ALUMNI ADVISORY BOARDS

GUIDELINES FOR OPERATIONS

The Ritual, officers, a brotherhood - all are arguably necessary ingredients for the existence of a fraternity chapter. Consistent chapter success, however, takes much more. Chapter success requires members to strive for the highest standards, to utilize the teachings of the Ritual, and to assist one another towards the achievement of their goals. A most necessary ingredient for chapter success is alumni brothers who are able to keep a chapter on the right track, and direct them toward excellence.

Alumni Advisory Board

Mission Statement

An Alumni Advisory Board has the ability, through various backgrounds and resources, to provide a chapter with four attributes important for member development and chapter success:

Most chapters have some type of alumni advisory resources available to them. Often alumni involvement surfaces on a regular basis and is utilized by the chapter. In too many cases, however, a chapter has only a few alumni involved on a sporadic basis, and alumni become organized in advising the chapter only when the chapter's operations decline to the point of being critical. And nine out of 10 times, when a chapter is closed, it was too little, too late.

The majority of the chapters that are successful in defining realistic goals and objectives, and the subsequent achievement of these goals, also have an advisory framework of alumni that encompasses several areas of alumni involvement. These areas are:

Yet, again, in too many chapter situations, the alumni advisory framework exists with only the first two areas, a High Pi and a House Corporation. So why can't this basic organization serve a chapter's needs? There are a number of common scenarios, which have been known to occur repeatedly in chapter situations that have limited alumni advisory contact.

1. High Pi Burned-Out - The High Pi term constitutionally is two years in length, but often the High Pi is ready to throw in the towel after the end of the first semester. With family, career, and other commitments, one man cannot be expected to be a thorough, effective advisor to the entire chapter and its officers.

2. The Super Advisor - Year after year, chapters fall back on that one alumnus who has seemingly always been involved in the chapter's operations. Other alumni are dependent on the one alumnus to fill vacant positions, or the alumni believe there is no place for additional alumni support.

3. House Corporation Assuming the Responsibilities as the Alumni Advisory Board - The House Corporation supervises the chapter's physical plant or house. For the entire House Corporation to handle chapter house loans, house improvement projects, chapter employees, fund raising and to advise the undergraduate chapter operations on a regular basis is just too much to handle effectively. Membership on a House Corporation and Alumni Advisory Board can overlap, but since each has different responsibilities and objectives, each should function separately.

4. High Alumni Turnover - Each chapter elects new officers annually and the entire chapter's membership turns over every three to four years. A chapter looses the continuity and direction if it is continually searching for and orienting a new High Pi every few years. Continuous turnover will always occur at the alumni level, but the effects on the chapter are not detrimental if there is a steady group of alumni involved.

5. Over Supply of Young Alumni - Like a new member, often times a chapter finds that it has many enthusiastic young alumni who are interested in being involved in the chapter activities. No chapter should deny an alumnus with good intentions the opportunity to get involved. On the other hand, a good mix of volunteers from various backgrounds and generations is most desirable.

6. No Alumni Advising - Each chapter of the Fraternity typically receives two visits each year from an Educational Leadership Consultant. The amount of support and contact a University provides for its fraternities and sororities differs from campus to campus. In quite a number of cases a university has put a priority on its Greeks by hiring one or more administrators who dedicates all of his or her time to Greeks by hiring one or more administrators who dedicates all of his or her time to the fraternity system. The opposite extreme is an entire university administration with no one in contact with the campus Greeks. Therefore, even with regular contact from the General Fraternity twice a year, and with a qualified resource person represented in the University administration, a chapter is still missing an important ingredient to chapter success: quality alumni advice.

The previous scenarios have been overly common in many chapter situations - not just those of young or poorly operated chapters. So why is a functioning Alumni Advisory Board so important to the successful operations of a chapter or colony?

