Annual Report 2005-2006 - Osgoode Hall Law School - York ...

Office of Advancement
The Office of Advancement approached 2005-06 with tremendous expectations. A very successful retreat
in May 2004 had provided some great ideas for new programs, publications and events. There were,
however, two obstacles. The Associate Director, Office of Advancement went on maternity leave and while
a capable replacement was hired, she did not have the knowledge or experience to create anything new.
The greater impediment was the Law School’s budget constraints. While there were disappointments,
there were also successes that will be important foundations for the future.
Advancement Communications
The most significant change in Advancement was in the area of communications. The reporting for the
Manager of Communications changed from the Director of the Office of Advancement to the Dean. This
direct report to the Dean will allow for more timely and strategic communications on all Law School news.
Alumni communications is central to any advancement operation. Before anyone will get involved as a
mentor, attend an event or make a gift, they need to be informed on the School. A significant problem has
been the frequency with which Osgoode communicates with its alumni. In addition, we need to manage
the quality and content of the messaging.
The Advancement Office’s most effective communications vehicle is Continuum. While it is a high quality
publication that reflects well on the School, it is only published once a year. In 2005-06 the Office hoped
to create a mini Continuum that would be mailed with the Report on Giving in August. Unfortunately,
resources did not allow us to follow through on this plan.
In 2004 The Osgoode Brief was developed as a way to communicate more frequently with a select group
of alumni, donors and friends. It has been sent intermittently over the past two years and only once in
2005. The original concept was an up-to-the-minute publication that would go out at least monthly. We
found that we just do not have the resources, both financial and staff, to distribute this regularly.
The alumni e-newsletter, Osgoode Online, presented a similar problem. We could only do one edition for
Winter 2006, which included stories on Dean for a Day, the Part-time LLM Program and profiles on
two different LLM graduates. In addition, we will be competing for alumni attention with the new York
e-newsletter, Alumni Matters, which is sent to all Osgoode alumni monthly.
Mass e-mail to alumni is another solution that has been tried over the last few years. In 2005-06 two
e-mails were sent, one to invite them to attend the opening of the new window in the Cassels Brock
Classroom and a second to announce Osgoode’s ranking as the number one law school by Canadian
Lawyer magazine. There is no real way to determine the effectiveness of this communication. We do not
know how many were received, opened or read.
Welcome Book
Proud alumni evolve from students who feel a connection to and identify with their institution. Building a
relationship between students and the School happens in many different ways. For a few years the
Advancement Office has wanted to create a small publication for new students that describes the
traditions and history of the Law School. This year we finally achieved that goal. The Welcome Book was
mailed to all first-year students along with an invitation to the Orientation event at Osgoode Hall and a
letter from the Mentor Program Chair, John Tobin.
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