Alumni magazine

An alumni magazine is a magazine published by a university, college, or other school or by an association of a school's alumni (and sometimes current students) in order to keep alumni abreast of fellow alumni and news of their university, often with an implicit goal of fundraising.

An emerging version of alumni magazines are unrelated to educational institutions. Instead the intended readers are former employees of a company. An example of this type of alumni magazine is MoForever magazine of the law firm of Morrison & Foerster.[1][Note 1]

History

The oldest alumni magazine in the United States is Yale Alumni Magazine, founded in 1891.[3] Chartered in 1636, Harvard University—the oldest university in the U.S.--established an official alumni association in 1840 but did not publish the Harvard Bulletin until 1898.[4] Seven years earlier, Yale University began publishing a weekly alumni publication, which has been credited as the first such periodical that dealt solely with alumni matters.[5] In 1894, Princeton University started producing the Alumni Princetonian in the Saturday edition of the student newspaper.[5] The College of Wooster, however, has been credited as the first institution to publish an alumni magazine-the Alumni Bulletin-in 1886.[6]
[5]

Role of Alumni Magazines

"The role of college and university magazines is to inform, interpret, interest, and at times to inspire."[4] Over the years, the role of these magazines has evolved from serving solely as house organs of college and university administrations to independent journalistic voices that report about campus life, even if the stories may negatively portray the university that sponsors the publication. Alumni magazines generally report to different university departments. "Most of the magazines receive some support from gifts, the college and alumni. Some editors report to the alumni association, while other report to the offices of alumni relations or development."[7]
The editor of the University of Idaho alumni magazine Idaho the University explicitly stated his view of the role of these publications: "Good university magazines hold themselves a little apart from the universities they serve and even farther apart from their alumni offices. They are not disloyal, but they are honest. That touch of independence is a reality check: There is a larger world to be served than just that of the university."[8] Almost two decades earlier, Mark Singer, the former associate editor of the Yale Alumni Magazine also had strong views about the importance of maintaining an independent campus voice: "An alumni magazine should be a vehicle for continuing education; the publication that functions as a house organ is bound to estrange its audience from the intellectual life of the institution." [9]

In April 1998, about 175 college and university alumni editors asked the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) to endorse a statement affirming the right of editorial freedom in their publications. Editors "should be assured the freedom to exercise their editorial judgment without censorship, within the framework of agree-upon editorial policy." The statement updated an earlier version on professional standards endorsed by the American Alumni Council, the predecessor of CASE. The proposed standards "balances good and bad news" and gives a "complete picture of the institution. The editors called on CASE to adopt the standards for all of its members and mediate disputes between editors and the university administration.[10] This current discussion partially arose because of the controversial 1995 retirement of Anthony Lyle, the editor of the University of Pennsylvania alumni magazine, Pennsylvania Gazette who published some articles that upset the Penn university administration.[11]

CASE refused the request and in October 1998 its commission on communications "concluded that it is not within CASE's mission to sponsor, endorse, or mediate the job conditions for any group of professionals within the association." [10]

Readership

Although there are several thousand college and university alumni magazines, no comprehensive listing of these publications has been published.[12] In 2013, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) published a study on some alumni magazine readers.[13] Some of their findings from 252 participating institutions:

  • "Readers of all ages prefer print magazines, and, secondly, a combination of print and online"
  • 45% of respondents acquire information from their alma mater; 35% from emails from institution
  • 17% spend 60 minutes or more reading the magazine; 40% spend 30–59 minutes; 31% 10–29 minutes
  • 86% strongly agree or just agree that the magazine strengthens their personal connection to the institution
  • 39% saved magazine article; 34% recommended school to students; 16% submitted "Class Notes"
  • Magazine credibility as a source of information about the institution: 28% "consistently portrays the institution accurately and objectively; 39% "contains some 'spin' but is generally accurate and objective; 18% usually portrays the institution only in a positive light; 3% is "not a good source of objective information."

