As I reflect on my first year in this post, one of the most rewarding parts of an amazing year has been getting to know you.
Jenifer G. Andrasko
Dan Addison
It has happened on multiple levels. I’ve enjoyed meeting you during your visits to Grounds and in my travels around the country. Over coffee, lunch, cocktails and dinners, you’ve shared your thoughts and ideas with me. And I’ve appreciated learning more about you in another way—from the alumni survey so many of you completed this spring. I promised I’d share the results with you, and I’m excited to do that here in highlighted form as well as in greater detail here (11MB PDF).
Why did we feel the need to conduct a comprehensive survey? Quite simply, we want to make sure that we’re meeting your needs. To get at that, the survey asked two questions across a wide swath of topics: What’s important to you and how are we doing in delivering on those priorities? The results have been not only insightful but also actionable.
We had statistically high participation with strong representation across the graduation eras, from pre-Vietnam to the post-Great Recession of recent years, offering a window into the UVA alumni base—230,000-plus strong and projected to approach 300,000 by 2038. As you might guess, alumni responses can be as diverse as our alumni themselves, but common and cross-generational themes emerge as well. Below are just a few of them, along with some of our takeaways and action items.
You’ll see that, in addition to being a wonderful first year at the Alumni Association, it has been a productive one. On both scores, I have you to thank—for your support and for your engagement, including taking the time to complete our survey. With so much activity underway, look for regular updates from me here in the magazine and on our website. Until then, continuing thanks and Wahoowa.
Jenifer G. Andrasko (Darden class of ’10) President & CEO, University of Virginia Alumni Association
