Webb Alumni Fund – Class Agent Forum 2015 (CLAG15)

January 6, 2020

Jake Neumanby Jake Neuman ‘93

After the success and positive feedback of the 2011 and 2012 Class Agent (CLAG ) Forums, a third forum for CLAG s was held on May 15th, 2015. In what proved to be another successful event, several objectives were achieved: facilitation and dissemination of Webb information (operational, financial, and strategic planning) to the Class Agents for further communication to fellow alumni; opportunity to address questions/concerns raised by CLAGs or their classmates; exchange of best practices in their role as Class Agents; and, brainstorm on ways to improve outreach to meet and exceed Webb Alumni Fund (WAF) goals and objectives.

Forty-one alumni classes were represented in addition to several current students and Development Office representatives. (Thanks to everyone who committed the time, energy and the financial resources to make the event a success.) Webb President, Keith Michel ‘73, and Chairman of the Board of Trustees, George Campbell, Jr., were joined by four other Trustees in giving presentations during the forum. This is a strong testament to the leadership team’s interest in alumni feedback. The environment and atmosphere were open and very collaborative.

Detailed presentations from the day can be found here. It’s hard to capture a whole day of events in one article. I will say that as intimidating as the role of Webb Alumni Chairman will be, it is invigorating and motivating to see the strong, deep commitment that those associated with the school feel toward it and their work to keep it successful. I look forward to working with you all, and my apologies ahead of time that it may take a while for me to reach each of you individually to get to know you better.

The summary of the key messages from these presentations were:

  • Much has changed at Webb in the last few years: New Board & Committee chairs; new President, new initiatives, organizational changes, and several new department heads.
  • Webb’s operational costs have grown at a lower rate than those of comparable colleges.
  • Webb’s endowment has been well managed with growth rates in the top percentile of endowment returns for recent years.
  • Webb is solid financially in the recovery from the economic downturn. Webb’s target draw on the endowment is less than 5%, which has been a struggle to achieve at current endowment levels and with major gifts (those over $100K) board-designated for recapitalization of the endowment.
    • A successful campaign will solidify Webb’s endowment and make it inter-generationally sustainable, allowing Webb to make capital improvements and implement the institution’s short and mid-term strategic plan initiatives.
  • The Campaign for Webb, currently in its silent phase, is expected to launch publicly in the fall of 2015.
  • Webb’s Alumni Fund, Parent and Past Parent/Grandparent Funds have a tremendous impact on Webb as the combined efforts account for 20-25% of the school’s annual operating budget. Continued support of the Annual Fund from all constituencies will prove critical to Webb success. Every dollar counts!
  • Updates to the Strategic Plan (2013-2017) were presented and included an in-depth analysis on near and
    mid/longer-term objectives.
  • Student recruitment efforts and the state of campus life are trending positively as described in greater detail through other Webb News articles. This becomes evident to anyone that spends some time on-campus. Class Agents were in agreement that alumni visits back to the school really help you connect with the positive, healthy environment that exists on campus.