UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State Alumni Association upheld and expanded its mission of service to members, alumni and the University over the past year, Alumni Association CEO Paul Clifford told Penn State’s Board of Trustees during its Sept. 6 meeting.
“With numbers totaling almost 800,000, Penn State’s alumni network is the most powerful in the world, and the Penn State Alumni Association remains unrivaled as the world’s largest dues-paying alumni relations organization with more than 173,000 members,” Clifford told the board.
The association cultivates lifelong relationships with alumni through in-person programs and events including Homecoming, reunion weekends, and pep rallies at away games, and virtual events including a Penn State faculty speaker series, alumni career programs and the People of Penn State podcast, which has listeners in 65 countries. “Over the last year, we engaged more than 180,000 participants through in-person and virtual events,” Clifford said.
Clifford cited the Alumni Association’s affiliate network — 275 unique groups that annually engage over 3,000 active volunteer leaders and thousands of alumni — as a particular point of pride. In 2022, the association made access to local chapters and affiliate groups a benefit of membership, with no additional fees or dues.
“This has simplified access to local chapters for thousands of alumni — particularly young alumni — and we continue to collaborate with our affiliate groups to create great experiences for Penn Staters where they live and work,” Clifford reported.
“More than 90 affiliates were named groups of distinction this year, indicating a superior level of commitment. No other institution in the country boasts this level of high-achieving group commitment and engagement at the local level.”
The Alumni Association and its affiliate groups also work throughout the year to support the University’s land-grant mission. In the past year these efforts included promoting the Board of Trustees election, working with Advocate Penn State to motivate alumni to participate in Capital Day, collaborating with Admissions to engage prospective and legacy students.
Most recently, the association has worked with Penn State Outreach as a communication partner for this month’s Global Impact Forum in Philadelphia. The association is also hosting a networking event during the conference to welcome alumni attendees and connect them to Penn Staters in the Philadelphia area.
In furtherance of President Neeli Bendapudi’s vision of enhancing student success, the Alumni Association’s student programs work to connect students to Penn State from their first days on campus. At the start of the fall 2024 semester, the Lion Ambassadors welcomed more than 6,000 first-year students at the annual Be A Part From the Start event, which also was livestreamed so students at Commonwealth Campuses, parents, and the Penn State community at large could also participate.
In addition, the association’s Fast Start program provides mentorship to first-year students to help ensure their success. “This academic year, we matched 103 mentees with 200 mentors,” Clifford reported. “The program has received almost $700,000 in financial support from alumni donors, and we look forward to continuing to enhance the program, including by extending Fast Start to more campuses.” In addition, each year 478 student scholarships are awarded from affiliate group endowments.
The association’s online networking platform, LionLink, facilitates student-alumni contacts with easy-to-use profile building tools, as well as a program that connects students and alumni through short-term internships. And as commencement nears, the Senior Year Experience program delivers resources designed to show seniors the many ways they can stay connected to the University after graduation.
The Alumni Association also continues to support the student-athletes who represent Penn State all over the country, Clifford noted. “From providing the S Zone at all home football games, cheering on our Nittany Lions at our away game pep rallies — to our support of Senior Days for all intercollegiate sports — we continue to provide countless engagement opportunities in support of our athletes.”
Clifford’s report also detailed the association’s philanthropic support of the University over the past year, which included $300,000 in support to college and campus alumni societies, $200,000 in support of Intercollegiate Athletics, and $50,000 in support of THON, plus more than $500,000 that local alumni groups raise for Four Diamonds annually.
The association’s full impact across the University is detailed in its annual scorecard found on alumni.psu.edu.