History of the ISU Alumni Association

The Iowa State University Alumni Association was founded Nov. 12, 1878, by the first graduating class (1872) of Iowa Agricultural College. The class consisted of 26 alumni—24 men and two women. The original mission, which is still honored today, was to keep alumni close to the college (now university) and to each other. Edgar W. Stanton (class of 1872) served as the Association’s first president. Stanton served as president until 1893. The Association has functioned continuously since that time. Under the leadership of Ward R. Jones (class of 1897), president from 1893 to 1920, the Association was first incorporated in 1904 as an independent, self-governing association and began publication of the periodical Iowa State Alumnus in 1905, which continued publication for 69 years. Membership dues, $1 per alumnus/a, were first charged in 1910. This included an Alumnus subscription. In 1914, the Association employed a professional staff and established an office in Alumni Hall. Harold D. Pride (class of 1897) became president in 1921 and served until 1932. The Association’s office was moved to the Memorial Union in 1928.

In 1932, the Alumni Association, under the leadership of Wallace E. Barron (class of 1928), was reincorporated to legalize the organization for the acceptance of gifts and bequests for the college. From 1934-1938, the Association had rights to all potentially patentable processes and devices growing out of the college-supported research. In 1938, the Iowa State Research Foundation was incorporated, and the Association assigned all its interests in the area of patents to the new foundation. Barron served in this role until 1968. By World War II, gifts to Iowa State through the Alumni Association totaled $100,000.

From 1951 to 1980, alumni gifts were solicited annually by the affiliate organization, the Alumni Achievement Fund, to finance a wide variety of projects and activities that would not be supported by state appropriations alone. During this time, the Association was led by Robert L. Crom (class of 1950) serving from 1968 to 1971, Don F. Gustofson (class of 1955) serving from 1971 to 1979, and James A. Hopson (class of 1969) serving from 1979 to 1999. In the 1970s, the Association expanded its outreach to include the engagement of current students by creating the Student Alumni Association (known today as the Student Alumni Leadership Council). As the Alumni Association moved into the 1980s, the emphasis on service increased. Ongoing fundraising activities for the university were assumed by the newly incorporated Iowa State University Achievement Foundation, now known as the Iowa State University Foundation. The number of alumni had doubled during the decade of the ’70s, and services to the group expanded rapidly during the ’80s. Memberships in the organization soared, allowing new programs and services to be developed, including VISIONS, a full-color quarterly magazine. Programs and services for alumni in the 1990s were enhanced by an emphasis on research and planning. Since 1990, the Board of Directors has commissioned market research, conducted self-studies and external reviews, and developed five strategic plans designed to focus resources on increasing memberships, visibility, and services to alumni and the university. The recommendations from the 1996 self-study and external review and the 1997-2000 Strategic Plan guided the budget and programming decisions for the Association to better serve Iowa State and its present and future alumni and friends. In 1999, Jeffery W. Johnson (class of 2014) was hired as the Association's eighth leader. The Board also voted in 1999 to create The Circle, a group composed of Iowa State University Alumni Association former presidents/chairs and executive directors/presidents. In 2011, The Circle leadership expanded the group’s membership to include honorary members. Honorary members consisted of spouses and partners of deceased leaders and long-serving staff of the Association. Today, The Circle continues to work on behalf of the university and the Association. The 2001-2006 Strategic Plan focused on strengthening membership, engaging constituents, developing strategic alliances, and enhancing organization health. In 2003, the Board voted to focus its efforts on building a permanent home and planned for the celebration of the 125th anniversary of the Alumni Association. A proposal for an alumni center was approved by the Iowa Board of Regents in FY04. Due to the impending renovation of the Memorial Union, the Alumni Association took up temporary residence in Fisher-Nickell Hall.

The Alumni Association celebrated its 125th anniversary in 2003-2004 and reached its goal of topping 50,000 members

HISTORY OF THE ISU ALUMNI ASSOCIATION CONTINUED

by the end of 2005, making it the second-largest duespaying member organization in the Big 12 Conference. A new strategic plan for 2006-2009 was adopted in May 2006, with an emphasis on connecting alumni and friends to ISU and each other, engaging students for a lifetime connection to Iowa State, and positioning the ISUAA to advance Iowa State University. In 2006, the Association also assumed responsibility from the university for oversight of the ISU Retirees Association and the College for Seniors program (renamed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Iowa State University in 2008 (OLLI at ISU), established to serve educational needs of individuals 50 years of age or older. The OLLI at ISU program was established through a grant, and subsequent $1M endowment gift, from the Bernard Osher Foundation.