Simply outlined, the purpose of an Alumni Advisory Board is to work hand-in-hand with the chapter's officers, committees and members toward the goal of expanding the day-to-day operations and programs of the chapter.

Typically, Alumni Advisory Boards are chaired by the High Pi (chapter advisor) and are made up of anywhere from three to fifteen alumni. Each alumnus is assigned one to three chapter officers whom he provides regular contact and advising concerning the officer's areas of programming. Participation by Alumni Advisory Board members would typically fluctuate throughout the school term, but alumni would participate at High Zeta (chapter officers) meetings, committee meetings, Alumni Advisory Board meetings, special events (rush, Ritual, social) and most importantly, individual officer conferences.

If an Alumni Advisory Board is going to take away from an alumnus' time, what is available in return? For years, many alumni have utilized the opportunity to stay directly involved with Lambda Chi Alpha as they assist their chapter and Fraternity in providing an outstanding fraternity experience for future generations. Many alumni outline a number of different reasons for being involved at the Alumni Advisory Board level:

GETTING OFF THE GROUND

As outlines under Code IV-44 of the Constitution and Statutory Code: "ALUMNI ADVISORY BOARD - The High Pi shall appoint and serve as chairman of an Alumni Advisory Board whose purpose is to advise the local chapter in sound active chapter management and to provide for continuity of active operations. All members of the Alumni Advisory Board shall be alumni members in good standing."

Implementing an Alumni Advisory Board can be a rather simple process, but it does require planning and coordination to be successful. Although chapter settings and their alumni make-up differ significantly, a step-by-step approach to forming a board is the best approach.

Step 1. Form an Interest Group

All it takes is one man to get an Alumni Advisory Board started - one alumnus to pull in two or three of his brothers and friends, and each one of them to pull in three more, and so on. An alumni interest group can start with just a half-dozen alumni as the nucleus who understand the benefits of an Alumni Advisory Board and who want to make it a positive experience. Additionally, there are a number of approaches an alumnus can take to get the names of area alumni, if he finds himself alone in his mission:

Step 2 - First General Mailing

Write a letter to the alumni in your area asking them to attend an initial informational meeting. Set up this mailing 4-6 weeks before the meeting and include response cards or self-addressed, stamped reply envelopes. You need to make it as easy as possible for the alumni to respond. Again, labels for the mailing can be obtained from the Office of Administration. Follow up your letter with a personal telephone call confirming their attendance.

Step 3 -Preparing for the Organizational Meeting

This involves "selling" the officers of the chapter on the fact that they would benefit by having an Alumni Advisory Board. Meet with the entire High Zeta (chapter officers) two weeks before the organizational meeting. Make it clear that they must attend. The alumni are going to be working directly with the officers, and the High Zeta should know openly who they will be dealing with and how the Alumni Advisory Board will benefit the chapter. Also present plans for the Alumni Advisory Board to the chapter at a business meeting.

Step 4 - The Organizational Meeting

By this time, the alumni and High Zeta's attendance have been confirmed. This first meeting should be held at the chapter house or a campus building. The meeting should be run by the High Pi or the alumnus initiating the board, and typically, this person will be the chairman of the advisory board. And, an agenda for the meeting needs to be prepared.

Sample Agenda

After the main topics have been covered, ask the alumni if they are willing to make a commitment to serve on the Alumni Advisory Board. It is important to get a solid commitment or refusal before the meeting adjourns. Anyone who says maybe will not be coming back. Schedule the next meeting of the Alumni Advisory Board at this meeting. If the alumni are enthusiastic enough, board officers can be elected and specific chapter office advisors can be appointed at this time.

Step 5 - The Follow-Up Meeting

This meeting is crucial. If the alumni can see results, they will continue to serve on the Alumni Advisory Board. Prior to the follow-up meeting, however, the High Pi or board chairman selects the areas which each Alumni Advisory Board member will serve, and calls the individual alumni to invite them to be on the new board.