Ivy League Magazine Network (Brown, Cornell, Dartmouth, Harvard, Princeton, Stanford, University of Chicago, University of Pennsylvania, Yale) conducts surveys of its member institutions. The 2019 Media Kit published the following findings about the alumni readers of these magazines:[14]

  • 76% said it is the "primary way I stay connected to my school".
  • 89% "took action as a result of seeing an article or ad."
  • 73% "read it as soon as it arrives in my mailbox."
  • The total circulation of the nine alumni magazines is 1,300,908

Controversies
  • In September 2015, the editors of the Cornell Alumni magazine apologized for a cover photograph which featured a split-page photograph of four white students and on the other side a color photograph of four Asian students. The cover caption: "Collegetown is changing fast. Is that a good thing?" Sophie Sidhu, associate dean and director of the Asian and Asian American Center was disturbed by the cover. "While I believe that this was a poor editorial choice and not intentionally racist or malicious, it inadvertently sends a hurtful message that is neither accepted nor supported by Cornell."[15]
  • In November 2011, the national media reported that Jerry Sandusky the assistant football coach at Pennsylvania State University perpetrated multiple child molestation incidents, the Penn Stater alumni magazine was in a quandary about how to report on this notorious crime which so adversely affected the entire university community[16]
  • In 1991, when the editor of the University of Idaho alumni magazine wrote an article for that publication on Philadelphia's homeless population, his piece unleashed a controversy about the mission of alumni magazines.[17] In response, the Assistant Director of the University of Idaho Foundation, wrote that the "purpose of the magazine, as made explicit by its title, Idaho the University is to report the research, scholarship, teaching and contributions by the faculty, staff, and students of the University of Idaho to the State of Idaho and alumni and friends of this institution . . . We have no ambition to be a national magazine or to discuss current literary, historical, sociological, economic or scientific matters not pertinent to what is going on at the University of Idaho or in the State of Idaho."[18]
  • In 1982, Dartmouth President David T. McLaughlin placed Dennis A. Dinan, editor of the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine, on probation if he didn't publish more positive stories about the College. Dinan, who formerly worked at American Heritage, recalled that the president told him that the magazine had "gone out of its way" to portray the school in a negative light. The editor decided that the prospect of probation was 'intolerable' and resigned his position on December 31, 1982.[19]

Awards for Excellence

The Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year award, which bears the name of a former editor of the University of California at Berkeley's alumni monthly, helped initiate the award in 1943 which is the highest award given to alumni magazine editors. The first awards focusing on editorial excellence and achievement by alumni magazines were awarded by the American Alumni Council in 1929. More than 100 magazines competed for awards recognizing best editorial and best story on the achievement of an alumnus, among other topics. California Monthly—the predecessor publication to California, the alumni publication of the University of California, Berkeley—took home top honors for articles about alumni. Robert Sibley was the editor of the winning publication.[20]

Recent Award Recipients
  • 2020 LMU Magazine, Joseph Wakelee-Lynch, editor
  • 2019 Wake Forest Magazine Kerry King, editor
  • 2018 HBS Alumni Bulletin, Tom Witkowski, editor
  • 2017 TCNJ Magazine, Renee Olson, editor
  • 2016 UofTMed, Heidi Singer, editor
  • 2015 Johns Hopkins Magazine, Dale Keiger, editor
  • 2014 Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin, Shawn Presley, editor
  • 2013 Harvard Medicine, Harvard University, Ann Marie Menting, editor
  • 2012 University of Chicago Magazine, Amy Puma, editor
  • 2011 Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin, Shawn Presley, editor
  • 2010 CAM, University of Cambridge, Mira Katbamna, editor

[20]

List of alumni magazines
This list is incomplete; you can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

0-9
Magazine nameEducational institution
116th and Broadway Columbia Journalism School

