Archive for September, 2009

by Keith Kerber, Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Only at a place like the Thunderbird Call Center could one experience what I did yesterday morning.

While coaching our Student Campaign Ambassadors (SCA), I simultaneously heard an Uzbek SCA speaking to an alumnus in Turkey, while an SCA from Togo was speaking French with the mother of an alumnus in France, while an Indian SCA was speaking to an alumnus in Germany.  And the French-speaking mother?  Well, she gave the SCA the phone number of the alumnus who is currently working in Chile.  The SCA promptly called the alumnus in Chile and secured a pledge of $50 for the Thunderbird Annual Fund!  This place is amazing…”truly global.”

The call center is a new initiative of the Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations Office.  We kicked it off this week with our SCA staff of 23.  We hope to reach out to more than 15,000 alumni this year.  We like to keep up with their whereabouts and activities while raising awareness and support for Campaign Thunderbird.  Our SCAs are enjoying the conversations they have with alumni around the world while discovering insights they can apply to their own lives from the experience and wisdom of our alumni.  We look forward to speaking with many more of our alumni as the year progresses.

by Gbemi Disu ‘06, Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

…Literally!  The Institutional Advancement and Alumni Relations department re-launched an in-house call center staffed by students on September 21st 2009.  Over the next few months, you will be receiving phone calls from current students and the time you take to speak with them will be greatly appreciated.

The students will serve as conduits for the latest information about the campus and Thunderbird’s most recent achievements.  We hope you will take time to share your experiences with them and learn more about theirs.  It is always great to see an instant bond form, regardless of the graduation year, over campus traditions like Regional Nights, Flag Ceremonies, Foundations Week, and of course, The Pub!

This will also be a great time for you to help us update our records by providing them with your most current information so that we can keep sending you the Thunderbird Magazine and other relevant information.  In the spirit of continued improvement and excellence, we hope that you will share your ideas with us so that we may strengthen our relationship with you, our valued alumni.

We look forward to connecting with you through our students who are doing their part to help make Campaign Thunderbird and our pledge for a better world a success!

by Aaron Wilder ‘08, Development Fellow

Thunderbird endeavors to achieve its mission to “educate global leaders who create sustainable prosperity worldwide” through its portfolio of graduate degree programs as well as through its philanthropic initiative, Thunderbird for Good. This initiative was launched in 2005 to solidify the school’s dedication to global citizenship and leverage its expertise in international business to help non-traditional students, such as women entrepreneurs, in developing countries. Thunderbird for Good’s own mission is to provide learning experiences for non-traditional students who can use business and management skills to fight poverty, secure peace, and improve living conditions in their communities. It has led successful programs for Afghan and Jordanian women and will be launching new programs in Latin America and Africa in the near future.
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by Alicia Sutton ‘09, Program Manager

I hate to use the term “new” when describing media and information platforms. This type of “new” media has been around forever. Think of how quickly a scandalous story can sweep through a small town; or, how everyone knows which professors to avoid when signing up for college courses. This information isn’t listed in the local paper or printed in an academic bulletin. It just gets around.

And not all information that spreads virally is bad. How do you find out when a friend needs some assistance? Of if there is job coming available that you might be interested in?

As someone who is reading this text on a blog or some other form of social media that spreads information out into the electronic world, you are aware that information is dynamic. There are new avenues to share stories/recommendations/opportunities with one another. You still talk to your friends and coworkers, but you might also read their Tweets or Status Updates. In fact, just the other day my colleague Tweeted about a new employee in his department. As soon as I read the Tweet, I headed over to introduce myself to the new hire.

Thunderbirds are ideal users of this “new” media. You come to school, have opportunities to network and study with other global explorers, and then you graduate and head off on your own path. Now, instead of picking up the phone to find out what your old roommate is up to, you can “friend” him on Facebook or add him as a connection to your LinkedIn profile. Instead of reading a newsletter to find out what Thunderbirds in your area are doing, follow your local alumni chapter on Twitter – more and more are joining every day.

The Alumni Relations Office wants you to stay connected to Thunderbird throughout your life. We want to follow the exciting things that you are doing. We also hope that embracing platforms such as LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook will allow us to keep you up-to-date on T-bird happenings across the globe. Don’t wait, GET CONNECTED!

by Gbemi Disu ‘06, Assistant Director, Leadership Annual Giving

Bonjour, Merhaba, Hola, Nei ho, Yia sou, Salam, Namaste, Konnichi wa, Shalom and of course Hello to my readers! This is the first of many blog posts I will be writing and as I pondered what it should be about, I recalled one of my favorite quotes. John F. Kennedy once said, “Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country!”

I have a small modification to this quote as it pertains to the nature of this blog. As I am told, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so here goes: “Ask not what Thunderbird can do for you, ask what you can do for Thunderbird!”

To my critics, skeptics, those still paying off their enormous graduate school loans, and my dad, I am sure you all immediately disagree with this because clearly, a good return on investment is one of the major reasons to attend business school. As an alumna myself, I agree with you to a certain degree.
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