You are worth more than 55 Harvard alumni

Some facts for thinking on:

• Alumni giving rates are a key concern for Shimer College, particularly in regard to maintaining accreditation (something all alumni, and especially all graduates, have an interest in).
• Harvard currently has about 323,000 living alumni, and an undergraduate enrollment of about 6,700.
• Shimer has about 5,600 living alumni, and a current enrollment of about 140.
• Therefore, each additional Shimer alum who gives something this year has an impact on Shimer's giving rate that is equivalent to the impact of 57.7 Harvard alums on Harvard's giving rate.
• The median Shimer alum is undoubtedly somewhat poorer than the median Harvard alum, but the amount you give is secondary.  In terms of the alumni giving rate, a $5 donation is exactly as valuable as a $500 one.
• Shimer's fiscal year ends on June 30, and all donations up to that time are being matched 100%.  
• Therefore, not only is your donation worth as much proportionally as 58 donations to Harvard, it's also worth twice as much in actual dollars as it would have been at any other time... but only if you donate now.

Shimer College admissions seeks alumni help

From Shimer admissions to Shimer alumni: 

1.Refer a Student

One of the greatest impacts alumni can have on our intellectual and fiscal vibrancy is to help us enroll the kind of smart, talented, enthusiastic student who thrives at Shimer.  Applicants referred by alumni typically complete applications, are admitted, and enroll at much higher rates than students who come from any other source. In one college's case, alumni referrals constituted 1% of inquiries but 10% of enrollment!

For the first time, we’re setting a goal of 25 referrals between now and May 1. But right now, prospective students have a chance to win a full-tuition scholarship for up to four years. Help us get closer to the goal by referring a student before the deadline to register for the scholarship competition expires on February 1.

Don’t think you know any potential Shimer students? We bet they’re closer than you think. They could be relatives, neighbors, co-workers, the siblings or children of your friends, or friends of friends. They might also be talented young people featured in your local paper or online whom you've contacted to share information about Shimer. Hearing about your experience at Shimer and the difference it made in your life can be very compelling for both students and their parents.

When you have contacted a student, please fill out the referral form below. Please note, when a student you’ve referred applies to Shimer, we’ll waive the student’s application fee.

If you know someone who would benefit from a Shimer education, please fill out a referral form.

(...more...)

#ScatteredFamily: An experimental Shimer hashtag

For much of the 20th century, official Shimer publications featured news from alumnae and alumni under the heading "Scattered Family" or "The Family Scattered." Here, for example, is a column from the inaugural issue of the Frances Shimer Quarterly in 1909, and here is one from the Shimer College Record of October 1958. More recently, of course, the column in the Symposium has generally gone by a more prosaic name, but it seems to me that this is one of those old forms that is worth reviving -- updated for our ever-more-scattered age.

So, as an experiment, I've started tagging tweets about the doings of Shimer alums with the hashtag #scatteredfamily. If you're on Twitter, please feel free to follow suit, whether for your own news or someone else's.

Of course, this is not an entirely noise-free channel; occasionally someone from outside the community will happen to use the tag for their own reasons. But from what I've seen so far, this doesn't appear to happen very often.

Shimer Welcomes 7 New Alum Trustees!

Seven new (or restored) trustees have joined the Shimer College Board of Trustees as of September 27th. They are Barry Carroll, Katherine Chappell, Mary Lou Kennedy, Robert Keohane, Peter Hanig, Sandra Hockenbury, and Linda Levy.

Our thanks go out to them, and to all trustees of good will, for helping to preserve the awesomeness that is Shimer.

Read the full report at the Shimer Alumni Alliance page.

Summer summary

I've been remiss in updating this blog about various events in and around Shimer. Selected recent events are summarized below.

(This seems like a good time to note that any interested Shimerian is welcome to post here; just ask me or SaraDevil for posting rights if you don't have them already. )

The latest in hot trustee-on-trustee action:

• A few weeks after his unceremonious removal, Tom Lindsay filed suit against the College and numerous individual trustees, making accusations which I will not befoul this blog by repeating. Tom was joined in the lawsuit by his puppeteer, Patrick Parker. The suit is now wending its way through the Chancery Division of the Cook County Circuit Court. At this point it seems unlikely that the wrecking crew has anything resembling a case. It's not entirely clear what they are playing at, though one likely possibility is that they're angling for a large cash settlement.
  
• In its most recent meeting, the Board of Trustees changed its bylaws to permit board members to be added and removed by a simple majority vote, thus depriving the rump Lindsay-Parker faction of its pernicious veto over student and faculty representatives. Thank you, Trustees!
  

In news of the internal community:

• The College beat its alumni fundraising target for the past fiscal year. Kudos to Don Moon, Aaron Garland and Noah Kippley-Ogman! Thanks must also go to noted money-bomber Nate Lefebvre and many other alums who dug deep to support the college.
  
• Shimer also exceeded the enrollment target for the coming semester. Kudos to Amy Pritts and Cassie Sherman! And to 38 brilliant young souls who made the right choice.
  
• The Admissions crew has been putting out some very interesting student video blogs.
• Shimer-in-Oxford has begun, under the capable leadership of Stuart Patterson.

In news of the external community:

• Over the summer, former Shimer President Don Moon toured the country and met with alum groups in cities including New York, Washington and Seattle.

• New members have joined the Alumni Association board, including 90s alums Erik Badger, Beth Matthews and Sarah Delezen.
• Thanks to the yeoman efforts of alum Chris Vaughan, the Shimer College article on Wikipedia has gained Featured status -- no easy task.
• Alum Ron Rothbart has posted a number of Mt Carroll and otherwise Shimerical photographs on the Shimer College Flickr stream. If you also have photos to share, please consider sharing them there.
  
• Two alum reading groups have been meeting regularly in the Chicago area, thanks to the efforts of Bill Arnold and Jack Sigel. A good time has been had by all. The next such group will meet on Wednesday, 9/29, at 6:30 PM in the Infinity classroom at Shimer. The text is Roberto Bolaño's By Night in Chile. (Note: date recently changed)
  

Friends and Alums: How Can You Help?