The Williamsonian Spring 2021 | Page 3

Williamson Successfully Held Classes — And Shops — On Campus Fall Semester

Percentage Of Alumni Support Is Crucial To Williamson ’ s Success

By Bradley A . Richardson Associate Vice President for Institutional Advancement
If you ’ ve been reading your copy of The Williamsonian for a number of years , the alumni participation chart is a familiar aspect of the publication . You may glance at it just to check the status of your class ’ giving or use this as a reminder to send in your annual gift of support . However , this statistical indicator is one reference that Williamson College of the Trades refers to on a regular basis .
Williamson is not the only institution of higher education that focuses on participation . It ’ s a barometer for a college to understand their alumni , showing who is engaged as an alumnus , who believes that the education they received benefitted them enough to ensure the next generation can experience it .
Oftentimes , foundations , companies , and individuals looking to support a college are checking alumni participation to see if the investment is worth it . For many , this number is the gold seal of approval indicating that a college is doing the right thing ; if their alumni are giving back , they must believe in the mission and outcome of its educational model .
Unfortunately , colleges and universities have seen a drop overall in alumni participation for the last two decades . One report shows that colleges overall see a participation rate of 8 percent , a third of the participation rate 20 years ago . With decreases in these percentages comes the difficulty of inspiring others to give to the mission of an institution .
At first glance , Williamson ’ s alumni participation rate can appear as a success story — we ’ re currently at 18 percent for the year and we ended the previous academic year at 23 percent . However , like so many other institutions , our numbers have dropped significantly over the last decade . In fact , in 2009 , Williamson saw 30 percent of our alumni giving back to the college !
One group of institutions seems to be set apart in their alumni participation . Ivy League colleges often sport participation rates around 40 percent — this after paying for some of the most expensive degrees in the college landscape .
Williamson stands apart from other colleges in one other factor — no other place in the country provides its students a tuition , room , and board education on full scholarship . Further , no other college relies on the support of Williamson Men to ensure that the next Williamson Men can receive an education .
We believe that Williamson Men are unique and have been provided an unparalleled educational opportunity . As such , our Advancement Office wants to ask our alumni to help make our institution stand out alongside your character and reputation ; we want to stand out in our alumni participation as well .
In the coming years , we are setting a goal to bring our alumni participation rate to 40 percent , reflecting the unique nature of Williamson College of the Trades . We have often heard that Williamson is the “ Harvard of trade schools .” We want our alumni participation rate to reflect this reality .
This is a goal that can only be accomplished by the alumni . We ask for your support in a few ways :
• If you are not giving on an annual basis , start now . You can give a gift online at www . williamson . edu / giving .
• Reach out to your fellow classmates and encourage them to give . Those institutions with successful alumni participation rates aren ’ t from the work of a few individuals at the college , but the collective work of the alumni connecting with one another .
• If you have ideas on how to engage with Williamson and your fellow alumni in new ways , please reach out to Laura Brown , director of alumni relations ,
Class Giving Participation
Please help make Williamson strong . Your class needs you to achieve 100 % participation . The deadline for this fiscal year is June 30 , 2021 .
This chart shows gifts ( not pledges ) received from July 1 , 2020 , to January 31 , 2021 . ( Solicitable class members have active addresses and accept solicitations .)
Class Solicitable
Donors
Participation
1946
9
2
22 %
1947
3
1
33 %
1948
8
6
75 %
1949
5
5
100 %
1950
8
1
13 %
1951
4
4
100 %
1952
13
4
31 %
1953
18
6
33 %
1954
23
9
33 %
1955
18
4
22 %
1956
22
14
64 %
1957
20
11
55 %
1958
16
6
38 %
1959
19
5
26 %
1960
29
5
17 %
1961
27
17
63 %
1962
35
15
43 %
1963
34
9
26 %
1964
31
7
23 %
1965
42
14
33 %
1966
41
8
20 %
1967
47
15
33 %
1968
52
20
38 %
1969
42
13
31 %
1970
42
8
19 %
1971
42
13
31 %
1972
49
8
16 %
1973
53
14
26 %
1974
52
14
27 %
1975
37
3
8 %
1976
54
15
28 %
1977
60
12
20 %
1978
50
13
26 %
1979
62
19
31 %
1980
59
15
25 %
1981
58
13
22 %
1982
68
10
15 %
1983
63
11
17 %
at lbrown @ williamson . edu .
Williamson looks forward to sharing our progress with you and partnering with the alumni of our college to show
Class Solicitable
Donors
Participation
1984
62
12
19 %
1985
69
18
26 %
1986
55
8
15 %
1987
62
14
23 %
1988
60
13
22 %
1989
51
5
10 %
1990
66
5
8 %
1991
54
3
6 %
1992
49
4
8 %
1993
72
7
10 %
1994
68
6
9 %
1995
67
9
13 %
1996
70
12
17 %
1997
69
8
12 %
1998
61
5
8 %
1999
70
13
19 %
2000
61
9
15 %
2001
59
1
2 %
2002
58
8
14 %
2003
54
6
11 %
2004
63
6
10 %
2005
65
5
8 %
2006
52
6
12 %
2007
64
10
16 %
2008
71
10
14 %
2009
55
3
5 %
2010
69
5
7 %
2011
76
9
12 %
2012
71
5
7 %
2013
67
7
10 %
2014
70
8
11 %
2015
67
13
19 %
2016
69
9
13 %
2017
62
14
23 %
2018
74
8
13 %
2019
71
9
13 %
2020
75
1
1 %
Total 3,702
672
18 %
how our alumni truly believe in the education they received as Williamson Men and the need for another generation of college tradesmen .
3

