What better way to reach alumni than to ask their former teachers?
That’s just what the RSU Alumni Association did recently when they arranged a gathering of former faculty and staff members at Rogers State University.
The faculty and staff were asked to go through old yearbooks from Claremore Junior College and Rogers State College, designating former students who they thought might be interested in returning for the university’s Centennial Homecoming on Nov. 6-7.
The project is just one initiative the RSU alumni office is undertaking to increase membership in the RSU Alumni Association, and to get more alumni to return to the Hill.
Participating were former faculty members Jane Duff, Eldon Hallum, Luther Martin, and June Purdom, and RSU President Emeritus Dr. Richard Mosier. Dr. Tobie Titsworth, vice president of student affairs, and Alan Lawless, director of the Stratton Taylor Library – long-time RSU staff members – assisted the group.
“It was an opportunity to re-engage former faculty members with the life of the university,” said Stephany Foutch, RSU alumni director.
The faculty members developed a list of approximately 50 past students who they deemed most likely to express an interest in attending homecoming festivities. The RSU Alumni Office then began contacting alumni to determine their level of interest.
“This is an effort to extend the reach of our Alumni Association, get more alumni involved, and boost attendance at the special homecoming celebration,” said Foutch, who is also serving as chairperson of the 2009 Centennial Homecoming Planning Committee. Her co-chairman is B.J. Armstrong, RSU director of student activities and a 2007 graduate of RSU.