Partnering With Prophets: Alumni Learn Through Contributing
By Bill Lindsey – From the Special Spring 2008 issue of The Executive Educator
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What is the relationship between alumni and their Alma Mater and why is it important? That depends on one’s perspective. Alums immediately think of networking opportunities, social and sporting events, continuous learning, volunteering—mainly programs that the institution provides to its alumni. Schools strive to develop strong alumni associations that keep alums engaged with the institution. This is as it should be and is undeniably important.
There is however a different perspective: what the business school can learn from their alumni. If the school sees the relationship as a mere quid pro quo—alumni programs delivered in return for financial giving—an important component of the relationship is lost. There is an unfortunate reality that academics often miss the opportunity to learn from alumni. This notion was recognized two thousand year ago as Jesus began teaching in his hometown of Nazareth. The Bible says “they were astonished and said, where did this man get this wisdom…is this not the carpenter’s son…and they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and his own household…and he did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.” (Matt 13: 54-58). Unfortunately, too many business schools seem to be in Nazareth, viewing the relationship as “we are the teachers, they are the students. They came to learn from us so what can they possibly teach us?” At Loyola Marymount University, our EMBA program recognizes that our alums are prophets in their own country and we welcome the opportunity to learn from them.
Faculty do not have all of the answers and at times, alums are frequently in a different position to offer a unique perspective on program focus. After all, they are in the firing line and using in real-time, knowledge gained from our program. Traditional academic research takes time. Often, by the time an academically-derived theory is developed and tested, it is no longer applicable to current challenges. Practicing managers in the field understand what works and what doesn’t work. Properly channeled, their work experience can not only confirm the relevance of our teaching focus, but more importantly provide input for new and innovative content.
Let’s take a look at the alumni side of the partnership. LMU’s EMBA program invites our alumni to continue their learning post-graduation by directly participating in the program – to paraphrase Peter Drucker, “if you want to learn something, then teach it.” For example, EMBA alumni serve as consultants on real-life company business consulting projects. They also act as guest speakers and instructors, while having the opportunity to audit courses provided by the College of Business Administration. EMBA alumni are also invited to attend the program’s international and Washington, D.C. trips.
During a recent EMBA program curriculum review, alums from different graduating classes were asked to participate. They voiced their opinions and ideas directly to their former professors. At first the dialog was strained, but soon faculty realized that our “prophets” had important feed-back that could be useful for re-assessing program content and flow – what works, what doesn’t work, identifying skills and competencies needed, confirming skills and competencies learned in the program. In return, our alums were impressed that we valued their input and by getting an inside view, gained a better understanding of the program’s overall objectives. This positions them to contribute and provide more
informed feedback during future program reviews.
Our objective at LMU is to build a partnership that benefits alumni, current students and the EMBA program. This can only be accomplished through an important feedback loop connecting alums, students and instructors to the Executive MBA program. In this partnership we are all learners. We have the formal training and “expert knowledge,” they have the practical experience. It’s not either-or, it’s both. The partnership enables theory and practice to converge. Strengthening the partnership benefits everyone. Through real-time feedback from alumni, we are able to update and refine program content. This improves learning through better, more targeted objectives. In turn, participants gain knowledge and develop skills that will make them better leaders and managers.
So, in addition to providing traditional alumni programs and support, we are forging a much more productive partnership that actively contributes to program improvement. Alums continue their learning by focusing on how their experience and knowledge can be applied more productively in the workplace. We receive real-time validation of curriculum and are able to more effectively target update and program revisions. Through our EMBA-Alumni partnership, everyone benefits.
Dr. William Lindsey is Director of the Executive MBA and Associate Dean of the College of Business Administration at LMU. He can be reached by email at wlindsey@lmu.edu.This article appeared in
The Executive Educator a bi-monthly online newsletter produced by the LMU College of Business Administration.
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