Welcoming Furman’s New Director of Alumni Engagement

Greetings from campus! I’m thrilled to be serving the community as our new director of alumni engagement. For those of you who have reached out with congratulations or words of encouragement: Thank you. It’s meant a great deal. As always, you’re welcome to reach out to our team at [email protected]. We’re happy to connect anytime.

I’m so excited to be back at Furman and in a place that has given me so much. I can’t think of anything more meaningful than serving the institution that shaped me during some of life’s most formative moments.

Before I began this role, a former colleague asked, “Who shaped and molded you while you were at Furman?” I hadn’t considered the question before, but the answers came pouring out. Honestly, I got a bit choked up just thinking about it (apologies to those in the room that day for shifting the vibe).

During my senior year, my single mother became terminally ill. I took a leave of absence to be with her, and in that incredibly difficult season, the Furman network surrounded me. Professors checked in. Friends and their families helped with transportation and support. When I returned after my mother’s passing, that same network held firm. Staff connected me with alumni and professors kept a close eye on me. I truly believe that at any other institution, I might have fallen through the cracks. My life would look very different.

That’s why, for me, Furman is family. Returning now feels like coming home.

This is a deeply personal place, and I’m proud that President Davis is building on that culture through individualized student pathways. As I step into this role, I think often about how we can extend that same spirit of care far beyond campus and how alumni will be essential to that work.

In my first few weeks, I’ve joined the Class of 1975 at their 50th Reunion, many of whom haven’t missed an annual gathering since graduation. I’ve met new graduates at Commencement and celebrated with them at Senior Send-off. These moments reminded me that alumni engagement is about more than events. It’s about relationships that last a lifetime.

They also raise important questions:

How can we help recent graduates feel part of a lifelong community?

How can alumni create stronger outcomes for our students as mentors, volunteers and advocates?

How do we inspire today’s students to feel the same pride and loyalty at their own 50th Reunion?

Alumni surveys show many of you feel informed, but fewer feel deeply engaged. There’s a clear desire for more: more mentoring, more ways to help recruit future students and stronger networks that support both alumni and students alike.

We’re listening, and we’re ready to act.

In the months ahead, we’ll open new doors for student-alumni connections that lead to tangible outcomes. We’ll invest in growing our Furman Alumni Networks across the country, expanding opportunities for meaningful engagement in every chapter of life.

The desire is there. Now we’re putting it into motion.

I’d love to hear your ideas. Please don’t hesitate to reach out. I look forward to working with you to build the next great chapter of alumni engagement at Furman.

Go Paladins!