Commencement planning is full-time job at UD

Ever wonder what keeps UD running smoothly? Up Close & Personnel, a new weekly feature, profiles the employees who keep UD ticking around the clock throughout the year. This week the focus is on UD's Office of Alumni and University Relations.

From left, Jackie Boynton, assistant director; Jeannie Miles, administrative assistant; Nancy Millard, assistant director; and Sharon Dorr, director of alumni and University relations

4:52 p.m., May 12, 2004--For parents and students, Commencement usually marks the end of a long period of hard work and sacrifice, but for the small team in UD’s Office of Alumni and University Relations it is the beginning of another year of intense planning.

“Commencement will be over May 29, but when we come back the planning process for next year’s ceremony will begin,” Sharon Dorr, director of alumni and University relations, said.

In addition to the spring Commencement and accompanying college convocations, the office is responsible for many other major events throughout the year, including New Student Convocation, Winter Commencement, Honors Day festivities, honorary degree ceremonies and parents’ weekends.

The Office of Alumni and University Relations assists 35 regional UD alumni clubs throughout the country with event planning and organizes activities and events in collaboration with the Alumni Association, including alumni board meetings and alumni outreach to newly admitted students.

The office also works with special interest alumni associations for the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the Lerner College of Business and Economics, the College of Human Services, Education and Public Policy, the College of Health and Nursing Sciences, the Black Alumni Organization and the Hospitality Alumni Association.

“We are in the business of keeping people connected to the University,” Dorr said. “We are event-driven. Everything we do is designed to promote the University and keep the connections positive.”

Located in Alumni Hall on Main Street, near South College Avenue, the team often works late into the night and through weekends, especially when major events draw near.

Jackie Boynton, assistant director of alumni relations, said the job requires a quick mind, excellent communication skills and team spirit.

“Although you might be the manager of an event, you don’t just plan the event on your own; you have staff and other University offices that make sure you have everything you need,” Boynton said. “It’s a lot of fun. No two days are the same: Lots of creativity, lots of fun and lots of hard work.”

The office maintains contact with many of UD’s 120,000 alumni around the world and works closely with individual alumni clubs. In addition, the office coordinates UD’s Spirit Ambassadors, a group of outstanding students selected to encourage school spirit, interact with alumni, play the role of student hosts at campus events, serve as an advisory board to help senior administrators keep in touch with student concerns and represent and interact with student groups and the student body.

The office also sends information to graduating students, informing them about schedules, deadlines and where and when to pick up and return their graduation regalia, Dorr said.

The office is busiest from February through June, planning spring Commencement, Honors Day and reunion activity, and from mid-August to January, a period that includes special programs associated with the football season and Winter Commencement.

Jeannie Miles, administrative assistant and the longest-serving staff member in the office with three decades of experience, said the week before a major event is usually a blur of activity, handling numerous last-minute details.

“You come in the morning after an event and get all the e-mails and letters saying how nice it was,” Miles said. “That’s always nice,”

Miles said 50th anniversary reunions are the most rewarding.

“They are just so happy,” Miles said of the alumni. “They are able to convey to you what it felt like to be here 50 years ago. They have lots of stories. They are so proud.”

Nancy Millard, assistant director of University relations, said things do not always go according to plan but there is always something to smile about.

Millard recalled spring Commencement two years ago that was nearly ruined by rain but the abbreviated program was rushed and completed just in time.

“It could not have rained any harder,” Millard said. “It stopped long enough for us to get everything in. Then, the heavens opened up and it poured all afternoon. Despite the rain, everyone was very happy. Everything worked out. We kept smiling.”

The satisfaction of watching parents and their children celebrating graduation adds to the excitement that comes with the planning process, Dorr said.

“Each day is rewarding because we never do the same thing,” Dorr said. “I’ve worked Commencement for a number of years, but every year is different because there is a different audience, different guests. Everything we do is happy, cheerful. It’s never boring. It’s never dull. There is no routine. We have the ability to be creative.”

Article by Martin Mbugua
Photo by Kathy Atkinson

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