Join the Alumni Board

The ideal Alumni Board member enjoys connecting with the Macalester community, maintains alumni connections, has ideas for community building and engagement, and brings ideas and skills that they would enjoy using to advance the mission of the Alumni Board. The Nominations Committee considers a wide range of elements in selecting new members. This includes the current composition of the Alumni Board; representation of class years, race and ethnicity, citizenship, gender identity, sexual orientation, geography, student activities, and community engagement; and skills and areas of expertise.

Questions? Please contact the Alumni Engagement team at [email protected]

Mission Statement of the Board

The Macalester Alumni Board serves to build and strengthen the Macalester alumni community by fostering meaningful relationships between alumni and the college, connecting with current students, helping the college achieve its strategic priorities and acting through its members as ambassadors of the college.

About the Alumni Board

The Alumni Board’s purpose is to create, amplify, and celebrate alumni engagement. The Macalester Alumni Board is a working board that is organized into small groups around specific issues. These groups set annual goals and plans that members work on throughout the year. The Alumni Board does not set policy or have fiduciary responsibilities; rather, the Alumni Board’s role is to help connect alumni to the Macalester community and to meaningful volunteer and engagement opportunities with the College. Board members’ active participation in the work throughout the year is critical to its success.

Key Board Member Responsbilities

• In-person attendance at two, 2-day board meetings on campus every year. Meetings may be held virtually depending on guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. Section 7 of the Bylaws states “If any director misses three consecutive meetings, their position on the Board will be declared vacant.”
• Promote and recruit volunteer opportunities, events and other ways to engage with the College
• Function as an active ambassador for the College in their region.
  • Host and/or attend Macalester events in their region
  • Connect with regional steering committees as a resource
  • Assist local chapter in recruiting volunteers
• Active membership in at least one Task Force and one Committee of the board.
• Participate in volunteer efforts (e.g. Activate Career Helper badge on MacConnect).
• Function as “ad hoc” member of milestone Reunion planning committees during milestone Reunion year.
• Assist staff and Nominations committee to identify other alumni as potential chapter leaders and organizers, and as candidates for awards, board seats, and other leadership positions.
• Represent the alumni voice responding to current issues and policies and providing an honest critique of the school and strategies for improvement.
• Give to the Macalester Fund in a way that is meaningful to you.
• Consider participating as a class agent.
• Read and respond to communications from the Alumni Engagement office and the Alumni Board Executive Committee in a timely manner.

What Current Board Members Say about the Alumni Board

“Working on the Alumni Board keeps me connected to a community committed to Macalester’s values.”

“Great foundational board experience for folks who wish to be part of a nonprofit board.”

“Learning leadership and communication skills. General board experience helps take the mystery out of being on a board, and hopefully could be a stepping stone for someone who is interested in volunteering through boards in other areas.”

“I love meeting new Macalester alumni that graduated before and after me. I realize that our experiences were very similar, and we have similar baselines because of our shared connection to Macalester. I would not have had the opportunity to get to know so many alumni outside the years that I was at Macalester if it wasn’t for the Alumni Board. Being part of this community of alumni is what I have valued most.”