GWAA NEGOTIATES STRATEGIC PLAN
By Al Nadel, BS ’71, JD ’76

The George Washington Alumni Association (GWAA) offers interesting and helpful programs on and off campus, including lecture series, career networking events, trips, awards programs, dinners with students, partner programs with insurance and credit cards, and virtual connectivity with the entire GW community. All GW graduates are members of the GWAA, and the GWAA Board of Directors and the Office of Alumni Programs guide the activities planned by the association.

Shortly after her election as president of the GWAA, Kristen Betts, EdD ’98, organized a daylong retreat for the GWAA Board of Directors. The retreat was focused on strategizing the current direction of the GWAA.

One important result was the formation of a Strategic Planning Committee, responsible for proposing a blueprint of the future for GWAA – no small task! The committee has delved into the task wholeheartedly and is currently seeking input from GW graduates, faculty, students, administrators, and other members of the GW community.

Some of the questions asked include: What is our main mission? When should the GWAA offer programs, activities, events, services, and opportunities for involvement, and what opportunities are most beneficial and appealing to our audiences? What regions should the GWAA become involved in and why? How should the GWAA accomplish its goals?

The Strategic Planning Committee has conducted a survey of the board for its ideas about the GWAA mission, and several subcommittees have been formed to address the following concerns:

• The organization of the GWAA board
  
• The relationship between GWAA and GW
  
• The roles and responsibilities of members of the GWAA board
  
• The interrelationship of the GWAA and interest-based alumni groups
  
• GWAA’s role in GW fundraising
  

We are now seeking your ideas! Please tell us what you think. We invite the ideas of GW alumni, students (who will become GWAA members soon!), faculty, and administrators. We have the questions. You have the answers. With your help, the committee will propose a plan to benefit the entire GW community.

Feel free to e-mail me directly with your thoughts at AL1116@aol.com (please designate GWAA Strategic Plan in the subject line to avoid deletion as spam), or contact Jason Miller, director of alumni benefits and outreach, at miller12@gwu.edu, or 1-800-ALUMNI-7 with your ideas. Thanks for your help!