by Sandra McKinney, Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore Campus, Alumni Office
The Everly Brothers, Michael Buble and even Miley Cyrus sing for us to “dream, dream, dream” and this is just what the Alumni of Asbury Theological Seminary have been doing. For three years, people have been dreaming of what might connect alumni across space and time to one another. These have been big dreams and there have been many dreams. That dream is now becoming a reality in “The HUB: Asbury Theological Seminary Alumni Network.”
Ms. Tammy Cessna, Director of Alumni and Church Relations, began exploring this dream by viewing other universities’ alumni websites. From state schools and top ranking colleges, she gathered ideas of what an alumni program at Asbury just might look like. Many have online secure directories, so why not Asbury? The Alumni Office regularly receives requests from alumni to help find “lost” alumni. An online tool would place this right into the hands of the alumni themselves.
When Ms. Cessna introduced this dream to the Alumni Council, they unanimously supported it. She says “they were all for it. They loved it.” The goal was to find a user friendly tool which could help “strengthen the alumni networking capabilities of Asbury Theological Seminary,” according to Ms. Cessna. “The original hope was to give the alumni a way to connect with each other through making an online directory available.” An additional goal was to provide an easier way for “alumni, students, and those seeking Asbury graduates to connect for possible job opportunities.” The Alumni Office takes calls from alumni looking to fill positions for a wide variety of vocations. The HUB will help place this capability in the hands of the alumni as well.
In the January e-link, it was announced that The HUB would be coming in February. Responses from alumni began coming in.
Bill Mauck (’74), emailed, “Looking forward to The HUB.”
Octavio L. Areiza (‘99) wrote, “I see the hub as a great way to connect with other brothers and sisters.”
As the time has now come to officially launch “The HUB”, the potential for this is immense. Though Ms. Cessna advises us “the potential vitality of The HUB is contingent on the engagement of the alumni. The more alumni update their information, post jobs, upload current resumes, the better it will be for the whole.”
Contact us at: thehub@asburyseminary.edu