The value of staying in touch

By Charles Waldo, Retired Professor of Marketing

I am sure all alumni have heard the mantra “Please keep the Alumni Office informed as to your whereabouts.” Some do, but many do not. Here is an example of how keeping in touch can pay off.

I recently received a call from a friend who is the president of a very fine not-for profit organization in Indianapolis. He was looking for a program director and, knowing the kinds of people who come out of AU, felt I might be able to suggest some fairly recent grads to him. My area is marketing so I went to my Rolodex and old grade books and pulled out the names of 13 former students I remembered well and felt might be good candidates.

Three of those former students had kept in touch with me, so it was very easy to quickly e-mail them the information. Two said this possibility couldn’t have come at a better time since they were thinking of making a move. They are following up. Next I took the time to go to the Alumni page of the AU Web site and looked for the e-mail addresses of the other 10. However, only one of those ten was listed. Guess what? He, too, got a quick note from me. Even in retirement, I am pretty busy so will probably not try to track down any of those other nine grads who have not put their names on the e-mail list. Result? Someone could be missing out on a great job opportunity.

This is not the first time this has happened. So, I urge all AU alumni, regardless of major or graduation year, to keep the Alumni Office informed of your home mailing and e-mail addresses and what you are doing. Just get on the AU Web site (www.anderson.edu) and follow the prompts. It is very easy. Also, especially grads out 10 years or less, it can be very useful to stay in touch with a few of your favorite profs. Many get job leads from time to time just like I do. Make it easy for us to contact you. Plus we’d just like to hear about what is happening with you. The Alumni Office also has many of the addresses of those of us enjoying retirement.