A
Magazine nameEducational institution
ACU Today Abilene Christian University
AIU ink American InterContinental University
Alabama Alumni Magazine University of Alabama
AlbanyLaw Magazine Albany Law School
The Alcalde The University of Texas at Austin
Alumni & Friends University of Jamestown
Alumni Magazine Black Hills State University
Alumnus University of Michigan
ALUMNUS Mississippi State University
American University Magazine American University
Amherst Amherst College
Arches University of Puget Sound
Arizona Aumni Magazine University of Arizona
Aspire: The Lehigh Carbon Community College Magazine Lehigh Carbon Community College
ASU Magazine Arizona State University
AtBuffalo State University of New York at Buffalo
Auburn Magazine Auburn University

B
Magazine nameEducational institution
Baruch College Alumni Magazine Baruch College
Bates Magazine Bates College
Baylor Magazine Baylor University
The Bell Thiel College
Bellarmine Magazine Bellarmine University
Bentley Magazine Bentley University
Berkeley Carroll School Magazine Berkeley Carroll School
Berry Berry College
Binghamton University Magazine Binghamton University
Biola Magazine Biola University
Bluffton Bluffton University
Boston College Magazine Boston College
Bostonia Boston University
Brandeis Magazine Brandeis University
BROOME Magazine SUNY Broome Community College
Brown Alumni Magazine Brown University
Brown Medicine Brown University's Alpert Medical School
Bucknell Magazine Bucknell University
BYU Magazine Brigham Young University

C
Magazine nameEducational institution
Cal State East Bay California State University, East Bay
California Magazine University of California, Berkeley
CAM University of Cambridge
Carlson School University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management
The Carthaginian Carthage College
Case Alumnus Case Western Reserve University's Case School of Engineering
Castleton Magazine Castleton University
Cedarville Magazine Cedarville University
Clark Magazine Clark University
CMC Magazine Claremont McKenna College
Colby Magazine Colby College
Coloradan University of Colorado Boulder
Columbia Business Columbia Business School
Columbia College Today Columbia University's Columbia College
Columbia Engineering Columbia University's Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science
Columbia Law School Magazine Columbia Law School
Columbia Magazine Columbia University
Columbia Medicine Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons
Columbia Nursing Columbia University School of Nursing
Columns University of Washington
Connections Minot State University
Cornell Alumni Magazine Cornell University
Crossroads Magazine Missouri Southern State University
Cumberland Lawyer Stamford University's Stanford Law School
Cumberlands Alumni Magazine University of the Cumberlands
Cupola Moses Brown School

D
Magazine nameEducational institution
Dakota State Magazine Dakota State University
Dartmouth Alumni Magazine Dartmouth College
Denver Law University of Denver's Sturm College of Law
DePaul Magazine DePaul University
DePauw Magazine DePauw University
DEMO Columbia College Chicago
Dialogues Fashion Institute of Design & Merchandising
Dickinson Magazine Dickinson College
Drexel Magazine Drexel University
Drexel University College of Medicine Alumni Magazine Drexel University's College of Medicine
DSU Magazine Dixie State University
Duke Magazine Duke University

E
Magazine nameEducational institution
Eastern Magazine Eastern Washington University
EKU Magazine Eastern Kentucky University
Elizabethtown Elizabethtown College
Emory & Henry Emory & Henry College
The Evergreen Magazine The Evergreen State College
Exchange Institute for the International Education of Students

F
Magazine nameEducational institution
Farmington First University of Maine at Farmington
Flagler College Magazine Flagler College
Florida Gator Magazine University of Florida
Florida State Law Florida State University College of Law
Fordham News Fordham University
Forward Seton Hall University
Fox Focus Temple University's Fox School of Business
Foxcraft Foxcroft Academy
Framingham State Framingham State University
Franklin College Magazine Franklin College (Indiana)

G
Magazine nameEducational institution
GēDUNK Grove City College
Georgetown Law Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown Magazine Georgetown University
Georgia Magazine University of Georgia
Georgia State University Magazine Georgia State University
Georgia Tech Alumni Magazine Georgia Institute of Technology
Gold Coaster Harvard University's Adams House
Gonzaga Magazine Gonzaga University
The Graduate University of Arkansas's Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
gssmNOW South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
GW Magazine George Washington University

