LSE Professor Emeritus Mick Cox is Co-Director of foreign policy centre LSE IDEAS and lectures in International Relations. He is Academic Conveyor on the Executive Masters on Strategy and Diplomacy, Academic Director of the LSE-PKU Summer School and teaches on the TRIUM Global Executive MBA Programme, of which LSE is a partner. Mick has been closely engaged with LSE Advancement’s alumni relations programme over the years, regularly travelling to reunions and other alumni association events across the world, including those in Beijing, New York, Singapore and Berlin.
He spoke to us about the importance of connecting with our alumni, and the benefits it can bring to faculty members.
Why do you think it is important for universities to engage fully with their alumni base?
I think there are a multitude of reasons. Firstly, it is essential we maintain the School’s strong sense of community. If we stop engaging with people after graduation, then that restricts this ‘community’ to current students and staff. So many of those who study at LSE go on to achieve remarkable things, from leading their countries to becoming trailblazing entrepreneurs – it would obviously be foolish to fail to keep such individuals connected to the work of the School, and ourselves connected to their work also.
Secondly, by reaching out to alumni across the world, we maintain our global footprint. LSE alumni are unique in their sheer geographical and professional range. We benefit from being one of the most international higher education institutions on the planet, and when our alumni return to their home country or go to work and live in other countries, we naturally want them to spread the word of our teaching and research beyond the UK’s borders.
Linked to these points is raising philanthropic income which, although not our main motivation for interacting with alumni, can certainly be a welcome by-product. Alumni events can serve a key fundraising purpose, and we have seen the difference that transformative gifts can make.
What benefits are there for faculty members to engage in the alumni relations programme?
It affirms that global perspective I mentioned. If you have a particular project focused a particular region in the world, it is great to know that there is almost certainly an LSE community there for you to tap into. For example, we now have a Southeast Asia Centre – so why would we not consult with our large Southeast Asian alumni base to further its work?
Likewise there is an abundance of contacts to be made out there with whom one may have much in common. As an example, it naturally makes sense for the Department of Law to maintain strong links with the Lawyers’ Alumni Group and the wide range of professionals within this field. This kind of partnership can only be mutually beneficial, whether from the perspective of teaching, research, networking, our public events programme, or philanthropy.
What do you enjoy most about this element of your work?
I enjoy the fact that I am playing my own part in strengthening this community, sustaining the crucial link our alumni have to the School, to which they continue to feel very close. Furthermore I am consistently meeting a wide range of fascinating people, all with their own story to tell and perspectives to share. This can be not just interesting on a personal level, but also informative on a professional level.