Keeping Bengals and Buffalo State Connected

Buffalo State graduates have wanted to stay in touch with their alma mater for a very long time—at least since 1937, when the Alumni Association incorporated. Today, with more than 100,000 living alumni, the Alumni Engagement Office (formerly the Alumni Affairs Office) connects former and current students, faculty, and employers through events, communication, and networking. 

The office helps academic departments stay in touch with their alumni, too. “We can keep graduates up-to-date by using our resources to facilitate communication from departments,” said Mary-Jo Jagord, director of Alumni Engagement. “We can also contact alumni from related departments and from specific geographic areas." Departments sometimes work with Alumni Engagement to inform graduates of events. “We can invite alumni to an annual banquet or award ceremony via email and our website,” said Jagord. “If there is a fee, we can host online registration using credit card payments.”

Events sponsored by the office give interested alumni an opportunity to enjoy a Bisons or Bills game, a play, or a trip to the Chautauqua Institution. “Our office subsidizes the cost of these events,” said Jagord. “We work hard with the board of the Alumni Association to be good stewards of the funds they provide.”

Alumni engage with Buffalo State in many ways. Some are donors; others attend events such as Homecoming and reunions. Some speak to classes or to prospective students and their parents. Others visit campus to recruit employees through the Career Development Center’s job fairs.

Social media is another way for graduates to stay in touch with Buffalo State. The Buffalo State Alumni Association’s Facebook page has almost 4,000 followers; its Twitter account has 1,400. Print still has the largest audience: 1300 Elmwood, Buffalo State’s twice-a-year magazine, is received by 97,000 alumni and friends of the college.

“It’s all about telling the stories of our alumni,” said Jagord. “And of course, their stories are Buffalo State stories, too. For many alumni, Buffalo State was where they learned the skills to pursue the careers they wanted—or discovered a passion for something entirely unexpected. We want to celebrate their success and share it with our students, too, so they understand the many wonderful possibilities their futures hold.”