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Common Themes - What alumni said

Connection

• Alumni feel most connected through:
  • Affinity-based communities and interpersonal connections (e.g., Greek life, Ebony Bobcat Network, Marching 110, shared residence halls, etc.).
  • Signature moments and shared traditions (e.g., Homecoming, Black Alumni Reunion, regional gatherings, etc.).
  • Giving back (mentoring and connecting with current students, serving on boards, recruiting students, speaking to classes, offering internships, supporting scholarships).
  • Every day 鈥渃onnection in the wild鈥� 鈥� recognizing fellow alumni, exchanging greetings, and discovering shared identity through professional and social connection channels (e.g. LinkedIn).
• Emotional drivers include belonging, pride, nostalgia, and shared traditions and experiences.
• Home emerged as a defining concept.
• Connection often deepens years or decades after graduation.
• Connection often depends on personal invitation and relational entry points.
• Early exposure (student and recent grad connections) and family engagement strengthen long-term alumni engagement.
• The phrase Recruit, Retain, Return offers a useful lifecycle lens: alumni were recruited to come, retained to graduate, and now seek an intentional path to return.

Value

Alumni value:

• Engaging with purpose, giving back, and adding value (alumni want to give value, not just receive perks).
• Multiple pathways to connection, a diversity of event formats, a variety of program types (especially when there鈥檚 visible effort to reach alumni locally), and when programming feels human, relevant, and responsive.
• Programming that respects their time, feels intentional, and offers clear takeaways (learning, impact, relationships, and pride).
• When experiences feel 鈥渆asy to say yes to鈥� with clear logistics, low planning burden, and a straightforward path from invitation to attendance.
• Programming that emphasizes enjoyment, energy, and memorable/ distinctive experiences.
• Opportunities for learning and insight that help alumni understand why OHIO matters today, reinforcing pride, advocacy, and belonging.
• Evidence that alumni are valued beyond fundraising 鈥� including opportunities that celebrate, support, or engage alumni in non-financial ways.
• Networking and relationship-building. While alumni may no longer need networking in a traditional sense, they want context, understanding, pride, and meaningful ways to contribute.
• Direct, clear, personalized invitations that inspire trust; peer-to-peer outreach, particularly when time/effort is required.
• Alumni stories of success and inspiration, beyond traditions and nostalgia

Inclusion

Alumni feel welcomed when:

• Invitations are genuine, personal, and clearly inclusive; and personalized outreach (gap: over-reliance on email and fundraising calls).
• Programming is accessible and affordable (barriers to access are addressed).
• They鈥檙e included in the planning 鈥� contributing expertise, ideas, access, and community insight so that programming resonates with more audiences and authentically reflects lived experience.
• They can see themselves represented before arriving 鈥� in the invite language, imagery, and framing of expectations.
• When programming resonates and signals intentionality 鈥� from planning to execution to follow up.
  • Events are facilitated intentionally (hosts, greeters, prompts, etc.).
  • There鈥檚 an effort to reduce social barriers, like meet-and-greet moments and connection points for first-time or solo attendees.
• Regional programming and events celebrate the diverse alumni population.
• Professional, personal, and life experiences are validated.
• Humanized engagement taps alumni talents.
• There鈥檚 space for cultural exchange and inclusion.
• They鈥檙e seen and valued through personal invitations and leadership presence.
• Alumni whose OHIO experience was shaped by transfer, commuter, regional-campus, military, or nontraditional pathways may need distinct on-ramps to belonging.
• As alumni move through life stages, they want both targeted entry points that serve as a doorway back in, and broader shared experiences that sustain engagement over time; openness and flexibility matter.
  • Offerings across neighborhoods and suburbs, varied timing, family-friendly formats, and multiple types of programs.
  • 鈥淏elonging is often won or lost at the first step鈥攅specially for alumni who don鈥檛 know anyone attending.鈥�
• Belonging increases when participation feels doable. Clear expectations, simple steps to participate, and reduced logistical friction (travel burden, time burden, registration burden) shape who can show up鈥攁nd who feels included.
• Representation matters. alumni want to see themselves reflected in Ohio Today, university marketing, alumni programming, and the broader OHIO narrative.
• Transparency also matters. alumni want the university to communicate clearly and credibly about changes affecting inclusion, belonging, and support for historically marginalized communities.