H
Magazine nameEducational institution
Hamline Magazine Hamline University
Harvard Magazine Harvard University
Harvard Business School Alumni Bulletin Harvard Business School
Havorford Haverford College
Here We Have Idaho Magazine University of Idaho
Howard Magazine Howard University
Hue Fashion Institute of Technology
Huntsman Alumni Magazine Utah State University's Jon M. Huntsman School of Business

I
Magazine nameEducational institution
Illinois State Illinois State University
Illuster Utrecht University
Indiana University Alumni Magazine Indiana University
Industrial & Systems Engineering Georgia Institute of Technology's H. Milton Stewart School of Industrial and Systems Engineering
inPractice Pennsylvania College of Health Sciences
Iowa Alumni Magazine University of Iowa
ISU Magazine Idaho State University
IUP Magazine Indiana University of Pennsylvania

J
Magazine nameEducational institution
John Carroll University John Carroll University

K
Magazine nameEducational institution
K-Stater Kansas State University
Kansas Alumni University of Kansas
Kentucky Alumni University of Kentucky
The Kenyon College Alumni Bulletin Kenyon College
Knightlines University of Bridgeport
Knox Magazine Knox College (Illinois)

L
Magazine nameEducational institution
Lift Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University
Link Kansas State University's Global Campus
LMU Loyola Marymount University
Loquitur Vermont Law School
LSU Alumni Magazine Louisiana State University
LSU Geology & Geophysics Alumni Magazine Louisiana State University's Department of Geology & Geophysics
Luther Alumni Magazine Luther College (Iowa)
Lynchburg College Magazine Lynchburg College

M
Magazine nameEducational institution
Maine Alumni Magazine University of Maine
Marian University Magazine Marian University (Indiana)
Marriot Alumni Magazine Brigham Young University's Marriot School of Management
Mars Hill: The Magazine of Mars Hill University Mars Hill University
Maryland Carey Law University of Maryland's Francis King Carey School of Law
Mayo Clinic Alumni Mayo Clinic
Medical Alumni Magazine Joint Medical Program of the University of Newcastle and the University of New England (both in Australia)
Metropolitan Denver Magazine Metropolitan State University of Denver
McCombs University of Texas at Austin's McCombs School of Business
MCLA Alumni Magazine Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
Miamiam Miami University
Middlebury Magazine Middlebury College
Middlesex Middlesex School
Mines Magazine Colorado School of Mines
Minnesota Alumni University of Minnesota
Mirage Magazine University of New Mexico
Missouri S&T Magazine Missouri University of Science and Technology
MIT Sloan MIT Sloan School of Management
MIZZOU University of Missouri
Monmouth University Magazine Monmouth University
Montanan University of Montana
Montclair State University Magazine Montclair State University
Moody Alumni News Moody Bible Institute
MSU Alumni Magazine Michigan State University
Muhlenberg Muhlenberg College

N
Magazine nameEducational institution
Nebraska Magazine University of Nebraska–Lincoln
New Paltz State University of New York at New Paltz
New York Law School Magazine New York Law School
Newhouse Network Syracuse University's S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications
NMH Magazine Northfield Mount Hermon School
Northeastern Northeastern University
Northeastern College of Professional Studies Alumni Magazine Northeastern University's Northeastern College of Professional Studies
Northern Magazine Northern Michigan University
Northwest Alumni Magazine Northwest Missouri State University
Northwestern Northwestern University

O
Magazine nameEducational institution
Oberlin Alumni Magazine Oberlin College
Ohio State Alumni Ohio State University
Ohio TodayF Ohio University
Old Dominion University Old Dominion University
On Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison
Oregon Stater Oregon State University
OSWEGO State University of New York at Oswego
The Owl Columbia University School of General Studies
Oxford Today: The University Magazine Oxford University

