Fall 2011
Alumni News
Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task Force
College seeks to engage more women in leadership roles and fundraising
By Kimberly Rogers ’11 CE and Alex Sachare ’71
Drawing on the talents and accomplishments of College alumnae, the Dean’s Alumnae Leadership Task Force, a global group of 23 alumnae from the Classes of 1986–2011, convened in April 2010. The task force, a collaborative endeavor between former Dean Michele Moody-Adams, the Columbia College Office of Alumni Affairs and Development and the University’s Office of Alumni and Development, established a mission of shaping the future of alumnae leadership and broadening philanthropy at the College.
The task force is chaired by University Trustee Lisa Landau Carnoy ’89 and has four subcommittees: mentoring (Carnoy and Virginia Wood Cornish ’91, co-chairs), fundraising (Kyra Tirana Barry ’87, chair), regional outreach (Anne-Marie Wright ’89, chair) and survey and communications (Julie Jacobs Menin ’89, chair).
Carnoy notes, “During the past few years, several women felt a group of successful Columbia College alumnae from many fields and areas of interest should be formed in order to engage more women in the life of the College. The arrival of Moody-Adams and the 25th anniversary of coeducation were further catalysts to start the task force.
“This is a remarkable group of women, and it has been wonderful to get to know them — both reconnecting with old friends and making new ones. I was amazed at the level of engagement, and we raised a significant amount of money for the College.”
University Trustee Lisa Landau Carnoy ’89 chairs the task force. PHOTO: EILEEN BARROSOTo better understand how alumni view the College and
their relationship with it, the survey and communications committee worked with
Brian Chapman, executive director for analytics and business strategy, to
design an online survey for alumni in the Classes of 1987–2010. The survey was
sent to both male and female alumni in order to identify any statistically
significant gender differences related to their responses.
While male and female respondents answered most questions in remark-ably similar percentages, one key gender difference emerged from the findings: female respondents showed a broader range and longer list of philanthropic interests, whereas Columbia was a clear focus for many men.
Since the percentage of women in the overall alumni body continues to grow each year, this finding is significant as the College shapes its alumni engagement and fundraising efforts. The College will aim to involve more alumnae as fundraising volunteers and leaders to increase alumnae awareness of the opportunities to support students and the satisfying feeling of becoming involved in the life of the College.
Both female and male respondents spoke highly of their Columbia education, with 94.5 percent of women and 77.1 percent of men listing the quality of their education as excellent and only 2.5 percent or fewer, regardless of gender, describing it as fair or poor. When asked about their overall undergraduate experience and current feeling toward the College, approximately 90 percent, regardless of gender, called it excellent or good.
Upward of 80 percent of respondents said they receive an appropriate amount of communication from Columbia and categorize this communication as worthwhile. Interestingly, considering that the respondents graduated within the last 25 years, nearly 80 percent said they read Columbia College Today frequently or sometimes but only 51.3 percent offered the same response when asked how often they visit a Columbia website.
More than 600 female respondents listed the mentoring program run by Columbia College Women (CCW) as a potential volunteer interest. Each year, more than 100 students are matched with alumnae mentors, and there is strong interest for more alumnae to participate in the program. During the application process this summer, more than 360 students — a record — expressed an interest in the mentoring program. In addition to mentoring, CCW also has scholarship and membership committees. Last year, CCW fundraising enabled the awarding of a current-use scholarship. CCW was founded by College alumnae in 1989 to create networks within the alumni and student communities while building the legacy of women at Columbia College. For more information on CCW and the mentoring program, contact Sarah Seredych Trimmer, assistant director of alumni relations: 212-851-7977 or sst2132@columbia.edu.
The task force’s Regional Outreach subcommittee also sought to engage Columbia alumnae by hosting a series of focus group lunches, receptions and dinners nationally and internationally. Events were hosted in San Francisco by Wanda Holland Greene ’89, ’92 TC; in Los Angeles by Donna Herlinsky MacPhee ’89; in Boston by Sherri Pancer Wolf ’90; in New York City by Michelle Oh Sing ’06 (for young alumni), Kyra Tirana Barry ’87 and Sandra H. Kim Hoffen ’87; in Westchester (N.Y.) County by Teresa Saputo-Crerend ’87, ’92 Business; and in London by Heather O’Brien Kerzner ’91.
The task force has helped the College make extraordinary strides in its fundraising efforts. Alumnae giving to the Columbia College Fund rose approximately 53 percent from Fiscal Year 2010 to FY’11, and gift commitments were made to the Scholarships 101 Challenge, funded by the late John W. Kluge ’37, by several task force members, including Barry; Carnoy; Hoffen; Kerzner; Wolf; Michelle Kaiser ’87, ’92 PH, ’97 P&S; and the late Beth Dwyer ’92, whose family is honoring her legacy of College leadership. The fundraising subcommittee hosted a solicitation workshop in Manhattan led by Susan Feagin ’74 GS, special adviser to President Lee C. Bollinger and former e.v.p. of university development and alumni relations. A priority of the College Fund is to grow the number of alumnae who serve as Class Agents, volunteer leaders who solicit their peers. For more information on fundraising or becoming a Class Agent, contact Kimberly Rogers ’11 CE, major gifts officer: kr2276@columbia.edu.
The good work of the task force will help to increase opportunities for alumnae to get engaged in the life of the College and focus on how the success of these women, particularly the Class of 1987, paved the way for women at Columbia College today.
Following are the members of the Dean’s Alumnae Task Force: Kyra Tirana Barry ’87, Francesca Allen Bodini ’06, Lisa Landau Carnoy ’89, Joyce Chang ’86, Virginia Wood Cornish ’91, Allie Feldberg ’08, Leslie Gittess ’88, Ellen Gustafson ’02, Sandra H. Kim Hoffen ’87, Michelle Kaiser ’87, Heather O’Brien Kerzner ’91, Mojdeh Khaghan ’88, Elizabeth Melcher Luckett ’90, Donna Herlinsky MacPhee ’89, Julie Jacobs Menin ’89, Neda Navab ’08, Teresa Saputo-Crerend ’87, Michelle Oh Sing ’06, Siheun Song ’07, Sherri Pancer Wolf ’90, Karen Woodin-Rodriguez ’11, Anne-Marie Wright ’89 and Sue Yang ’10.