Differentiating Your Ross Club Events

Beyond a strong leadership team, events and programming form the core of the Michigan Ross Alumni Club Program. The alumni clubs are essential to the creation of successful – and meaningful — Ross alumni engagement activities globally. Likewise, organizing and advertising a palette of interesting activities that bring together local alumni of diverse degree backgrounds, career stages and industries is integral to individual alumni club success.

To optimize event appeal and attendance, it’s important to balance a social/networking event itinerary with lifelong learning and professional development opportunities that differentiate the Michigan Ross alumni clubs from regional AA-UM clubs and other local events competing for alums’ time and interest.

As branded Michigan Ross-affiliated chapters, the Michigan Ross Alumni Clubs’ value proposition exists in rooting alumni club programming in the School’s mission, vision, and AlumniAdvantage pillars.

Whenever event planning or content inspiration is needed, we recommend returning to these central principles as guidance. 

The Michigan Ross mission: Developing leaders who make a positive difference in the world.

The Michigan Ross difference: An inclusive community known for leadership development, groundbreaking entrepreneurship, and a commitment to sustainability, social impact, and positive business.

The Ross AlumniAdvantage pillars:

  1. Networking & Events
  2. Career Resources/Professional Development
  3. Lifelong Learning
  4. Volunteering

To provide creative support, we’ve created a page of 50+ alumni club activity ideas, grouped by theme. A well-rounded club event palette should include, at minimum, an equal to a greater number of lifelong learning activities than social/networking activities (while acknowledging that all in-person events will possess an intrinsic networking component). 

>>View club event types and suggestions here.>>

Don’t Forget Our Other Ross Degree Holders!

It is important to consider alumni of every Ross degree program in your event planning and especially event marketing. Some clubs have occasionally advertised an activity as being for ‘MBA alums,’ leaving BBAs and special degree alums feeling excluded. In actuality, those clubs meant the events were open to all Ross alumni, but their marketing materials didn’t accurately reflect this.  

Over the decades, Michigan Ross has offered many degrees, including the: 

  • BBA
  • Full-time, Weekend, Evening, and Executive MBAs
  • Master of Accounting
  • Master of Management
  • Master of Supply Chain Management
  • Master of Entrepreneurship
  • PhD

Having alumni representation from multiple degree programs on a club’s leadership board, if at all possible, often helps avoid these situations.