(I’m sure you're wondering about the significance of From Down the Hall. It harkens back to my early days at the WVU Alumni Association when the Erickson Alumni Center was in what is now the West Virginia University Museum Education Center. As you entered the facility, there was a long hallway. At the end was the office of Executive Director Steve Douglas. Each quarter, a message was included in our printed newsletter that was authored from down the hall. It is with a full heart that I reintroduce you to From Down the Hall. I hope you enjoy it! ~ Kevin)
Like most organizations, the last year and a half has allowed us to re-examine how to position the WVU Alumni Association for future success. We have learned a lot during these challenging and sometimes unnerving times. In my humble opinion, no lesson was greater for me than understanding the value of being a part of a strong community.
At the WVU Alumni Association, our mission is to provide lifelong support to alumni and to serve the interests of our University. It is our role to create connection and community for those who love West Virginia University. To do that, we need to evolve so we can better serve you, our valued alumni, and our alma mater.
We must always focus on our mission. That means being service-oriented, alumni-centric, and seek partnerships that will meet the needs of our ever-expanding audience. Though we knew that was important pre-pandemic, the last sixteen months have rapidly accelerated the need for heightened attention in those areas.
During the next several months, we will be working with the University community to more closely align priorities. We also are evaluating how to strategically use the Erickson Alumni Center in our constituents' engagement. This alignment will allow us to further develop our chapters and interest groups, strengthen and align our volunteer base with institutional priorities, provide more robust alumni professional services, student and young alumni programming, membership benefits and engagement programming, and much more.
As we work toward achieving this goal, we will seek formal and informal feedback. I encourage you to contact me with ideas and suggestions about ways we can provide additional value. Our Mountaineer community has never been more important to the success of our University than it is now.
In addition to your feedback, I invite you to share your love for our University by becoming an alumni member, attending a chapter event, registering for the WVU Connect platform, or proudly wearing a Flying WV.
Being a Mountaineer is something special and something we all share in common. It is my honor to serve West Virginia University and her greatest asset, our alumni. I look forward to hearing from you and to working with alumni and friends around the globe to grow our WVU network.
Let’s go!
Kevin Berry (’94; ’95)
Associate Director
WVU Alumni Association