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LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Alumni deserve more consideration
Letters to the Editor | 2/10/09
Posted online at 12:34 AM EST on 2/10/09
To the Editor:
Brandeis, in its most recent fiscal crisis, has reverted to its tradition of treating its alumni like mildly interested bystanders.
I learned about the Rose from a friend in the art world, then read about it in The New York Times. Only this past Friday did we receive an e-mail from an alumni representative to the Board of Trustees.
Yes, I receive an annual call from a charming undergraduate asking for a donation. No, the University's president, its trustees and its development office never seem to have considered asking the alumni to dig deep into our hearts and our pockets to help bail out our alma mater and shore up the value of our degrees. It is in the University's DNA to rely on a small cadre of extremely wealthy donors.
Now, Brandeis has a public relations disaster, alienated donors and further alienated alumni. The University needs to learn to treat its alumni as its first line of support, not its last. Brandeis squandered this crisis. It was an opportunity to bring alumni into the fold; instead, many of us are angry.
What will I do when I receive that annual call from the usual charming undergraduate? For the first time in many, many years, I don't know.
-Marian Bass
Brandeis, in its most recent fiscal crisis, has reverted to its tradition of treating its alumni like mildly interested bystanders.
I learned about the Rose from a friend in the art world, then read about it in The New York Times. Only this past Friday did we receive an e-mail from an alumni representative to the Board of Trustees.
Yes, I receive an annual call from a charming undergraduate asking for a donation. No, the University's president, its trustees and its development office never seem to have considered asking the alumni to dig deep into our hearts and our pockets to help bail out our alma mater and shore up the value of our degrees. It is in the University's DNA to rely on a small cadre of extremely wealthy donors.
Now, Brandeis has a public relations disaster, alienated donors and further alienated alumni. The University needs to learn to treat its alumni as its first line of support, not its last. Brandeis squandered this crisis. It was an opportunity to bring alumni into the fold; instead, many of us are angry.
What will I do when I receive that annual call from the usual charming undergraduate? For the first time in many, many years, I don't know.
-Marian Bass
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