Lumen Summer 2014 - Flipbook - Page 19
story by Ge n e vie ve Sa n ch e z
Kate Robertson’s appointment to the new
position of Chief Engagement Officer is part of the
University of Adelaide’s commitment to strengthen
connections with our alumni and the community.
I
n her previous role, Kate led the
University of Nottingham9s biggest ever
fundraising campaign which has so
far raised almost United Kingdom £100
million ($172 million) including a gift of
UK£12 million ($18 million), the largest
corporate gift for higher education in the
UK outside Oxford and Cambridge.
In this Q&A, Kate talks about her desire
to build thriving relationships between the
University of Adelaide and its supporters
and how 8giving back9 can come in
many forms.
Q: What attracted you to this position
and the University of Adelaide?
A: The ambition set out in the Strategic
Plan really caught my attention—this is a
University and a Vice-Chancellor with a
real sense of direction.
To call a team an Engagement Branch
also appealed to me—it seems a
very innovative route to take: a whole
branch that focuses on engagement.
Fundraising is part of it, but it9s a structure
that recognises that many things are
important, not just fundraising.
Q: The Chief Engagement Ofûcer is a
newly created position at the University;
how would you describe the role?
A: At its heart it9s about building mutually
beneûcial relationships—those where
the University can have inüuence and a
positive impact on people9s lives. It9s also
about seeking to engage with others
who can add value and impact on the
University and its future.
If we can ûnd and develop relationships
that can do both at the same time then
we9ll be on a win-win basis.
Q: What will be your ûrst point
of business?
A: Listening—I really want to get out
and meet people and hear their thoughts
and aspirations both within but more
importantly, outside the organisation.
The challenge will be to have a degree of
objectivity and focus in the face of a job
where the boundaries and priorities could
easily become diffuse—there is no end
to the possibilities of what we could do
to better engage with our stakeholders
but it9s right that we should be focused
and savvy with the resources we
have available.
Q: As Director of the Campaign and
Alumni Relations Ofûce at the University
of Nottingham for the past four
years, what have been some of your
greatest successes?
A: Somebody said to me that my
contribution had been around normalising
philanthropy—I think I made it comfortable
and acceptable to talk about and engage
with philanthropy. It changed from being
an area that few people were involved
with, to something that the wider
institution really embraced. That shift
was very gratifying.
We also diversiûed the ways in which
people could get involved with giving and
tried to shift the balance from an overemphasis on the University9s perspective,
to thinking more about what is important
to alumni and donors. We focused on
what the impact of giving would be and
unsurprisingly, the numbers and diversity
of donors increased. For the ûrst time,
staff-giving really took off too.
I care really passionately about the fact
that giving can come in lots of different
forms—advice, advocacy, time, inüuence,
in-kind—we need to give as much
attention and care to all of those things
as we do to the way in which we conduct
ourselves in relation to philanthropic gifts.
Q: As an active member of the
Life Cycle team at the University
of Nottingham, you raised funds to
support major causes such as Stroke
Rehabilitation Research. How does
this kind of initiative help you achieve
your campaign goals?
A: The underlying idea for Life Cycle was
to do something that was a stretch and
demonstrated a commitment beyond the
day job. In this case, giving up valuable
time and agreeing to undergo a physically
demanding challenge to raise money
for one of our priority projects turned
out to be one of the most important
communication assets that we had. It
said, almost literally, 8We9re willing to
go the extra mile for this cause. Will
you?9 We also raised a lot of money:
£750,000 across three bike rides (and
3500 miles!)—a wonderful outcome for
all that effort.
Q: What do you think is the importance
of the University engaging with alumni
and the wider community?
A: Our alumni can be found in all corners
of the globe and are among our most
valuable ambassadors. They have
a vested interest in the University, its
reputation and its future and play a vital
role in upholding the institution9s values,
traditions and contributing to its rich
history. But they also play an important
role in shaping our future. Engaging with
our alumni and the wider community adds
enormous insight, leverage and value to
our activities. Advice, advocacy, inüuence,
networks, time, ûnancial support—these
are all business-critical contributions that
are entirely in tune with the University9s
Beacon strategy.
Visit the University Engagement Website
at www.alumni.adelaide.edu.au
Left: Kate Robertson
Photo by James Field
|e University of Adelaide | Alumni Magazine 17
