We've all had the experience of starting out on a
journey—business
trip, weekend getaway, family vacation, overseas tour—that
didn't turn out quite as we'd expected.
Perhaps your
carefully planned itinerary fell apart, and you ended
up stranded at the airport talking to a stranger
who became a valuable business contact. Or maybe the dreaded
cross-country trek in the family vehicle turned out
to be a laugh fest whose pleasures were surpassed
only by the sight of the Grand Canyon at sunset.
Our lives are like that, too. You may decide to take
a certain job or get involved in the community, and
several years later you can see how those choices—and
chance—shifted your perspective, values, or goals.
In many ways you may have changed profoundly.
When I joined the IT Alumni Society about six years
ago, I wanted to do something useful and to reconnect
with the University. Over time, however, my motivation
for staying involved in ITAS and my participation have
broadened and deepened. Through my work with ITAS and
my experience as a laboratory manager for 3M, I believe
firmly that the University is critical to a strong state
economy. The cornerstone of a successful, competitive
business is a well-educated workforce, so it's no surprise
to me that a large percentage of 3M's employees are
University alumni—a situation that's probably true
for many of Minnesota˙s high-tech companies. I want
to do anything I can to advance the University's mission
of education, research, and service.
Like individuals, organizations also pause to assess
their progress and direction. Last year an ad hoc committee
led by past president Dick Hedger helped ITAS craft
new vision and mission statements. In the process, we
identified our primary stakeholders—the University,
alumni, technology companies, and the state—and
evaluated our interactions with those groups. As a result,
we made some changes in the society's committee structure.
We disbanded the advancement committee, whose membership
recruiting efforts duplicated the excellent job being
done by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association.
In accord with our revised mission statement, we're
going to work more closely with IT departments and professional
organizations through our new University relations committee.
Our goal is to strengthen our connections to the corporate
world by leveraging ITAS activities with the networking
being done by departments and professional groups.
This strategic planning has proven to be very fruitful,
resulting in some new directions for ITAS. I'm excited
to see ITAS change and grow as we work to advance education,
science, and technology. If you want to help shape the
direction of the alumni society in future years, I invite
you to get involved by contacting 612-626-8282 for more
information. To read the new vision and mission statements,
go to www.it.umn.edu/itas/about.
