BUILDING TRANSFORMATIVE ALUMNI CONNECTIONS
We were asked a question about what can be done about alumni of color who only focus on the problems at a school , and don ’ t give the school enough credit for all the good things that it also does . My answer was very simply that for so many of our institutions , it has only been since the summer of 2020 that we ’ ve been receiving this kind of
“ Opening the door to honest feedback from those who know you best is fraught ... but how could we live our school values of honesty , dignity , curiosity , and purpose if we did not ask to be enlightened about what we did wrong and what we failed to do ?
” feedback , and often not because we asked for it but rather because it was forced upon us in social media . This conversation is new for many of us , and can raise complex feelings of guilt and shame , and lead us to reexamine certain aspects of our institutions which we hold dear . But if we , as educators , are not committed to that kind of growth , how can we truly consider ourselves as practitioners of diversity , equity , inclusion , and belonging ? Are we saying that our community members can only experience belonging on our terms ? Does love for an alma mater mean boosterism , or does it also mean holding our institutions accountable ?
Alumni relations is an important lens through which to view a school ’ s DEIB efforts because it gives us an important window into how many things have changed for our marginalized students , and points easily to the work yet undone . It is unquestionably easier for us to listen to these alumni reflections than it was for some of our alumni to live these experiences . What is most important is that we are not condemned to repeat past mistakes , if while nurturing the students of today , we work to heal the students of the past . •
Jan Abernathy is Chief Communications Officer at The Browning School . She is president of New York City Independent Schools Communications Professionals , a co-founder of Black Advancement Networking Group , an organization dedicated to the support of Black advancement professionals , and chair of this year ’ s CASE-NAIS conference , an international gathering of K-12 advancement professionals . She is a trustee at Grace Church School , and principal of Jan Abernathy Strategic Communications , her own consultancy .
CSEE Connections Summer 2022 Page 25