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Liz Shirey to be Glenn School's alumni services program coordinator
Current and former students of the John Glenn School of Public Affairs now have a new point of contact to help them stay connected to the school, to each other and to professional opportunities in the world of public affairs.
Liz Shirey, an Ohio State University graduate and alumna of two of the Glenn School’s undergraduate programs, joined the school Nov. 16 as its first alumni services program coordinator.
“One of the main priorities is going to be to develop a strong alumni network,” Shirey said. “[We want to] develop substantive and effective programs that connect alumni with the school, with the current students, with faculty and staff, and also that showcase all the school’s degree and non-degree programs.”
The school began searching in August for an alumni coordinator based on the recommendation of a special alumni task force. Glenn School Director Charles Wise said the task force offered several suggestions for ways alumni “could be more involved with the school and the school could be more involved with them.”
The Glenn School’s alumni base includes graduates of its MPA, in-career MA, dual degree and doctoral programs, as well as former fellows from the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism, the Washington Academic Internship Program and numerous programs for undergraduate students.
Even among the school’s degree program graduates, “there are very different alumni groups,” Wise said. “The first thing is to identify programs that these various groups would be interested in.”
Activities suggested by the task force include annual networking events for alumni, students and faculty, a regular alumni newsletter and an online social media presence, and opportunities for alumni to help with student recruitment and mentoring.
Wise said a committee of Glenn School staff will help Shirey prioritize new activities.
Shirey said models of active and effective alumni groups across Ohio State’s departments mean the Glenn School won’t need to “reinvent the wheel” to design its programs. Lecture series and presentations of faculty and student research are among the activities Shirey has seen other groups use to help alumni connect to their schools continue to advance their education.
Networking events featuring alumni, student, faculty and policymakers also would be valuable, she said, particularly for the Washington Academic Internship Program. Shirey participated in the program as an undergraduate and said she’d like to “make the Washington, D.C., office home base for alumni living and working in D.C.”
Before joining the Glenn School, Shirey served as the first executive director of the Ohio Democratic Women’s Caucus, a position she initiated and funded while working as an assistant to the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party.
That job and her new role at the Glenn School are “similar in the fact that it wasn’t that Democratic women’s groups didn’t exist prior to my taking that position,” she said. “But you’re building a community.”
“Here, I hope to strengthen the alumni’s pride and involvement with the school,” she said. “I think the whole purpose is to make sure they are engaged and fulfilled and proud that they are part of the school.”
In addition to the Washington Academic Internship, Shirey participated in NEW Leadership Ohio, the Glenn School’s week-long undergraduate residential program aimed at training young women for leadership roles in public service. She credits that experience with inspiring her to pursue a public service career.
By maintaining contact with undergraduate program alumni, Shirey said the school gains more than just connections with future public affairs professionals. “You’re talking to future MPA students and future PhD students,” she said, as well as showing professionals how to continue “utilizing the school as a resource in their future education or career.”
“It’s not just about coming up with programming,” she said. “It’s really about building something that’s going to sustain itself for years to come.”