President Patrick White recently said that the fact that only 13% of Millikin alumni give back to the university is embarrassing.
Looking at the number, it is quite a shock since we’re always told about how generous our alum are when giving back to the school. But could the low number be justified?
Millikin is a prestigious university; that’s something I remember hearing my freshman year when one of the speakers that year said it was prestigious. I think she said that about ten times during that speech, grinding it into our brains.
And there’s no reason to doubt that it is. The education here is great, and we are immersed into performance-based learning. The point of our education is to be knowledgeable in our major and feel confident when we leave. We are to meet the learning goals of Millikin: preparing for professional success, actively engage in community citizenship in a global environment, and develop a rich life of personal meaning and value.
That doesn’t mean that something can’t go wrong, and this encompasses all aspects of Millikin.
If we were to poll the entire student body and the alumni of Millikin. I’m sure we would find both positive and negative reviews. Not everyone is always going to love Millikin. There’s always going to be some fault, some bad experience that will change their perception.
I know there are people who are working hard to make sure we have a good experience, and I’m sure it’s recognized by the student body and the alumni. Sometimes, it’s out of these people’s hands when something does go wrong. On the other hand, it can also be the fault of these people depending on how their attitude is when they address somebody or if the student/alum felt like they were being harassed. Again, the scale can tip to one end or the other.
True, if the alumni donated even a small portion, it might help. It might save the problems we are having right now. But it does have to be looked at from the other side of things.
No offense to Millikin, but giving back money to the alma mater isn’t always the first thing on an alumni’s mind. They have to go out into the world, get settled in an apartment or a house, find a good-paying jobs, pay the bills, buy the necessary expenses for living and just get by on what they have. They’ll probably be lucky if they have enough left over at the month, even luckier if some random financial obligation doesn’t pop up.
I don’t think it’s fair to claim embarrassment of the alumni not giving back. It’s a sense of shaming the alumni, and a majority probably just can’t give back at the moment. For those that can give back and don’t want to, then it’s embarrassing. However, it’s not embarrassing on the alumni’s part; it’s embarrassing on the part of Millikin because of the bad experience the alumni may have had.
It is disappointing to see the numbers that low, but sometimes, it’s not all that surprising. It just depends on the experience that everyone has had.