OHIO Alumni Association releases five-year strategic plan

Reflecting a “One OHIO” mindset, the OHIO Alumni Association’s five-year strategic plan defines what the organization is, where it is going and how it will get there.

The OHIO Alumni Association announces its five-year strategic plan, which will serve as a roadmap to establishing the organization as the essential hub for alumni engagement to advance the mission and vision of Ohio University.

The strategic plan was developed over the past six months under the direction of Erin Essak Kopp, who joined Ohio University this past summer as the new assistant vice president of alumni relations and executive director of the OHIO Alumni Association. Essak Kopp and colleagues at the Alumni Association worked closely with Chris Vlahos from Marts & Lundy Inc., a consulting firm whose specializations include higher education, in creating a plan that includes input from both internal and external stakeholders.

In crafting a document that defines what the OHIO Alumni Association is, where it’s going and how it will get there, the strategic planning committee surveyed all Ohio University alumni, conducted visioning sessions with Alumni Association staff and members of the board of directors, and completed more than 50 interviews with faculty and staff throughout the University.

“We are excited to be unveiling a document that reflects a One OHIO mindset, that will move us as an organization forward but, more importantly, will move Ohio University as an institution forward,” Essak Kopp said, noting how the strategic plan aligns with the University’s strategic pathways and priorities.

At the core of the strategic plan is a guiding principle for the OHIO Alumni Association: To advance Ohio University through meaningful, lifetime engagement of its alumni base.

The plan includes six strategic pathways, which are:

• Embrace a One OHIO culture to strategically and collaboratively enhance the needs of the collegiate community and campus partners for whom alumni involvement is critical to their success
• Build an Alumni Association infrastructure and culture that is accountable for outcomes of strategy
• Elevate the attitudes, experiences and needs of our increasingly diverse alumni base and segment in a manner that inspires the highest level of engagement at OHIO
• Build a world-class engagement program that connects alumni locally, globally and virtually
• Create coordinated, consistent brand messaging and two-way communications across the Alumni Association channels to effectively engage and inform OHIO’s alumni base
• Create a culture of lifelong connection that spans the student continuum and is sustained into the early alumni years for uninterrupted engagement

“I commend everyone who contributed to this strategic plan that will not only guide the OHIO Alumni Association in the work that it does but sets the tone for the inclusive and collaborative culture we are fostering throughout Ohio University,” said Nico Karagosian, vice president of University Advancement and president and CEO of The Ohio University Foundation.

Essak Kopp noted that the OHIO Alumni Association’s strategic planning process is only beginning with the release of this document.

“This is going to be an ongoing conversation,” Essak Kopp said. “The hard work is just beginning. We need our entire Bobcat community—alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents and friends—to rally around this plan, find their place within it, promote it and help move it forward.”

To read the OHIO Alumni Association’s Strategic Plan for Alumni Engagement (2019-2023), click here.