affinity groups) in the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement
  • Select a topic or topics for the event
  • Select a format for the event – panel, roundtable, open mingling
• Host an alumni happy hour or social event
  • Connect with Kailey (career-based affinity groups) or Makayla (identity-based affinity groups) in the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement
  • Select a location (city), venue, date, and time
  • Identify interested alumni to invite and/or host
  • Consider menu, attire, entertainment, etc.
• Connect with relevant campus partners and student organizations to come up with 2-3 specific ways alumni can improve the current student experience
  • Review websites above and/or contact the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement
  • Reflect on your experience at The College of Wooster
  • Review the mission, vision, and values of the College (on our website) and think about how you can help to advance those

Support Requests from the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement

The Office of Alumni & Family Engagement supports official alumni affinity group activities whenever possible. If you would like to make a request for support for your group to the Office of Alumni & Family Engagement, please complete the following: (1) ensure your group is an officially recognized alumni affinity group, (2) complete the support request form here (3) wait for a follow up email from the Office of Alumni and Family Engagement and respond to that email when you receive it, if prompted to do so.

Staff Support