Hail to Thee, Our Alma Mater: Alumni Role Identity and the Relationship to Institutional Support Behaviors

With the decline in state and federal support for higher education continuing to plague colleges and universities across the U.S., many institutions are looking to increase the levels of support annually received from alumni and other constituencies. Research on alumni relations in American colleges and universities has historically focused on different factors related to charitable giving. Although this study has resulted in some valuable information for institutions to use for alumni involvement purposes, most of the research has not been able to produce a meaningful look into how alumni identify with their college or university after graduation. The purpose of this study is to assess how college and university alumni view their role with these institutions after graduation and how that perception relates to behaviors of support. An online survey was constructed to assess three dimensions of alumni role identity based upon previous research on the identification process of blood donation. This study took place through the alumni association at a large, public research university in the Midwest and found that those who displayed increased alumni role identity were more likely to support the university through joining the alumni association, attending university sponsored events and charitable giving. This study breaks ground for a new method of measuring the role of alumni within colleges and universities in efforts to increase support and ease the financial pressures of today’s institutions.