Blueprint drawn up for Advancement
Major donations on the way
Vice-President Advancement and Alumni Affairs Kathy Assayag presented a far-reaching plan for the future of Concordia’s Advancement and Alumni Relations sector to the Nov. 24 Board of Governors meeting.
Calling it a “defining moment” for both the university and her sector, she outlined an ambitious restructuring plan based on the academic and strategic plan of the university.
Assayag described the work accomplished during the first 10 months of her term, which included reconnecting with alumni and initiating more than 70 local events and another 25 across North America and abroad to bring alumni closer to the university. It also involved detailed endowment reports to donors, with profiles of the students who have been helped by their generosity.
Fundraising has intensified, and Assayag took the opportunity to announce a series of major donations to the university and particular faculties (in the $1-million to $12-million range) that are either in the final stages of completion or well on the way.
Assayag also announced that 268 students have been “adopted” and $880,000 raised towards the Leave-a-Legacy Adopt a Student program since its launch in September.
At the same time, the sector has been restructuring and preparing its future work. The axis of the change is a “partnership with academic priorities and strategic planning.”
It will involve executive directors in each faculty who will draw on the resources of the central office. The key will be aligning advancement work to the needs of the academic sector.
“We will ensure that all Advancement programs are in line with academic priorities, and that the senior academic leadership is fully engaged in and endorses Advancement activities,” Assayag said.
Assayag has been working closely with Provost Martin Singer and the deans of each faculty to develop a compre-hensive table of needs for the next capital campaign. The table of needs will define and prioritize capital needs, research funding and student support priorities, including ways to attract more inter-national students to Concordia and to get more resources to send students abroad.