story by Ge n e vie ve Sa n ch e zKate Robertson’s appointment to the newposition of Chief Engagement Officer is part of theUniversity of Adelaide’s commitment to strengthenconnections with our alumni and the community.In her previous role, Kate led theUniversity of Nottingham9s biggest everfundraising campaign which has sofar raised almost United Kingdom £100million ($172 million) including a gift ofUK£12 million ($18 million), the largestcorporate gift for higher education in theUK outside Oxford and Cambridge.In this Q&A, Kate talks about her desireto build thriving relationships between theUniversity of Adelaide and its supportersand how 8giving back9 can come inmany forms.Q: What attracted you to this positionand the University of Adelaide?A: The ambition set out in the StrategicPlan really caught my attention—this is aUniversity and a Vice-Chancellor with areal sense of direction.To call a team an Engagement Branchalso appealed to me—it seems avery innovative route to take: a wholebranch that focuses on engagement.Fundraising is part of it, but it9s a structurethat recognises that many things areimportant, not just fundraising.Q: The Chief Engagement Ofûcer is anewly created position at the University;how would you describe the role?A: At its heart it9s about building mutuallybeneûcial relationships—those wherethe University can have inüuence and apositive impact on people9s lives. It9s alsoabout seeking to engage with otherswho can add value and impact on theUniversity and its future.If we can ûnd and develop relationshipsthat can do both at the same time thenwe9ll be on a win-win basis.Q: What will be your ûrst pointof business?A: Listening—I really want to get outand meet people and hear their thoughtsand aspirations both within but moreimportantly, outside the organisation.The challenge will be to have a degree ofobjectivity and focus in the face of a jobwhere the boundaries and priorities couldeasily become diffuse—there is no endto the possibilities of what we could doto better engage with our stakeholdersbut it9s right that we should be focusedand savvy with the resources wehave available.Q: As Director of the Campaign andAlumni Relations Ofûce at the Universityof Nottingham for the past fouryears, what have been some of yourgreatest successes?A: Somebody said to me that mycontribution had been around normalisingphilanthropy—I think I made it comfortableand acceptable to talk about and engagewith philanthropy. It changed from beingan area that few people were involvedwith, to something that the widerinstitution really embraced. That shiftwas very gratifying.We also diversiûed the ways in whichpeople could get involved with giving andtried to shift the balance from an overemphasis on the University9s perspective,to thinking more about what is importantto alumni and donors. We focused onwhat the impact of giving would be andunsurprisingly, the numbers and diversityof donors increased. For the ûrst time,staff-giving really took off too.I care really passionately about the factthat giving can come in lots of differentforms—advice, advocacy, time, inüuence,in-kind—we need to give as muchattention and care to all of those thingsas we do to the way in which we conductourselves in relation to philanthropic gifts.Q: As an active member of theLife Cycle team at the Universityof Nottingham, you raised funds tosupport major causes such as StrokeRehabilitation Research. How doesthis kind of initiative help you achieveyour campaign goals?A: The underlying idea for Life Cycle wasto do something that was a stretch anddemonstrated a commitment beyond theday job. In this case, giving up valuabletime and agreeing to undergo a physicallydemanding challenge to raise moneyfor one of our priority projects turnedout to be one of the most importantcommunication assets that we had. Itsaid, almost literally, 8We9re willing togo the extra mile for this cause. Willyou?9 We also raised a lot of money:£750,000 across three bike rides (and3500 miles!)—a wonderful outcome forall that effort.Q: What do you think is the importanceof the University engaging with alumniand the wider community?A: Our alumni can be found in all cornersof the globe and are among our mostvaluable ambassadors. They havea vested interest in the University, itsreputation and its future and play a vitalrole in upholding the institution9s values,traditions and contributing to its richhistory. But they also play an importantrole in shaping our future. Engaging withour alumni and the wider community addsenormous insight, leverage and value toour activities. Advice, advocacy, inüuence,networks, time, ûnancial support—theseare all business-critical contributions thatare entirely in tune with the University9sBeacon strategy.Visit the University Engagement Websiteat www.alumni.adelaide.edu.auLeft: Kate RobertsonPhoto by James Field|e University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 17
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