Williamson Successfully Held Classes — And Shops — On Campus Fall Semester

They put up with the inconvenience of wearing masks all day , maintaining safe social distancing , and following a host of other strict COVID-19 restrictions , all for the benefit of being on Williamson ’ s campus fall semester .
While many schools across the country kept their students home learning virtually instead of facing the difficulty of educating them in person during a pandemic , Williamson students were in shop working hands-on and in their classrooms facing their teachers .
Following the Thanksgiving holiday break , students remained home to complete the semester virtually . In alignment with a request from the Pennsylvania Department of Education , students returned on Feb . 1 to begin
spring semester . Because students returned two weeks later than normal from holiday break , this time is being made up with the cancellation of spring break and Service Week .
President Michael Rounds said , “ I ’ ve never been prouder of our faculty , staff , and students . Last spring when the pandemic first hit us , everyone successfully rose to the occasion , learning virtually at home . This was new to everyone and was a little tricky , and this fall , recognizing the importance of being on campus , everyone again rose to the occasion and made it work successfully and safely .
“ We felt it was important to have our students on campus because it ’ s not possible to receive a proper Williamson education at home . Our students need
to be in shop and the classroom interacting with their instructors and fellow students , these are the things that make Williamson , Williamson . We worked hard to develop a plan that would make it possible and it worked .”
Since spring of 2020 , school executives , led by Provost Todd Zachary , Ed . D ., developed , and are implementing , a comprehensive strategy that enables students to be on campus with safety priority number one . Refining the college ’ s strategy to changing guidance , and recommendations from Main Line Health ’ s Infectious Disease Division which is serving as a medical consultant to Williamson , the plan was fine-tuned and approved by the board of trustees over the summer .
The plan called for sacrifices on all college elements , including the students as the college set-up a closed safety bubble on campus , restricting students from leaving the campus during the academic school week , though they could go home on weekends .
The college also scheduled evening shop classes during fall semester to make up shop time missed during spring 2020 , but also enabled the transition to virtual classes following Thanksgiving . Despite the long hours , some students were so anxious to be in shop they came in early .
Fall , winter , and spring competitive athletic programs were cancelled though several activities took place on a Continued on page 7