Incoming EMBA Alumni Network President Challenges Alumni to Participate and Grow EMBA

Gary Morrison (TEMBA 2014) and Russell Shamburger (TEMBA 2004) at 2016 EMBA Alumni Network Annual Conference

Greetings fellow EMBA alumni and current EMBA students. It is an honor to represent so many of you and continue to build on all the work that has been done since the Executive MBA Alumni Network Board was formed in 2013.  My first year on the board as Vice President was a great experience and I honestly don’t know where the time went. A special thanks to outgoing President Ben Paulk, Past President Mike Ross and Secretary-Treasurer Beckie Crawford for all the great work they did while serving on the board this past year.

The 2016-2017 Alumni Network Board will focus on three primary goals. The first is a challenge to our alumni to step up their participation in the EMBA Alumni Survey. In 2015 we had a response rate of 24%. In 2017 our goal is to double the response rate to at least 48%. The survey will be finalized in mid-2017 and more communication will follow.

Our second goal is to increase the reach of our alumni database. Staying well informed on all the activities that are going on with our program is very easy thanks to social media. The Executive MBA staff goes to great lengths to make this program a success. Let’s do our part by encouraging our classmates to maintain their contact information with the program. I will be reaching out to the class presidents and vice presidents in the very near future to help us reconnect with our alumni.

The last goal is one that we hope carries over into 2019, which coincides with the 100th Anniversary of the Culverhouse College of Commerce. With our graduating EMBA classes in 2016, the program has a total of 853 EMBA alums. If the program graduates an average of approximately 50 students over the next 3 years, we will reach the milestone of having 1000 alumni graduates. To make this a reality we need to encourage the best and brightest in our industries to pursue their continued education and development as a professional in the EMBA Program. Any alum referring someone who enrolls in the program will receive a special gift.

Another ongoing initiative that we will be working on is encouraging our alumni to fund the Brian A. Rankin Executive MBA Endowed Scholarship. This, our very first EMBA scholarship, will be used to assist students with necessary supplemental funds to aid them in funding their tuition and obtaining their degree. All of these goals are achievable and we thank you in advance for your commitment to the EMBA Program.
Our next event is the EMBA Alumni tailgate on Saturday, November 12th starting at 9am. Please RSVP as soon as you can and we look forward to seeing everyone at the tailgate. In closing, please feel free to reach out to any member of the board or Executive staff with any comments or feedback on how we can continue to make this EMBA Alumni Network board a success.
Roll Tide!
Russell Shamburger (TEMBA 2004), russell.shamburger@gmail.comRussell Shamburger is President of the 2016-2017 EMBA Alumni Club Network Board, and Vice President/Senior Business Process Analyst with Cadence Bank in Birmingham.
For more information on the EMBA Program contact Cheryl Altemara at caltemara@cba.ua.edu or call 205.348.4501.