Strategy One
Expand opportunities for alumni to connect through shared interests, identity, profession, and location.
Values
Common Good: Advance the Offer of the College.
Humility: Lead with kindness and a deep appreciation of others.
Community: Seek to understand, advocate, and support inclusivity
Sense of Place: Cultivate connections with campus, Maine, and our global community.
Vision
A Bowdoin community that finds joy and meaning in their shared support of the College.
Mission
Enrich the lives of the Bowdoin alumni community and celebrate their impact in the world.Priority #1:
Grow alumni communities that enrich, elevate, and embrace every member of the Polar Bear community.
Strategy Two
Identify and implement programs and events to serve the professional development and learning of Bowdoin alumni.
Strategy Three
Empower off-campus geographic networks to facilitate connections to Bowdoin through informal social events and through a new alumni directory.
Priority #2:
Offer connections and experiences that add value to all alumni.
Strategy One
Plan and execute signature on-campus events and omni-channel promotion of those events.
Strategy Two
Collaborate with engagement volunteers to assist Bowdoin staff in facilitating ongoing connections to the College for alumni and family events planned, supported, and staffed by the Alumni Relations office.
Priority #3
Build upon the alumni culture of paying it forward through education, celebration, and impact.
Strategy One
Make it easy for alumni to identify and participate in volunteer opportunities.
Strategy Two
Educate and train volunteers.
Strategy Three
Celebrate and recognize volunteers in notable ways.
Priority #4
Nurture connections between recent alumni, students, and the College.
Strategy One
Develop multiple channels of engagement for recent alumni.
Strategy Two
Collaborate with Bowdoin faculty and staff to maintain connections with alumni in their first few years after graduation and beyond.
Strategy Three
Actively work across the campus to plant the seeds of alumni loyalty with current students.
The Alumni Engagement Strategic Plan 2023-26 was the result of a year-long planning effort initially led by the Alumni Engagement Strategic Planning Task Force Committee, consisting of twenty-two people including Bowdoin staff, alumni volunteer leaders, a faculty representative, and a student representative, which concluded at the end of 2022.
In 2023, additional input was gathered from the Alumni Council, Alumni Fund Directors, Trustees, Bowdoin Regional Admissions Volunteer Organization (BRAVO) groups, current students, Athletics staff, and alumni focus groups held in four distinct geographic areas of the U.S.
We deeply appreciate the time and contributions of everyone that participated in the process to help build the framework shared on this page.