Join the TC Alumni Association Volunteer Program

The purpose of the Alumni Experience (AX) Committee is to engage TC Alumni by connecting them back to the College and building a culture, community and camaraderie throughout the Alumni Association. This committee will serve as front-line representatives helping Alumni & Community Engagement to establish, sustain and promote lifelong engagement with alumni through various endeavors, including speaking engagements or career development programs, volunteering at events such as Academic Festival, Convocation, as well as professional networking and service opportunities.

Opportunities include: 

Identifying Speakers

We love showcasing our talented TC alumni! Help us identify and vet potential speakers for TC virtual and/or in-person events.

• Identify speakers for potential panels, Career Development Webinars, etc.
• Vet potential speakers and categorize based on interest, educational background, and medium (panel, keynote, webinar, etc.)
• As part of Academic Festival:
• Promote and publicize a “call for proposals” for the Alumni Showcase
• Review and vet alumni proposals
• Assist with prep and set up day of 
• Encourage guests to participate in providing feedback for the presenters

Community Service

Want to help Teachers College or other fellow TC alumni? Help us identify and vet service opportunities worldwide.  

Live in/near the NYC area? Join us for our annual homecoming event, Academic Festival, or be a part of the Alumni procession during Convocation!

• Service Projects

• Identify opportunities for service that complement the TC mission; recruit alumni to support service opportunities
• Vet projects for liability and feasibility
• Work with the Communications Committee on the call to action, promoting awareness in service opportunities
• Engage in local service opportunities 
• Partner with Regional & Affinity Groups Committee to coordinate service opportunities for TC Service Day

• On Campus Volunteer Opportunities
  • Academic Festival
    • Volunteers will help with event prep and set up before Academic Festival as well as important roles the day of, such as greeting guests, working the registration table, serving as onsite ambassadors, providing directions and other critical information

• Convocation
  • Be apart of the formal Alumni Association procession

Volunteer Experience & Cultivation

We would be nothing without our volunteers!  Help us brainstorm ways we can inspire and motivate fellow volunteers to ensure an engaging and beneficial volunteer experience.  

• Recommend strategies for the engagement of new volunteers, retention and onboarding
• Create a volunteer recognition program to maintain engagement and motivation 
• Help foster peer-to-peer support and motivation system
• Work to increase awareness among alumni of the volunteer opportunities for Alumni Association members across the Association and the College
• Gather feedback (qualitative and quantitative) on the Alumni Association Committee Member experience
• Assist in coordinating volunteer recruitment initiatives
• Foster relationships between and among volunteers

The purpose of the Young Alumni and Student Engagement Committee is to engage young and recent alumni, as well as prospective and current students, to encourage participation in alumni events and foster seamless transitions throughout the alumni lifecycle. Volunteers in this committee will have the opportunity to connect directly with alumni, current and prospective students in various roles including volunteering at events with the Alumni & Community Engagement team, TC NEXT, and Admissions.  All roles will inform strategies, events, programs and opportunities we offer to this subset of alumni and future alumni. 

Opportunities include: 

Event Volunteer 

Do you live near NYC and want to connect with current students? Help us develop strong relationships with current students so we can better serve alumni when they graduate! 

Work with Alumni & Community Engagement and campus partners to develop a lasting bond with current students and recent graduates. Opportunities could include:

Serve in a Host Capacity for Recent Grad or Young Alumni Events

• Serve in a Host capacity for at least one student focused event each semester in conjunction with AR and larger Institutional Advancement  
• Fall - attend at least one event such as: Orientation week, International Ed Week
• Spring - attend at least one event such as International Week, Admitted Student Week, Student Round Robin, Post-Convocation Reception 
• Through student and alumni interactions at these events help to share your perspective about the alumni experience, raise awareness of alumni benefits and assess the needs of recent and future alumni by gathering feedback from students to share back with Alumni Relations.

Student Research Poster Session Volunteers

Do you want to participate in TC’s marque homecoming event? There are a variety of ways to get involved with students and learn about their interesting research projects! 

Work with Alumni Relations and Student Senate to produce the annual Student Research Poster Session, which takes place during our signature homecoming event, Academic Festival. Opportunities to assist with the Student Research Poster Session include: 

• Alumni Reviewer (prior to Academic Festival) ~5 hours
• Review and score student poster proposals (~1 week)
• Alumni Judge (at Academic Festival) ~2 hours
• Review and score the final student posters using a rubric and score sheet provided by the Student Senate liaison during the poster session 
• Student Research Poster Session Volunteer ~3 hours (at Academic Festival)
• Assist with Poster Session prep and set up
• Encourage guests to vote for the “People’s Choice” Student Poster

*Roles Requires Additional Vetting or Application Process

The purpose of the Regional and Affinity Groups Committee is to engage and create community among TC alumni through geographic- and affinity-based connections. Opportunities involve developing a local alumni Regional Group, serving as an Alumni Area Network (AAN) Representative in your city or country, or creating or leading an Affinity Group. 

REGIONAL

Alumni Area Network (AAN) Representative

Are you living in a region that does not have a Regional Group or Alumni Area Network Rep in place? Do you want to help us grow an active alumni network in your area?

The AAN Representatives are based in geographic regions where TC alumni live and work, but where we have not yet established Regional Groups. The AAN provides a much-needed link between our alumni and the College. 

