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Alumni Relations reaches out to Tech graduates

Tech Alumni Relations spreads the word to alumni about its services and what it is doing to further connect with graduates.
Tracey Duncan, director of alumni relations, said Alumni Relations reaches out to Tech alumni through phone calls, email and internet sources.
“In this day of technology, we can do that electronically for free,” Duncan said.  “The first thing that we do is send everything out through email regarding events like Homecoming and big events on campus.  We also send out an electronic e-newsletter about once a quarter, and that includes news, announcements and event schedules.”
Duncan said they also reach out to Tech alumni using sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter to get the word out about what is happening on Tech’s campus.
James Jones, Tech alumnus, said the Tech Alumni Relations department does keep in contact with him frequently.
“They send me stuff all the time in the mail,” Jones said.  “They send me things like what events that are going on, what is new on campus and even the sports program will try to get me to sign up for season tickets every year for football, baseball and basketball.”
Importance of Alumni
Lucas Flatt, Tech alumnus, said it is important to be an alumnus of Tech.
“I think that Tech has a history of success with graduates and alumni,” Flatt said.  “With the training I have got from teaching composition in the master’s degree program, I think their training is excellent, so I do feel like I have gotten a lot out of being an alumni.”
Duncan said the importance of alumni is to help out the university by giving back not just financially but by spreading the word about the campus.
“A lot of people assume that just means giving back financially, but it also means that we need our alumni who are employers to hire our students,” Duncan said.  “We also want neighbors to tell their neighbors’ kids or grandkids about Tennessee Tech and to encourage them to visit the campus.”
James Jones, Tech alumnus, said he also believes there’s a big importance to being a Tech alum.
“It’s a top quality school,” Jones said. “I met a lot of people, and I have learned a lot. Tech was a big influence in my life, and Tech still is a big influence in my life.”
Homecoming
Duncan said Homecoming is important because it is a long tradition of the school and for the alumni to come together to see what all has changed.
“Homecoming is more of a tradition that goes back a long time,” Duncan said. “It’s for alumni to come back to campus and enjoy and see what has happened since they graduated.”
Jones said Homecoming is important to him because he can spend time with his greek brothers and see other alumni he wouldn’t get to see otherwise.
“Homecoming for me is a good thing, and I enjoy it,” Jones said.  “Homecoming is where I get to meet other alumni from other greek organizations that I got to know.  It’s the one time of year that I get to see other greeks that I knew.”
Services
Duncan said Tech offers alumni other services, such as insurance through Liberty Mutual.
“We have insurance programs, for example, where you can get auto and home insurance for a discount because they are part of the Alumni Association,” Duncan said.  “We offer long term care insurance, short term health insurance and travel programs.”
Improvement
Duncan said Alumni Relations is trying to improve on collecting updated emails so they can better contact Tech alumni and update its directory.
“The number one thing is obtaining more email addresses,” Duncan said.  “We keep about 50 percent of email addresses from alums, so we don’t have email addresses from the other half.  We are asking at events, and at our annual phone-athon callers get emails.”
Flatt said he hasn’t received a phone call or email in a while.
“They might try to contact me through my Tech accounts, but I don’t have access to them anymore,” Flatt said.  “I also haven’t updated my information either, so that is my fault for not setting the email up to be forwarded.”