Alumnae/i association launches new monthly newsletter

Brian Farkas News Editor

Beginning this month, Vassar College alumnae/i will have a new way to learn about campus events and news. This Is Vassar: The eNewsletter for Alumnae/i will be published on the Alumnae and Alumni Association of Vassar College (AAVC) Web site each month.

The eNewsletter, designed by the AAVC communications department, informs alumnae/i about the month’s events at the College at more frequent intervals than the Vassar: the Alumnae/i Quarterly. Director of Alumni Communications and Editor of the Vassar Quarterly (VQ) Samantha Soper looked to examples from other institutions while designing the eNewsletter.

“I reached out to several other peer schools to survey if they produced an online newsletter and if so what was the feedback from their alumnae/i body,” she said. “We then looked at many, many other schools’ publications, from Smith to Columbia to Michigan, to get ideas about design and content.”

Wesleyan University, for example, publishesWesleyan Magazine four times per year. In the interim periods, information is published online on a monthly basis. The Williams Alumni Review is mailed to Williams alumnae/i four times a year as well, and they have the option of subscribing to bi-weekly or monthly e-mails summarizing campus events.

Vassar has approximately 36,000 living alumnae/i, of which nearly 34,000 have provided the AAVC with their mailing address. This Is Vassar is sent out electronically to the 15,000-16,000 alumnae/i who have also given the AAVC an e-mail address. According to Soper, approximately 40 percent of those e-mails were opened within 72 hours, and about one quarter of recipients visited the Vassar Web site after reading the eNewsletter.

AAVC surveys were the impetus for the more frequent publication. “Alumnae/i are interested in learning more about current students, faculty, and campus events and news,” said Soper. “By producing an electronic newsletter, AAVC can now deliver campus news in a more timely manner than the VQ.”

The electronic format also helps support the College’s commitment to sustainability. “As we were discussing this project, we realized that by doing this monthly publication online rather than in print would save a lot of paper.”

Beyond paper conservation, AAVC Executive Director Patricia Lichtenberg said that it will be a valuable source of information. “The eNewsletter is yet another way in which AAVC maintains the connection between the alumnae/i and our college,” she said. “The monthly delivery of campus news and information, in addition to the eNewsletter’s dynamic format, has already stirred some very positive responses from alums.”

Anne Freiermuth ’00 was among those who sent encouraging comments to the AAVC. “The snapshots of different Vassar happenings were very well-balanced,” she said, “and just the right amount of information for each.”