UI Alumni Association moving on with merger

IOWA CITY - The soon-to-be defunct University of Iowa Alumni Association is now focusing on making a plan to merge with the UI Foundation after UI President Bruce Harreld told them to do so - sparking consternation among some association faithful.

When Harreld unveiled the merger in March as a forgone conclusion, association officials were concerned he circumvented their bylaws by announcing the structural change without a board vote.

But the UI Alumni Association directors earlier this month cast that vote, which means the association will merge with the UI's fundraising foundation.

'This is an important step toward creating a single advancement organization that will serve the University of Iowa's constituents - students, alumni, donors, and friends - by offering coordinated campus, regional, national, and international outreach and affinity-based programs,” according to a UI announcement.

With the vote, a subset of the association and foundation's executive committees will begin developing detailed plans to determine the next steps, according to a message UI Foundation President Lynette Marshall sent her colleagues.

Marshall, who Harreld has asked to lead the new merged organization, in her message promised to answer staff questions and provide an update on committee work.

UI Alumni Association board Chair Brett Veerman said answers to many questions - including how the merger affects staff salaries, benefits and vacation packages - are not public.

'As President Harreld stated, all Alumni Association staff will have employment opportunities at the advancement organization or at the UI,” he said in an email.

Veerman did not disclose how many of the board's 24 voting members were present at the meeting, which was not public, and how many voted for the merger.

Veerman recently took over as board chair of the association - celebrating its 150th year - after Clare Kelly resigned in May. She had been critical of the way Harreld handled the merger announcement. In emails reviewed by The Gazette, she urged her colleagues to push back against the president's proposal.

In a statement after the board vote this month, Veerman said, 'We are pleased to continue our role as alumni and friends who support the university by supporting our university's new advancement organization.”

Harreld, in a statement, said, 'I'd like to thank the University of Iowa Alumni Association Board Directors for moving forward with a new advancement model that I believe will expand our reach and enhance relationships with our alumni and friends.”

Association-foundation mergers like this are not unheard of. The University of Wisconsin's Madison campus, for instance, combined its separate entities in 2014.

Mike Knetter, president and chief executive of the UW Foundation, said the merger helped the campus better engage with alumni.

'Not only do we not regret this, we're really happy that we made the move that we did,” he said in March.

The UI Foundation, organized in 1956 as a nonprofit fundraising arm, serves as a channel for private contributions benefiting all areas of the university - from scholarships and research to health care and facility upgrades. It has 233 employees and recently capped its largest-ever fundraising campaign, surpassing its $1.7 billion goal by amassing nearly $2 billion in gifts.

The Alumni Association, which has 25 staffers and reported 37,383 members last summer, brought in $1.02 million in member fees and dues for the year that ended June 30, 2016.

Tax documents show the association in recent years has lost money and membership. A revised budget for April through June of this year shows the association expects to lose $404,750 in that time.

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com