AAN reps would:

• Serve as a liaison between the College and TC alumni in your Region
• Serve as a “point of contact” for your Region
• Assist with planning and promoting local and virtual TC events and programs in conjunction with Alumni Relations
• Assist Alumni Relations in maintaining the College database by encouraging TC alumni in the Region to update their contact and business information
• Suggest communications strategies to best engage and inform alumni in your Region 
• Actively recruit members  to participate in the planning of local events with the goal of establishing a Regional Group which includes Co-Leaders, a Communication Manager, and Planning Committee 

Regional Groups

Looking to start or grow a regional group in your city? Do you want to lead that effort as a Regional Co-Leader or Communication Manager?

Regional Groups are led by a team of alumni volunteer leaders who have been invited to serve in a specialized role based on previous involvement or experience, completed the application process, and thereby appointed and trained in the specialized role. Regional Group Leaders will automatically be members of the Regional & Affinity Groups Committee of the Alumni Association, and as such will have access to Committee meetings, as well as a cohort of other Regional Group Leaders with whom to share best practices. The purpose of Regional Groups is to foster ties to Teachers College as well as among and between alumni in geographical regions where a critical mass of alumni reside.

The positions for regional groups include:

Co-Leaders*

Two Co-Leaders will share the roles and responsibilities of leading the local Regional Group efforts which will include:

• Lead Regional Group efforts for alumni 
• Serve as a “point of contact” for your region 
• Actively recruit members to serve on the Regional Group planning committee and participate in local events
• Assist with planning local and virtual TC events in conjunction with Alumni Relations

Communication Manager*

• Manage communications to members of the Regional Group, in addition to the group’s webpage
• Assist in marketing events and alumni benefits via social and other channels 
• Gather feedback from alumni in your Regional Group
• Suggest communications strategies to best engage and inform alumni in your region

Planning Committee

• Assist with planning and promoting local and virtual TC events and programs in conjunction with Alumni Relations

Affinity Groups

Looking to start or grow an affinity group in your city or country? Do you want to lead that effort as an Affinity Co-Leader or Communication Manager?

Co-Leaders*

Two Co-Leaders will share the roles and responsibilities of leading an Affinity Group efforts which will include:

• Lead Affinity Group efforts for alumni in your affinity base
• Serve as a “point of contact” for your Affinity Group 
• Actively recruit members to serve on the Affinity Group planning committee 
• Assist with planning local and virtual TC events and programs in conjunction with Alumni Relations

Communication Manager*

• Manage communications to members of the Affinity Group, in addition to the group’s webpage
• Assist in marketing events and alumni benefits via social and other channels 
• Gather feedback from alumni in your Affinity Group
• Suggest communications strategies to best engage and inform alumni in your Affinity Group 

Planning Committee

• Assist with planning and promoting in-person or virtual TC events and programs in conjunction with Alumni Relations

Legislative Advocacy Network (LAN) 

Are you interested in the civic process? Do you want to use your voice to help shape policy? Be a voice for Teachers College! 

Alumni interested in advocacy work, especially with issues revolving around education policy, immigration, budget, student loans, etc will be supporting the work of the Legislative Advocacy Network (LAN), which is managed by TC’s Government Relations department.  We ask members to: 

• Participate in LAN meetings, phone calls, and discussions
• Stay informed of and promote upcoming events and projects
• Participate in the advocacy activities, such as letter writing, attending an event (either on or off campus), calling your local representative
• Spreading awareness of various issues alumni-to-alumni, as well as in partnership with the Communications committee via social media and email

*Roles Requires Additional Vetting or Application Process

Before applying to one of the above committees, we recommend reviewing the organizational chart and eligibility requirements below.

Alumni Association
To be eligible to participate in the Alumni Association, an individual must:

• Have earned a degree or certificate, or have taken coursework towards a degree from the College or held a non-degree College-sponsored appointment, such as visiting scholars, post-docs, and Fulbright scholars
• Be in good standing.

Alumni Association Committees
Each committee has a specific purpose with defined participation roles; some committees engage volunteers in Specialized Roles. To learn more about the various ways to participate in a committee, read the descriptions of each committee linked above.

Any alumnus/a of Teachers College, in good standing, may apply to join one or more of the Alumni Association Committees. Applications will be reviewed and appointments will be based on available seats per the Committee Charters.

To be eligible to serve in a Specialized Role, an alum must:

• Have been invited or recruited to serve based on previous involvement/experience.
• Have experience with volunteering at the College or with another school or philanthropic organization.
• Completed the application and interview process.
• Have been trained in the specialized role.

The Alumni Council
Alumni can be elected by their peers to serve on the Alumni Council as either Co-Chairs of an Alumni Association Committee or Officers (Secretary, President-Elect)

To be eligible for the Alumni Council, an alum must:

• Hold an earned degree from the College.
• Have served on an Association Committee for at least one year.
• Actively participate in Association committee work, displaying leadership capacity.
• Be a member of the Association, in good standing.
• Contribute to the TC Annual Fund.

To be a Co-Chair, a candidate must:

• Be an active member of the Committee to which they are nominated for at least one year.
• Follow the protocols, as provided by Alumni Relations.

To be Council Secretary, a candidate must

• Have been a member of the Council for at least one year or an active member of an Association Committee for at least two years.

To be Council President-Elect, and ultimately, President a candidate must

• Have been a member of the Council for at least two years.