Construction of the new ISU Alumni Center on Beach Avenue in the Iowa State Center complex began in August 2006. Roy (class of 1957) and Bobbi (2006 honorary alumna) Reiman funded the cost of the building’s construction, with additional donors contributing to the project’s furnishings, art pieces, gardens, and endowment. HLKB architectural firm of Des Moines designed the facility, ISU’s Office of Facilities Planning and Management served as project and construction managers, and Woodruff Construction of Fort Dodge, Iowa, was selected as the facility contractor. The 34,500-square-foot facility was dedicated during Homecoming on Oct. 25, 2008. In 2007, the Board of Directors approved the creation of the Young Alumni Council (YAC), an organization charged with enhancing service to and engagement of recent graduates, defined today as less than 12 years out of Iowa State. In 2020, YAC was reconstituted to be a listserve group and had its name changed to InCYde Influencers. In 2008, the Association’s Board of Directors signed and implemented an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the university, clarifying the relationship between the university and the Association. This MOU was amended in 2019. As part of this understanding, the Association’s president and CEO became the sole employee of the Association. Ongoing evaluation, as well as future hiring of the Association’s president and CEO, is the responsibility of the Association’s Board with input from the president of the university. The Board signed a similar MOU with the ISU Foundation in 2010. In 2009, the Financial Success Task Force concluded its work and voted in 2010 to have staff of the ISUAA remain “loaned” employees from the university. The Board voted in 2009 to create The Leadership Guild to be a constituent group charged with re-engaging former ISUAA Board directors in the life, work, and aspiration of the Association. In 2009-2010, the Alumni Center grounds were landscaped; dedication ceremonies were held in October 2011. In 2010, the staff and Board began work on both a new strategic plan and an Alumni Center business plan. Both were approved in 2012. The 2012-2016 strategic plan focused on student and alumni networks, promoting the excellence of Iowa State, and providing exceptional service to constituents. In addition, under the new plan the Association sought to nurture loyalty, pride, and tradition; be a healthy, sustainable organization; and provide a destination for the Iowa State family in the ISU Alumni Center. In 2012, the Board of Directors kicked off a membership campaign to grow paid membership from 50,000 to 60,000 by the end of 2016 and increase the Association’s use of social media technologies. During Homecoming 2013, the Alumni Association celebrated the 5th anniversary of the dedication of the ISU Alumni Center, with a focus on the building’s themed hallways. Also during Homecoming, the Student Alumni Leadership Council celebrated its 40th anniversary. In spring 2014, the Association published a special VISIONS Across America issue of VISIONS magazine and opened its companion portrait exhibit in the Brunnier Art Museum. During FY14, the Association adopted a Strategic Values Proposition statement. In FY15 the Association’s Board approved a staff reorganization plan. The plan was implemented in FY16. The Board and staff worked together to draft a FY16 work plan that focused on the following four areas: communications, engagement, membership, and financial health. In FY15 the Association utilized a Task Force on Diversity and Inclusion to develop its Culture Statement.

On Oct. 29, 2014, Lora and Russ Talbot (’17 honorary alumni) of Belmond, Iowa, signed an ISU Foundation agreement making a $2.5M gift commitment to endow the Association’s president and CEO position. The endowment led to the position being retitled to the Lora and Russ Talbot Endowed ISUAA President and CEO. This endowment also

became the first non-academic endowed position on the Iowa State University campus and the first such endowment for an alumni relations position in the nation. Furthermore, following the hiring of a vice president for marketing, engagement, and business development, the Association issued a request for proposals for branding and marketing services. Flynn Wright of Des Moines was hired. The ISUAA Board approved three major initiatives in FY17: 1) new branding elements, marketing strategies, and the rallying cry “Cyclones Everywhere;” 2) relaunch of its legacy program under the name LegaCY Club; and 3) a new fiveyear strategic plan focusing on constituent engagement, collaborative partnerships, internal organization and diversity, and financial health. FY18 was framed by the first-year implementation of the Association’s five-year Strategic Plan. Key accomplishments were the completion of a comprehensive Programs and Services Audit, staff reorganization plan, staff professional development funding plan, successful fundraising, a refocused budgeting process, and outreach to collaborative campus partners. FY19 saw the Association complete an all-alumni printed directory; a redesign of the ISUAA’s mobile app; including partnering with the Registrar’s Office to add the Commencement program to the app; solidify an inaugural sponsor for the annual wall calendar; increase the number of travelers, OLLI participants, University Book Store sales, Gala attendees; and focus on diversity, especially related to alumni of color. Financial policy work further enhanced the sustainable future of the organization. The Association saw engagement with its alumni of color grow from 7% in FY18 to 14.44% in FY20. A three-year Memorandum of Understanding was signed with the Office of Extension and Outreach. In September 2019, the Association hosted its inaugural Loyal Leaders Celebration Weekend. In March 2020, Association staff began working remotely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The Alumni Center was closed to the public and outreach activities and programs were moved online. Due to COVID impacts, the ISUAA bylaws were updated in FY21 to provide for electronic communication and governance measures. FY22 saw the ISUAA surpass it's Forever True For Iowa State campaign goal by more than $400,000 raising more than $13.1 million.

With assistance from SPPG + Essman Research, the Association completed a comprehensive research study on alumni and friends' engagement with Iowa State University and the Association. The information is being used to inform the work of the FY23 Strategic Planning Committee.

Photo credit: ISU Library Special Collections