AALU Board of Directors
 | Guiding from Behind the ScenesBy Maureen Arges Nadin
The popular website Wikipedia, that electronic purveyor of information on just about everything these days, defines Board of Directors as a body of officers who are charged with the management of the affairs and conduct of a formal organization. Directors may be inside, as in employees of the organization, outside, or completely independent of the company. Historically, boards have evolved in response to the development of legal agreements between companies and their shareholders and the division of powers between the two is clearly defined in a legal article of understanding. |
That is the generic and somewhat dry definition of the concept but what about the people that are the living and breathing embodiment of that concept? The very term “Board of Directors” can sometimes conjure a lofty vision of a group of elder statesmen/women gathered around in a Corporate “Board” Room making grand pronouncements and decisions on a variety of vague issues. But with LUA’s Board nothing could be further from the truth. Picture instead a dynamic and diverse group of men and women with a common and committed vision of promoting Lakehead University as a desirable learning institution and providing opportunities for alumni to reconnect in an atmosphere of fellowship and fraternity.
The man currently at the helm of the AALU Board, President Mark Tilbury, heads up the team that is committed to making that happen. Presiding over monthly meetings of the 15 member body, Mark is in his second term as President of the Board which he initially joined in 1994. He served as Treasurer from 1997 to 2000 and undertook his first stint as the President in 2001. He is an Honours Bachelor Commerce graduate (1994) and has worked as the CAO of the Thunder Bay Museum for the past 5 ½ years. Mark began his association with the Board immediately upon his graduation and was motivated by something as simple as wanting to give back. He was first exposed to the inner workings of Lakehead University when he worked a summer student in the Communications office and when graduation came, Mark felt that as a grad, he should be doing something to help the institution.
The AALU Board was first established as a formal body in the 1980’s, but it has actually been in existence since the late 1960’s, “back in the day” when familiar names like Margaret Page, the late Moe Ktytor and Pentti Paularinne were instrumental in getting the Alumni Association off the ground. One of its first mandates was, understandably, to fund raise in order to finance the activities and initiatives which would bring graduates together in the atmosphere of fellowship and networking that was key to the Board’s vision and “raison d’etre”. The annual campaign continues to be one of the most visible and successful undertakings of the Association. But the Alumni Association is about much more than that and as Mark pragmatically observes,” we as a Board have to break down the wall that people put up when they feel that you are coming with your hand out.”
And the best way to do that is to produce an outcome that is both visible to the Alumni community and generates interest and excitement. That is being accomplished, Mark tells me, by a broad array of social networking and recognition events such as award programs and dinners, sporting events like golf tournaments and bonspiels, “coffee breaks” for graduates at their place of employment as well as the recent development of outreach activities for the previously untapped goldmine of out of town alumni, many of whom are “captains of their industry”. A recent Alumni sponsored Yacht Club dinner in Toronto, for example, facilitated the reunion of a number of successful Business grads now living and working in Southern Ontario who were thrilled to reconnect with their old “alma mater.” Other vehicles for the Board’s mandate to keep graduates connected in an atmosphere of fellowship include newsletters, the Magazine and AALU website and electronic magazine.
The LUA Board meets monthly and the Board representatives, all volunteers who are nominated and elected to the Board, divide up the work required to plan and facilitate the activities that will accomplish the Board’s mandate and vision. “Standing committees” are formed and report back to the Board as required and as projects unfold. Board representatives are working members of the Alumni Association team, not mere figure heads or nebulous “behind the scenes” decision makers. So what motivates graduates from various disciplines and age groups to take time out of their busy career and personal schedules to dedicate the time and energy required of a Board member?
As is turns out, it’s all about the concept of giving back, or to use a more modern term, “paying it forward” to the Institution that gave so much to them. And the position is not without reward. For Mark Tilbury, it provided him with an opportunity to meet people of diverse backgrounds and form relationships and friendships that would have never had the opportunity to experience otherwise. Board member Glendon Tremblay echoes Mark’s comments when he says that his work with the Board has not only furthered his experience working with event planning and administering constitutions but has extended his network of contacts. Board Secretary Diane Thompson BA ’94 sums up the dual benefit of the experience when she says “I have gained a better knowledge of the workings of a post secondary institution and have made some good friends along the way.”
Former LUSU President, Rob Jamieson HBOR ’94, BA ‘94 is a new member and still evaluating the full benefit that Board membership will provide for him but says that he welcomed the opportunity to remain engaged with the University that has given him some of the fondest memories of his life. “I wanted to experience this again, to some degree,” he says, “While giving back to others so that they may enjoy a more positive experience.”
While the Board members invest time and resources in activities that will continue to cultivate the atmosphere of fellowship and connection among graduates, Mark Tilbury talks about future goals and directions that will enhance not only the Board’s presence on campus but that will benefit and even advance the University’s status and reputation. “LU could utilize the AALU BOD more in terms of promoting the University, “he notes. Mark feels that one of the most effective strategies to accomplish this is to look towards developing a “culture” of alumni among all grads, and faculty in particular. His team members agree and offer some of their own insights into what that means and how to get there.
Board member Marc Gagnon HBOR ’98, BA ’98, recognizes that it’s all about relationships and that LUA needs to reconnect to establish relationships and then nurture them. He feels that the development of a “client relationship model” might be one of the first steps in mapping out that process. Diane Thompson, as a retired educator, feels that the seeds of culture should be planted at the high school level. She frequently runs into students from St. Ignatius High school where she worked in the Student Services Department and likes to think that her very visible involvement with the Alumni will leave an impression on students and perhaps make them consider LU as their post secondary institution.
She also recognizes the importance of symbolism and having a presence on the stage when students make the official transition from graduates to alumnus. “Giving out the alumni pins at Convocation is a very simple thing but I take great pleasure in shaking the hands of every grad and reminding them to keep in touch with their Alumni Association.”
Glendon Tremblay BA ’03,HBOR ‘03 also recognizes that fostering relationships are a critical part of developing an alumni culture and agrees that students need to be engaged as soon as possible and definitely prior to graduation. He points out the importance of “friend raising before fund raising” and wisely observes that relationships need to be cultivated before they are harvested.
These are worthy goals that speak to the Board’s deft harvesting of its own resources - the collective wisdom and insight of its diverse members, to realize those objectives and remain aligned with LUA’s vision and mandate. This Board makes decisions by consensus and only votes when there is a need to break a tie. And ultimately it remains about the people like you and me---the members (and often silent members) of Lakehead University Alumni. The guiding principal of any decision, Mark Tilbury tells me, will always be what is in the best interest of the members and the institution. The future of our Alumni, it appears, is in good hands. Keep up the good work!
