Welcome to the Home Page of the Office of University Advancement at McMaster University. As Vice President, it's my job to oversee the areas of Alumni Advancement, Development, Advancement Services and Public Relations. Each of these areas has its own separate mission, policies, achievements and information that you may wish to explore separately. But what we are particularly proud of at Advancement at McMaster, and what we think makes us special, is the way that these areas coordinate their activities and work as a team to educate, involve and secure support from our alumni and other stakeholders.

It is becoming increasingly clear that our Universities can no longer take public support for granted and need to establish lines of communication and partnerships that will increase private support. At McMaster, we seek not merely to create a dynamic environment for public and private support, but to build lasting relationships based upon mutual understanding and shared commitment. We believe that an appreciation for our institutional goals and an investment in university education for future must be rooted in the following principles:

  • the strengthening of our primary stakeholder's connection and commitment to the institution
  • the more active involvement of our stakeholders
  • the provision of accurate information and exceptional service
  • the careful and particular cultivation of individual donors
  • the establishment of a comprehensive fundraising program

From these same principles flow the following practical policies and procedures:

  • significantly broadening the base of alumni activity
  • establishing an extensive network of volunteers and partnerships
  • creating a powerful image and vision for the university
  • communicating that vision effectively to all our varied constituencies
  • anticipating the needs of actual and potential supporters and going that extra mile to cultivate relationships
  • ensuring that information concerning our supporters is treated with sensitivity and held in confidence
  • whenever applicable, incorporating the very latest in Advancement theory and practice
  • developing clear policies and procedural guidelines to ensure best practice
  • making a long term financial commitment to building an effective Advancement team and program

Advancement at McMaster is fortunate in having the support for these principles at the very highest levels of University governance and alumni participation. Our Board of Governors, our President, and our Alumni Association have endorsed these principles and made significant institutional and personal commitments to relationship building and advancement generally. The academy, its present and former students, those most directly responsible for its scholarly and financial health, and social forces generally, are converging to bring Advancement into the very centre of institutional life.

Once again, I welcome you to our home page and I encourage you to explore its contents. But as you take advantage of the hypertext or hot links, you might want to consider that University Advancement, like McMaster itself, is best viewed, not as a series of separate entities or hierarchical arrangements, but as interconnected networks working for benefit of the entire institution and, by implication, the students and society that McMaster serves.

Roger Trull
E-mail: trull@mcmaster.ca


© Copyright 1996

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