P
Magazine nameEducational institution
Pacific Review University of the Pacific (California)
Penn GSE Magazine University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
The Penn Stater Pennsylvania State University
Phoenix Focus University of Phoenix
Pierce Alumni Magazine Franklin Pierce University
Portland State Magazine Portland State University
Prairie The Prairie School (Racine, Wisconsin)
Presbyterian College Magazine Presbyterian College
The Pride St. Mark's School of Texas
Primus Columbia University College of Dental Medicine
Princeton Alumni Weekly Princeton University
Principia Purpose Principia College
Providence College Magazine Providence College
Purchase Purchase College, State University of New York

Q
Magazine nameEducational institution
QuadAngles University of Rhode Island

R
Magazine nameEducational institution
Reed Magazine Reed College
Regis Regis High School (New York City)
Regis University Magazine Regis University
Rensselaer Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Rhode Island College Magazine Rhode Island College
Rider Rider University
Ripon Magazine Ripon College (Wisconsin)
RISD XYZ Rhode Island School of Design
Rowan Magazine Rowan University
Rutgers Magazine Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey

S
Magazine nameEducational institution
Sac State Magazine California State University, Sacramento
Saint Francis University of Saint Francis (Indiana)
St. John's University Alumni Magazine St. John's University (New York City)
St. Lawrence St. Lawrence University
Saint Mary's Magazine Saint Mary's University of Minnesota
Saint Michael's College Magazine Saint Michael's College
St. Norbert College Magazine St. Norbert College
St. Olaf Magazine St. Olaf College
St. Thomas Magazine University of St. Thomas (Minnesota)
The Scarab Medical College of Virginia
Sesame Open University
Shafer Court Connections Virginia Commonwealth University
Shareholder Saint Louis University's John Cook School of Business
Shipmate United States Naval Academy
Siena News Magazine Siena College
SIPA Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs
Southern Alumni Magazine Southern Connecticut State University
Southern News Florida Southern College
Spark Magazine Calvin College
Stanford Magazine Stanford University
STATE South Dakota State University
State Oklahoma State University
STERN business New York University Stern School of Business
The Stevens Indicator Stevens Institute of Technology
Stevenson Alumni Magazine Stevenson School
Stonehill Alumni Magazine Stonehill College
Suffolk Law Alumni Magazine Suffolk University Law School
Superscript Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences
SUU in View Southern Utah University

T
Magazine nameEducational institution
TCNJ Magazine The College of New Jersey
TCU Magazine Texas Christian University
The Tennessee Alumnus University of Tennessee (all campuses)
Texas Aggie Texas A&M University
The Tower Kutztown University of Pennsylvania
Tradition Cranbrook Schools
Triton University of California, San Diego
Troy University Magazine Troy University
Tufts Magazine Tufts University

U
Magazine nameEducational institution
UC Hastings University of California, Hastings College of the Law
UC Santa Cruz Review University of California, Santa Cruz
UCLA Magazine University of California, Los Angeles
UConn Magazine University of Connecticut
UH Alumni Quarterly University of Houston
UMASS Amherst University of Massachusetts Amherst
UMASS Lowell Magazine for Alumni and Friends University of Massachusetts Lowell
UMASSD Magazine University of Massachusetts Dartmouth
UMBC Magazine University of Maryland, Baltimore County
UMKC School of Law University of Missouri–Kansas City School of Law
UNCP Magazine University of North Carolina at Greensboro
UNCP Today University of North Carolina at Pembroke
UNH Magazine University of New Hampshire
Union College: A Magazine for Alumni and Friends Union College
The University Magazine Rochester Institute of Technology
The University of Chicago Magazine University of Chicago
University of Dayton Magazine University of Dayton
University of New Haven Alumni Magazine University of New Haven
The University of Virginia Magazine University of Virginia
UNO Magazine University of Nebraska Omaha
Ursinus College Magazine Ursinus College
USC Trojan Family Magazine University of Southern California
UVU Magazine Utah Valley University
UWYO Magazine University of Wyoming

V
Magazine nameEducational institution
Vanderbilt Magazine Vanderbilt University
Vermont Quarterly University of Vermont
VISIONS Iowa State University