• Belonging is driven by purpose, recognition, and shared meaning (not just attendance) alumni want to be known, remembered, and invited into impact.
• Belonging as both purposeful and personal: a shared identity thread that shows up in everyday life and that can be nurtured through visible connection pathways.
• Engagement thrives on emotional connection, shared experience, and trust.
• Belonging is activated through being personally asked to contribute and add value in ways that matter.
• Ease is a belonging strategy: when engagement feels simple to navigate and low effort to join, alumni are more likely to participate.
• Alumni want to return with purpose 鈥� to support students, share expertise, mentor, volunteer, celebrate one another, and help shape the future of the community.
• One of the clearest pathways to alumni re-engagement is meaningful connection to current students.
• Belonging is a nonlinear, lifecycle experience; alumni often disengage and re-engage at different life stages, requiring intentional and varied re-entry points.
• Intergenerational and family pathways are emerging as durable belonging strategies, supporting long-term engagement across generations.
• Awareness gaps persist 鈥� even among engaged alumni 鈥� and are better understood as navigation, coordination, and trust gaps.
• Trust builds through consistency, follow-through, and visibility.
• Targeted and affinity-based programming remain essential. At the same time, alumni want stronger shared spaces that create a larger Bobcat identity across differences.
• Access shapes belonging 鈥� cost, transportation/logistics, and virtual options influence who can participate and who feels included.
• Diversity, inclusion, and representation are critical, and programming should reflect the full range of voices, identities, and alumni experiences.
• Inclusion is increasingly experienced through design choices: representation, planning, venue, timing, story, transparency, and cultural resonance all shape whether alumni feel welcomed and valued
  
   

• Purpose-Based Engagement 鈥� Clearly articulate why alumni are invited and how they matter; offer clear ways for alumni to contribute through mentoring, recruiting, advising, volunteering, and story-sharing.
• Early and delayed bridges to engagement (students and recent grads, regional and online grads, early- and mid-career, intergenerational and family programs).
  • Create intentional re-entry points for alumni at different life stages.
  • Treat family-inclusive programming and next-generation connection as a strategic driver of long-term engagement.
  • Recruit, Retain, Return 鈥� Develop clear and intentional alumni return pathways.
• Open + Flexible Programming 鈥� Fewer silos, more shared experiences.
  • Build trust through consistent regional programming and communication; peer-to-peer outreach; and transparency.
  • Regional outreach and virtual engagement for distant alumni as a belonging tool for geographically dispersed or differently engaged grads.
• One Big Space 鈥� Build stronger unity and shared Bobcat identity across programs, colleges, networks, and alumni communities while preserving affinity-based and culturally resonant pathways for engagement.
• Representation + Inclusive Storytelling 鈥� Diversify stories, imagery, publications, and marketing in which alumni can see themselves
• Belonging Infrastructure 鈥� Design the alumni experience intentionally so belonging is built into invitations, facilitation, pathways, and follow-up.
  • Train hosts and volunteers as belonging facilitators.
  • Design invitations through a belonging lens.
  • Normalize varied alumni identities and timelines of engagement.
  • Co-Created Programming 鈥� Invite alumni to help shape and design programming so offerings resonate more deeply and reflect multiple lived experiences.
  • Personalized reactivation 鈥� direct, people-centered outreach that reconnects alumni through trusted relationships, affinity groups, and leadership invitations (connecting the connectors).
  • Reduced friction + better navigation 鈥� simplify calendars and sign-ups, reduce social barriers, and make participation feel 鈥渆asy to say yes to鈥� through clear logistics, fewer steps, and visible on-ramps by interest, life stage, and geography
  • Trust + transparency 鈥� be more explicit, timely, and credible in communication about changes affecting belonging, inclusion, and support for historically marginalized communities.

• Portfolio of Signature Experiences 鈥� Preserve Homecoming鈥檚 importance as a powerful, flagship experience, while strengthening and building other pathways for connection and return.
  • Pilot and build upon innovative ideas with signature 鈥渃an鈥檛-miss鈥� events with strong/compelling marketing
  • Curate alternative return moments 鈥� alumni game/weekend concepts; intentional milestone-year emphasis; class-year or residence-hall reunions.
  • Inclusive cultural events
  • Cross-Alumni Network service and collaboration
  • Sports-based programming
  • Bobcat Marketplace and spotlights on alumni businesses and success.
  • Year-long cohort programming/bundled or themed programming
  • Subscription-based programming for sustained engagement
• Make everyday identity moments easier to share (simple prompts, story capture, professional network spotlights) to turn spontaneous pride into sustained connection.
• Solo-attendee inclusion design (structured meet-and-greet moments; designated connection points/tables; optional pre-event connection).
• Learning as Engagement 鈥� Faculty access, institutional insight, impact narratives.
  • Position alumni programming as purposeful engagement, not just entertainment.
• Everyday Bobcat pride activation (story prompts and campaigns that highlight alumni identity in everyday life and professional contexts)

• Future Engagement 鈥� Host Bobcats All Ways Roundtable in Cincinnati in May 2026.
• Belonging Insights Report 鈥� Continue to refine insights report with findings from future Roundtables, with ongoing attention to themes, opportunities, and focus areas for programming and communication.
• Belonging Framework 鈥� Draft guiding principles鈥攁 鈥淏elonging Lens鈥濃�攖o apply across all alumni engagement efforts.