Resources for Departments

For departments contemplating curricular changes, alumni can provide perspective about the program’s value and pedagogical approaches. Over the long term, alumni who remain connected to their department are also far more likely to support it financially.

• Apply for a Professional Development Grant from The Graduate School. These awards provide funding for discipline-specific professional development programming, including events that bring alumni to campus to connect with students. Proposals are due October 15 each year. See the appendix for examples of successful programming.
   
• Create a Department Group on the alumni network (alumni.duke.edu). Departments can build a directory of their affiliated alumni by creating a departmental group from their program website. Active groups can communicate with alumni by emailing them or posting events on the platform.  Group pages can essentially function as an alumni database, an alumni webpage, an alumni update form, and an alumni newsletter all in one. You can then request exports of your alumni data at any time. Contact us today to start a group on the network!
   
• Introduce the global Duke network to students and encourage students to engage. Consider incorporating these networking tools into the classroom, or departmental gatherings. You can even host a presentation for your students on networking with alumni. Contact us to request a presentation from the Ubben Fellow for student programs.
   
• Join our community of practice. Become a member of our Teams Channel to engage in conversations with other colleagues who are connecting students and alumni in their department or unit.
   
• Share alumni interviews. The Graduate School has an alumni profiles series where departments can feature their program’s graduates! You can also link to career outcomes data for your program from The Graduate School’s website to give a full picture of the employment prospects for your graduates. If your department uses one of Duke Web Services’ new templates, you can pull in the alumni profiles from The Graduate School’s website into your list of alumni.
   
• Get creative! If you are thinking about starting a mentoring program for your students, you can leverage existing programs and informal ways to create connections that can often be more helpful than structured mentoring programs for students. Email [email protected] if you would like to consult on alumni-student mentoring.

Resources for Your Department’s Alumni and Students

Alumni achievements give prospective students more confidence in a program’s value and a clearer sense of what they might accomplish. They can also offer valuable insights and networking opportunities for current students, providing career guidance through interviews, panels, mentorship, and connecting them to research, internships, and employment prospects.

• Alumni and students can join the Duke Alumni Network. The network is not just for alumni, it is a resource for all students. Access to the alumni network starts as soon as students receive their NetIDs. We recommend that departments, academic advisors and faculty encourage students to utilize the network, reaching out to alumni during transitional times (i.e., What is the first year of a graduate program like? What can I do with my area of focus? Do I need an internship?) Here’s how they can get started.
   
• Ask a Blue Devil is an online tool that allows students to ask questions or request advice and get matched to multiple alumni by our AI technology. Using this tool, students are more likely to receive a response from an alum than through typical networking emails and it is ideal for busy students who have general questions (i.e., How can I make myself competitive for a job in industry? How many publications do I need to be competitive in this employment field?) and request informational interviews. The Alumni Network is better for students who know which alumni they want to connect within a specific industry or company. Alumni can also ask questions to other alums via Ask a Blue Devil, too!
   
• Apply for Student Organization Funding. Duke Alumni Engagement and Development is excited to announce a new way to support student organizations offering funding twice a year. Funds can be used for events, activities, and programming which help facilitate student-alumni interaction and engagement. Learn more about the application at Students Programs and Resources.

Connect With Us!

The Duke Alumni Careers, Mentoring and Campus Engagement team is happy to consult with you on programming as you brainstorm ways to engage your alumni.

Sara Stevens AM'19
Program Director, Alumni Engagement, Trinity and The Graduate School (TGS)
Contact me about starting a group on the alumni network, inviting alumni to speak in your class, or otherwise connect them to your students.

Susan Gordon, Ph.D.
Assistant Vice President, Alumni Careers, Mentoring, and Campus Engagement
Contact me about connecting students with alumni for career connections and mentoring

Melissa Bostrom, Ph.D.
Assistant Dean for Graduate Student Professional Development
Contact me about how to create a valuable professional development opportunity for graduate students by engaging alumni.

Allison Boyer 
Director of Development 
Contact me about alumni engagement if there is an opportunity to cultivate as a donor. 

In addition, if you would like to recommend alumni from your department for Karsh Conversations or other programming we host, please email Susan Gordon or [email protected] with the subject line: Attention Campus Engagement.

Appendix: Great Things are Happening at Duke

When you’re thinking about career programming, there are a variety of formats from which to choose, ranging from weekend-long experiences to monthly coffee chats with alumni and current students. Examples of great programs within departments at Duke include:

• Masters in Statistical Science program annual networking event with alums
• English department’s alumni profiles
• Programs in the Graduate School’s Senior Leadership Insights Series
• Alumni Q&A, Exploring Careers, and Alumni Experts YouTube playlists by the Duke Career Center. Contact DCC to nominate your program alums for their panels!  
• Karsh Conversations - Alumni Engagement and Development hosts small dinner conversations that bring together current Duke students and alumni from a variety of industries to allow for dynamic conversations and relationship-building. Karsh Conversations are open to all undergraduate, graduate, and professional students.