Date of Submission

5-30-2021

Document Type

OIP

Degree

Doctor of Education

Department

Education

Keywords

alumni engagement, leadership, faculty, social constructivism, universities, organizational change

Abstract

Alumni engagement is widely defined as the level of relationship graduates have with their alma maters. Universities have an opportunity to leverage benefits from having strong connections with their alumni. Furthermore, graduates generally have a stronger affinity to the academic departments they graduated from than to the universities where these departments are based. Additionally, the fiscal and regulatory pressures facing Canadian universities within the province of Ontario highlight the advantages that come with having an engaged alumni community. The Problem of Practice (PoP) investigated in this Organizational Improvement Plan (OIP) is the lack of alumni engagement within a faculty of business at an Ontario-based university and the negative impact it has on students, faculty members, staff, alumni, and external partners. The change process undertaken to close the gap in alumni engagement within the organization is described, as well as several possible solutions for improving alumni engagement. As the Director of Student Engagement and Alumni Development for this business faculty, my thinking is influenced by having a social constructivist view. A good example is my focus on stakeholder engagement and leveraging the knowledge that it provides. I also have the agency to enact the change process and apply authentic, shared, and transformational leadership approaches to close the gap that results from the PoP. The aim of the OIP is to mobilize stakeholders across academic departments within the university and achieve the envisioned future state of enjoying a stronger relationship between alumni and their alma mater.

Keywords: alumni engagement, leadership, faculty, social constructivism, universities, organizational change

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