It is also important that the chapter High Zeta attend this meeting. Each High Zeta officer needs to come prepared with an outline of his program and a list of several goals.

When the Alumni Advisory Board and High Zeta convene, the advising assignments should be reviewed; the alumni and chapter officers should be paired or grouped. Before breaking up, each High Zeta officer should give a brief outline of his areas of chapter programming to help re-orient those alumni who have been out of touch with daily chapter operations. The Fraternity's important policies concerning fraternity education, hazing, alcohol and risk management should also be reviewed. Finally, chapter and High Zeta goals, needs and expectations should be discussed.

At this point, the meeting can break up into one-on-one or small group discussions with officers and advisors. This is a chance to share background information, and for the officer to explain more specifically his areas of chapter programming, officer goals, strengths and weaknesses. Before everyone leaves, phone numbers and other information should be exchanged and the dates, times and locations for the next week's individual officer/advisor meetings should be agreed upon.

After these steps, the Alumni Advisory Board should be well on its way. Certainly, there may be a number of small quirks which will need to be straightened our early on such as getting consistent meeting times established and gaining an understanding for the chapter's operations. Yet it must be recognized that Alumni Advisory Boards which fail to achieve their mission do so after completing the steps of getting the board off the ground. After the formation and the first few meetings of the Alumni Advisory Board, organization, communication, evaluation and continuity now become vital to the success of the board.

KEEPING IT GOING

Once the Alumni Advisory Board has gone through the initial steps, alumni and officers should be having their individual meetings on a weekly basis at least for the first term. Also, the Alumni Advisory Board should be meeting as a group each month or more depending on the condition of the chapter. The first Sunday evening of every month is good suggestion for meeting times.

It is expected that alumni and chapter officers will miss certain meetings from time to time. After all, alumni have families, careers and other commitments to juggle. However, what might have started out as good intentions in the beginning may eventually turn into an alumnus being out of touch and dropping out of his commitment all because of a few missed meetings.

There are a few simple steps which, when followed consistently, will assist in keeping an Alumni Advisory Board together and fulfilling its purpose.

1. Organization - From the start, the Alumni Advisory Board needs to be organized so that every individual, from undergraduate to alumnus, has a responsibility in the function of the Fraternity. So the board must be organized such that every person involved has a clear set of expectations of what his job entails. For the undergraduate officers, their responsibilities become very clear upon election to each High Zeta Office. In the case for an alumnus, it can become extremely easy to lose touch if he does not have a clear mission or position while serving as volunteer.

First, make sure the alumni understand what their mission is: to advise and help to improve the operations of the chapter or colony, and at the same time, improve the fraternity experience offered to all members. Therefore, once an alumnus understands and shares the mission of the Fraternity, we will be more likely to have his dedication.

Second, each alumnus should have a position or office which matches him up with an undergraduate officer or chapter program. For example, the Fraternity Education Advisor would be paired up with the chapter's High Kappa, and would meet on a regular basis with the High Kappa to discuss his area of programming. Or, an at-large member of the Alumni Advisory Board could have the main responsibility of advising the chapter in its goal setting and tracking techniques, or providing advice concerning semester retreats, or a variety of other responsibilities.

Third, it is not enough to have an office created for an alumni advisor. It is necessary to match each alumnus in positions that best suit their abilities. The "hard guy" could work with the Executive Committee, the motivator with recruitment skills; the creative person with social programming, the "teacher" with fraternity education, etc.

Fourth, consistently schedule the meetings at the same time and location. Once the best time for everyone to meet has been determined, stick to it. You may want to alternate meetings, for example, from Sunday evenings at the chapter house to lunch Tuesday downtown. Then, an alumnus and undergraduate officer can meet easily at their own regular convenience.

Fifth, establish agendas for the Alumni Advisory Board meetings. A meeting in which persons simply complain or vent frustrations can turn off the majority of alumni who want their time together to be productive.

