An application called Alumni Directory will serve as a resource that Trinity alumni can use to connect with each other. Alumni will be able to share their name, class year, contact information and any information that they have available on LinkedIn. The app, available for iPhone and Android, will be released on Nov. 19.
“One of the really neat features of this particular app is that it overlays with LinkedIn,” said Joy McGaugh, associate director for alumni relations. “Your professional information, your industry, any kind of affinity groups that you’re involved with professionally — that will all be available for people to click through the app. A lot of times people don’t necessarily think of their alma mater as the first place to update their information when they get a new job or a promotion, but you will definitely update LinkedIn.”
Alumni will also be able to share their home address on the application, but privacy settings will allow them to opt out of this if they prefer.
“One of the great things of this application is the mapping function,” said Jim Holzbach, senior director of Advancement Services. “But if you’re worried about it being right there where your residence is — maybe you don’t like that—so we were able to figure out a way to manipulate the data a little bit so that if someone chooses to hide their street address, we can actually have them appear in a randomized location that’s kind of close to where they reside.”
The new application is a replacement of Trinity’s previous alumni directory, which was available through an internet browser. The platform was found through software vendor EverTrue.
“We had a predecessor to this, called the Trinity Alumni Directory, through a different vendor called YourMembership (YM),” Holzbach said. “We had that one for five years, leading up to the spring of this year. That had worked out pretty well, but over time, fewer people were using it, so we were kind of looking at this as an opportunity with our finishing out that contract with YM, to look at what new vendors were out there. We asked YM if they had any improvements to offer, and we looked at a couple other vendors, and the best was this one: EverTrue alumni directory.”
Similar alumni directory applications are available at peer institutions, and Trinity’s app is similar to apps used at these other universities. Auburn University, Bucknell University, Colgate University, Bennington College, Colorado College and Boston University are some of the universities with similar applications.
Ryan Finnelly, senior director for alumni relations, explained why the Alumni Directory app will be important for alumni.
“We always want alumni to be able to connect with one another,” Finnelly said. “We want to keep them engaged with their alma mater: certainly the relationships they build here are key relationships. There are people who are influential in their lives. We know the culture of Trinity, and those who have walked through the doors are uniquely positioned to continue to people of influence in one another’s lives. We feel that this tool really gives them a chance to keep those relationships going and to discover new opportunities to network with other Trinity alums.”
The Alumni Directory app will be available for iPhone and Android. The new alumni directory will also be available online.
