<p>Alums to Link With Students
Online Network With Career Profiles Available to CC, SEAS
By Elizabeth Kraushar
Columbia Spectator</p>
<p>Beginning next semester, University Alumni Relations will provide University-wide access to Columbia Career Connections, a networking module enabling users to search and contact alumni who have volunteered to participate in career networking.</p>
<p>The University Alumni Relations has been working in collaboration with the Center for Career Education, Columbia administrators, Columbia College Alumni Affairs and Development, Engineering Alumni Affairs and Development, and representatives from the Columbia College Student Council and Engineering Student Council. The network will not include access to affiliated schools operating on independent systems. </p>
<p>Since its launch in late November, University Alumni Relations has focused on trying to populate the Web site with alumni profiles. The profiles indicate each alumnus' educational degrees, professional background, and a link to a blind e-mail address. Once alumni have been contacted by the students, they can personalize the interaction as much as they choose.</p>
<p>Katherine Lowe Perkins, GSAS '96 and a professor of neuroscience research at the State University of New York, said, "I would be happy to have students contact me and visit the lab."</p>
<p>Many students supported the network. "It sounds like a valuable resource that has been long awaited by Columbia students," Abraham Weiss, CC '07, said.</p>
<p>Solomon Merkin, CC '78, pointed out that student priorities have changed over the years, "When I was a student, I didn't think about it [student-alumni connections] and I wasn't aware of any. School was less stressful back then compared to now when a focus on professions weighs heavily on students at an earlier age."</p>
<p>Dan Okin, SEAS '07 and president of the Engineering Student Council, said, "Students have been pushing for better connections with alumni because they are always looking for better connections with the job market."</p>
<p>Michael Griffin, senior associate director of University Alumni Relations, said that while individual schools have had alumni networking plans in place, "Our mission is to create a wider reach that extends across the schools." The module will also help alumni who are undergoing career transitions to network with other alumni in order to facilitate "a lasting connection to the institution," Griffin said. </p>
<p>Partnered with the networking design company Harris Connect, University Alumni Relations began the project thi past summer. According to Griffin, the group used networking modules of Yale, Vassar, and Wellesley as models.</p>
<p>Before undergraduate students can access the network, they will be required to participate in "Networking Power Half-Hour" workshops provided by the Center for Career Education. The sessions will provide information on "networking etiquette" and the "principles of effective networking," along with a brief tutorial of the online application, Eleanor Coufos, associate director for planning administration for the CCE, said in an e-mail.</p>
<p>University Alumni Relations and collaborators have worked together to attract alumni by sending out e-cards, printing articles in Columbia Magazine and Engineering News, and mentioning the module at club events held worldwide. When Griffin checked Monday afternoon, 68 alumni from a variety of professional backgrounds had already opted into the system.</p>
<p>Eric Furda, vice president of alumni affairs, said the projected goal is to populate the system with thousands of students and alumni. "It may be harder for alumni to come back for a reunion or donate money, but I don't think it's a hard sell to motivate alumni to help students," Furda said.</p>