2. Communication - This cliché' is perhaps the key ingredient for keeping an Alumni Advisory Board going. From the start, be straight with what's required in the job ahead. As time goes on, don't be afraid to pick up the phone to remind alumni of meeting times, or to ask an alumnus if he still wants to remain involved.

First, use the Alumni Advisory Board officer form supplied by the Office of Administration. This form has each alumnus on the board paired up with an undergraduate officer. Address and phone number for all involved are also included. Make sure that all alumni on the board and High Zeta officers have a copy.

Second, make sure meeting times are set and everyone is informed. Many Alumni Advisory Boards have annual dues of $5.00 or $10.00 simply to cover the costs of sending reminder post cards one week before their monthly meeting. A phone call the day before the event is another good reminder.

Third, confront those alumni whose involvement drops off. In most cases, expect some alumni to lose interest and desire not to be involved. However, if an alumnus is confronted early after a couple of absences about his desire to be involved, many times his loss can be averted. Do the meeting times fit his schedule? Does he believe the mission of the Alumni Advisory Board is being followed? How is his interaction with his assigned undergraduate officer? What additional resources are needed to assist the alumnus in doing his job? The longer one waits to contact an individual, the more difficult it will become for an alumnus to feel comfortable in being consistently involved again.

3. Evaluation - Important for the undergraduates as well as the alumni is regular, self evaluation of the chapter and the Alumni Advisory Board. This will help to keep the Alumni Advisory Board's direction clear and well defined. Plan evaluation and goal defining sessions at the start of each school term or whenever a transition takes place.

4. Continuity - The real test for any Alumni Advisory Board is that of time. Be prepared for the transition that takes place in all chapters, from officers to new members to changes in policies and programming. It becomes very easy to allow a board to diminish its involvement after a major problem has been tackled or a new High Zeta is elected. Help the chapter to move on to their next goal. Educate the new officers about the Alumni Advisory Board's functions, and get that process started again. Always replace alumni who have "served their time" and want to step down from the board. In other words, always look to do what is necessary to overcome obstacles and move on, and endure by following the mission.

ADVISING UNDERGRADUATE CHAPTER PROGRAMMING

As an alumnus, your Alumni Advisory Board has finally gotten to the point where you are having one-to-one meetings with one of the chapter's officers. How do you get both yourself and this officer's program rolling from here?

There are a number of Fraternity resources to refer to which can be of help to any alumnus starting out fresh in an advisory capacity. Probably the two most useful resources are the individual High Zeta officer manuals and the Standards for Chapter Excellence programs.

Each officer should have his manual which he can lend to an alumnus on the board for a week to review. The manual should help anyone get oriented to the officer's programs. Also, the manual can help to bring any alumnus up to date with the current policies and procedures which may be different from those of years past. More specifically, there have been significant changes in recent years in the areas of fraternity education, ritualism, social development and risk management.

The Standards for Chapter Excellence program is another excellent resource which every member of the Alumni Advisory Board should have a copy of. The Standards for Chapter Excellence program is one of evaluation and goal setting. Each area of chapter programming has a set of standards which outline that area's function. By using the standards, an officer can evaluate his area of programming, and then set goals to improve. The Standards program includes a section of implementation which outlines a process of continual evaluation and goal setting at the chapter, officer/committee and individual member levels. Copies of the Standards program can be obtained from the Office of Administration.

Now that each member of the Alumni Advisory Board is somewhat better oriented, how does one make sure each undergraduate officer is doing the job that the alumni are to assist and advise him on? There are a number of basics which each High Zeta officer should be doing as part of his program. If not, this becomes a good starting point for an alumnus to assist the High Zeta officer in completing. Also important, the alumnus can become the accountability builder which is often lacking in an undergraduate chapter.

