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Divide and Conquer

Creative Leadership Models for Alumni Groups, Part II

By Stephanie Fox '89 and Larry Taylor '73

Ed. Note: This is the second of two articles about the various ways Cornellians structure alumni organizations; the first appeared in the May/June issue.

At various times in their evolution, many Cornell alumni groups have found that the traditional president/ vice president model does not go far enough in meeting their leadership needs. In response, these groups have creatively employed alternative structures that leverage the group's innate strengths, such as the often-considerable expertise of former leaders or the cohesive power of geographic and affinity groups. Here's a look at how these models enabled some alumni groups to carry out their important work.

The Advisory Board

This catch-all term describes the various ways in which alumni groups retain the services of past leaders. Some groups of former leaders operate officially, such as the Washington, D.C., club's Council of Past Presidents; others are more informal, such as St. Louis's ad hoc advisory board, formed to organize a visit by the University president. The Cornell Club of Austin/ San Antonio tips its hat to several "emeritus leaders" in official announcements. While the elected administration conducts regularly scheduled club work, large or unique programs can be addressed by convening an advisory board at the request of the president. Not intended to govern but rather to lend expertise, the advisory board can provide advice, make contacts with leading Cornellians, provide valuable stand-by leadership in case of unexpected vacancies, and take on specific initiatives as necessary.

The Venerated Leader
and Strong Board

There are instances where a strong board of governors finds synergy with a uniquely situated alumni-group leader. "In Japan, we find it particularly beneficial to have a prominent alumnus be president, who increases the stature of the club and makes recruiting new members easier," says Tad Johnson '89 of the Tokyo club.

While alumni groups aspire to provide leadership opportunities for as many Cornellians as possible, there are circumstances in which the board is the leader. Some domestic alumni groups have experienced periods when a wellfocused board ran the group functions at a time when no individual was able to commit the time to leadership. In these cases, the board has employed temporary techniques. One such strategy is to select a nominal head among themselves while sharing the work of the president. Another is to call upon a venerated leader to orchestrate but, again, share the work among the board members. "You can't allow long-serving leadership to limit the development of new programming or new leaders," says Rolf Frantz '66, ME '67, of the Northern New Jersey club. "Stable" should not become "stuck in the past."

Division of Labor

Some alumni groups have found success by "dividing and conquering" leadership tasks, such as organizing around particular constituencies within their geographic territory. Three styles of division are common: geographic, affinity, and functional.

Alumni groups with distinct geographic populations have found it helpful to organize around those hubs. The Cornell Club of Wisconsin has its primary leadership centered in the Milwaukee alumni population, and a second leadership presence in Madison. The Cornell Club of New Mexico has VPs of programming for Albuquerque and Santa Fe. These unified club administrations have two metropolitan centers, each large enough to support some individual events.

Cornell's affinity groups provide another natural division of labor. The Johnson School, Hotel school, and other constituent groups are well organized, often hold their own events, and communicate directly with their respective group memberships. The Cornell Club of Chicago's board positions include representation for affinity groups such as CBAA, CLAA, the Johnson School, PCCW, and Young Alumni. To facilitate this broadly inclusive structure, board meetings offer a conference-call option to encourage maximum participation and sharing of information.

Each affinity leader is responsible for activities pertaining to a specific group, which is often co-sponsored by the umbrella group or association. For example, the Cornell Women's Networking Group in Dallas belongs to the Cornell Alumni Association of North Texas, but holds its own events, which are included in the calendar of the North Texas club. Leaders carefully coordinate activities to prevent scheduling conflicts with the overall club; otherwise, the group operates independently as a complement to the Cornell Alumni Association of North Texas. As with Chicago, the divisional leaders meet, via telephone or in person, with the group's overall leader and with each other on a regular basis to ensure consistency, share best practices, and plan ahead.

Functional division is also a successful model, as demonstrated by the Cornell Club of Eastern Florida. It has seven directors in addition to a traditional organizational structure. Each takes responsibility for a club event, in effect becoming a project leader for a particular initiative.

CAAAN is another critical group that has leadership needs in each location. Where leadership abounds, CAAAN has been able to operate with its own structure. Where the quantity of leadership is sparser, CAAAN leadership is often a component of the local club structure.

The opportunities for volunteer leadership are boundless. Thanks to their flexibility and creativity, Cornell alumni organizations are finding diverse ways to address our dynamic society and continue the work of connecting the greater Cornell community.

Cornell Mosaic: Celebrating Diversity and Advancing Inclusion

The Cornell Alumni Federation is proud to have supported "Cornell Mosaic: Celebrating Diversity and Advancing Inclusion." The landmark conference, held April 29 to May 1, gathered 600 students, faculty, staff, and Cornell alumni from minority backgrounds for workshops on minority-related issues and networking events. Congratulations to the Minority Alumni Initiatives Implementation Committee and all who contributed to this historic event!

Clockwise from upper left: Shari Moseley '05 chats with Dennis Williams '73, associate dean of students and director of the Center for Minority Educational Affairs at Georgetown University. Veterinarian Rochelle Woods '74, DVM '77 (left), talks with a student. Legal scholar Kimberle Crenshaw '81 speaks at a Brown v. Board of Education colloquium. The Hon. Harry Edwards '62, chief judge emeritus, U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, delivers the luncheon address. David Jackson II '04 (left), a graduate student at Union Theological Seminary, visits with Larry Inniss Jr. '89, BA '90, Geico's staff counsel.

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