5 minutes with Monique

minutes with Monique5

Fellow Bulls,

FOR MANY OF US, TODAY marks a renaissance of sorts. We’re back in school, back in the office, and back to celebrating life’s important milestones together. We are returning with a greater appreciation for life, liberty and community. And our commitment to excellence is reinvigorated. Your Alumni Association is also reinvigorated and it’s a new day!

We recently adopted our new strategic plan, establishing our aspirations and initiatives through 2024, resulting in some exciting changes. They’ll position us to better serve everyone in our rapidly growing alumni family while also providing the support necessary to help our great university meet its goal of becoming a Top 25 U.S. public university.

In the meantime, we have a lot to look forward to in the weeks ahead. I hope you plan to join us for Homecoming 2021, Oct. 31 – Nov. 6. The week includes a Nov. 4 celebration of our 2020 USF Alumni Award recipients, since last year’s dinner was postponed due to the pandemic, as well as our 2021 honorees. These awards represent the highest honor USF bestows on its alumni, and two non-alumni, for professional accomplishments and dedicated service, and the recipients never fail to awe and inspire. Read about them on pages 50-53.

The following evening, we host your annual Welcome Home Party on the front lawn of the Sam and Martha Gibbons Alumni Center on USF’s Tampa campus. This event has evolved into a huge celebration, with live entertainment, games, food, and the best spot for viewing the Running of the Bulls Homecoming Parade. Pack up the family and round up your friends for a great time with fellow Bulls! More Homecoming events are highlighted on pages 48-49.

As for the changes I mentioned earlier, one involves streamlining the association’s membership program. In July, we began phasing out annual membership in order to grow Life Membership and add a new tier, General Membership.

Our thousands of paid annual members have been crucial for the growth and development of your Alumni Association for more than 30 years – USF could not have gotten here without you! Now as we focus our efforts on increasing Life Membership, we can also increase our investment in future Bulls. That’s because a large portion of Life Member dues is deposited into an endowment that helps fund the association for generations to come. Of course, Life Members will continue to receive the many benefits of this prestigious designation. Our new General Membership tier will allow us to better engage our entire alumni community. Membership is automatic and free upon USF graduation. This tier recognizes and formalizes our longstanding commitment to serve all alumni and, we hope, ensures everyone feels included and welcome in your Alumni Association.

Learn more about these changes at www.usfalumni.org/ membershipchanges2021.

Also new, we’ve doubled the number of association staff working with our alumni chapters and societies. Our volunteer-led groups provide the foundation of alumni support for USF and offer an easy and meaningful way for Bulls to connect with one another and their university, no matter where they live. Will Candler, Life Member, and Brian Cziraky, ’14, have joined Heather Agatstein and Samantha Cleveland, ’16, Life Member, as assistant directors for alumni engagement.

This increased commitment to our dedicated volunteers will help us achieve an important objective of our strategic plan – ensuring alumni engagement at all levels to foster long-term, meaningful involvement with USF.

It’s truly a new day – for you, me, our Alumni Association, and our Preeminent Research University. Together, we’ll make sure it’s a great day!

Horns Up!

Monique Hayes, ’01, Life Member No. 3536

Chair, USF Alumni Association