General Officer Programming - For all Chapter Officers

Chapter Management - High Alpha

International Fraternity Identity - High Alpha

College/University Administration Relations - High Alpha

Public Relations - High Theta

Community Service - High Theta

Individual Involvement - High Beta

Campus Involvement - High Beta

Reporting & Record Keeping - High Gamma

Financial Management - High Tau

Risk Management - High Iota

Fraternity Education - High Kappa

Recruitment - High Delta

Ritualism - High Phi

Academics - High Sigma

Social Development - High Epsilon

Alumni Programming - High Rho

House Management - House Manger

Executive Leadership - Executive Committee

By utilizing the High Zeta manuals, the Standards for Chapter Excellence program, Constitution and Statutory Code, and the previous questions, the members of the Alumni Advisory Board should be well oriented and prepared to provide the officers with the necessary information and guidance to improve their performance and reach their goals.

BEING AN ADVISOR

As a member of the Alumni Advisory Board, you are an advisor, which means obviously that you should advise, and not do. The real part of the undergraduates' learning experience in Lambda Chi Alpha is when they interact as members within the chapter. They must function as the leaders and voting members. They must also be held responsible for their decisions. The advisor's purpose is to advise on matters requiring an opinion from someone who has a more sophisticated background of knowledge concerning group dynamics, the Fraternity, the University, and a basic knowledge of the resources available to officers and members.

The undergraduates should feel that the alumni advisor is a part of the chapter, but not one of the guys. They will make the ultimate decision on what advice to accept and what advice to reject. Consequently, when you do give advice, the undergraduates must have the respect for you which allows them to hear and understand what you are saying. Advising, therefore, is a true two-way communicating experience.

There are a number of other points that can be helpful in your role as an advisor.

1. Use Caution When Necessary - The Alumni Advisory Board should alert the chapter or an officer when they are about to make a decision before all known facts are gathered, or when the decision is in violation of the laws of the Fraternity, institution, or state/province.

2. Function As A Liaison - There will be many times when an officer will need assistance in contacting the appropriate school official, another alumnus, or resource person in the community.

3. Work Closely With The Officers - Certainly this is the main function of the Alumni Advisory Board. Yet, it should be emphasized that if the top 10 percent of the chapter, the High Zeta, can be enthused and want to learn, then the average chapter member will also want to learn. The open dialogue between the Alumni Advisory Board and the High Zeta will also help to provide the officers with the needed assistance so that they will be able to function more effectively as group leaders.

4. Clearly Establish Your Role With The Chapter - As should be addressed when the Alumni Advisory Board is first organized, the chapter and officers continually need to know and agree upon the roles of the alumni advisors within the structure of the chapter.

5. Be A Role Model - This should go without saying, but it is important to realize that the alumni advisor is a living illustration of the fact that fraternity affiliation continues after graduation, and that the values and principles taught in the chapter have very real application in the everyday world.

6. Hold The Chapter To High Standards - Help the chapter to develop high standards and advise the officers on holding the chapter to these standards. By doing so, the officers will look at this as a compliment and it will give what they do a sense of importance.

7. Allow Mistakes To Be Made - Easier said than done, but what distinguishes an adequate advisor from a good advisor is the ability to gauge the impact of the resulting disaster, and determine when intervention is not only desirable but necessary.

8. Build On An Officer's Strengths - An undergraduate's personality is largely developed by the time he reaches college, but what can be developed are his manners, behaviors, skills and knowledge. Look at performance, not at promise, and focus on his strengths, and not his weaknesses.

It goes without saying that there will be many different situations to encounter from getting an Alumni Advisory Board started to being a good advisor. Certainly, the diverse situations are too great to cover individually and adequately here. However, in order for an Alumni Advisory Board to continue successfully, its members need to maintain its mission in benefiting the chapter and to understand that what they are doing is important. The hands-on, one-on-one type of advising for Lambda Chi Alpha is perhaps the greatest contribution of any alumni member of the Fraternity, and for an alumnus' time and energy there are many who are grateful.

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