W
Magazine nameEducational institution
W&J Magazine Washington & Jefferson College
W&M College of William & Mary
Wake Forest Magazine Wake Forest University
Walden Alumni Magazine Walden University
Washington and Lee Law Alumni Magazine Washington and Lee University School of Law
Washington College Magazine Washington College
Washington Magazine Washington University in St. Louis
Washington Square: The Stories of San Jose State University San Jose State University
Washington State Magazine Washington State University
Wayne State Magazine Wayne State University
Wesleyan Today Wesleyan University
Western Magazine Western Illinois University
Wharton Magazine Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania
Wheaton Wheaten College (Illinois)
Whitman Magazine Whitman College
Williams Magazine Williams College
WKU Spirit Western Kentucky University
WKWSCI Alumni Magazine Nanyang Technological University's Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
WVU Magazine West Virginia University

Y
Magazine nameEducational institution
Yale Alumni Magazine Yale University
Yale Law Report Yale Law School
Youngstown State University: A Magazine for Alumni and Friends Youngstown State University

Notes
  1. The emerging type of alumni magazines for former employees of a company should not be confused with any fictional alumni magazines whose intended readers are former customers of the company (for example, the Flown magazine, with former passengers of Delta Air Lines as the target readership, as reported in satirical newspaper The Onion).[2]

References
  1. "Morrison-Foerster-(MoFo) alumni magazine". agendanyc.com. Archived from the original on 16 January 2017. Retrieved 30 Nov 2016.
  2. "Delta Launches Alumni Magazine For People Who Flew Airline Previously". The Onion. Chicago. 7 Aug 2014. Retrieved 30 Nov 2016.
  3. "About Us". yalealumnimagazine.com. New Haven, Connecticut: Yale University. Retrieved 27 Nov 2016.
  4. LaSalle, Patricia Ann (1991). College and University Magazine. Washington, D.C.: Council for Advancement and Support of Education. p. 26. ISBN 0-89964-284-5.
  5. Weiner, Richard; Colarsurdo, James (1980). College Alumni Publications. New York: Public Relations Publishing Company. ISBN 9780913046128.
  6. Williams, Dorothy F. (1979). Communicating with Alumni. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
  7. Nicklin, Julie (January 26, 1996). "Turnover at Top Alumni Magazines Spurs Debate About their Role". Chronicle of Higher Education. 42: A23.
  8. Lyons, Stephen (February 13, 1991). "Good Journalism Should be the Goal of Alumni Editors". Chronicle of Higher Education. 37: B1.
  9. Singer, Mark (October 5, 1974). "Alumni Magazines: The Editors Reach Out". The Nation: 306–309.
  10. Pulley, John (June 25, 1999). "Alumni Editors Fail to Win Support for Greater Independence". Chronicle of Higher Education. 45: A47-48.
  11. Bassinger, Julianne (May 1, 1998). "Alumni-Magazine Editors Seek Editorial Freedom". Chronicle of Higher Education. 44: A52.
  12. Conversation with a librarian at Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
  13. "Alumni Magazine Readers: National Survey Results: A Cross-Institutional Magazine Benchmarking Survey" 2013. Council for Advancement and Support of Education, 46 pages
  14. 2019 (Alumni) Media Kit. Ivy League Magazine Network. 2019.
  15. https://cornellsun.com/2015/09/18/cornell-alumni-magazine-issues-apology-for-controversial-cover
  16. Hay, Tina (February 2013). "Honesty is the Best Policy: That's been the rule at the Penn Stater magazine-even during the worst scandal in the institution's history". Case Currents: 44–48.
  17. Lyons, Stephen (February 13, 1991). "Good Journalism, not Fund Raising, Should be the Goal of Alumni Editors". Chronicle of Higher Education: B1–B3.
  18. Kiessling, Karen (March 27, 1991). "Debating the Proper Role of Alumni Magazines". Chronicle of Higher Education: B4–B5.
  19. Clendinen, Dudley (November 23, 1982). "Alumni Magazine's Editor Resigning in Dispute with Dartmouth President". New York Times pg. A18.
  20. "Robert Sibley Magazine of the Year Award". Retrieved August 7, 2019.
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