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Penn State alumni network ranked just 28th

Despite having the "largest dues-paying alumni association in the country"
http://www.bestcollegevalues.org/top-alumni-networks/
I guess this is the standard of excellence that PSAA people like Kay Salvino and David Han will bring to the board of trustees.

Well..........to me the value of an alumni network is its ability to open doors at all levels. You'll never find statistics that measure this, but I wouldn't argue that most of the schools ranked above PSU don't belong there.
 
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The list is about what I would expect. Stanford, the Ivies, schools like Michigan and Texas. I am a bit surprised by Georgetown, but my real world experience tells me the rest deserve to be where they are. Going to Penn State opens doors. Going to Stanford, or Harvard, gets you in the door for dinner with the CEO. Put another way, if you want to be a Common Pleas Court Judge, go to Penn State. If you want to sit on the Supreme Court, go to Harvard or Yale. That said, 28th, among all the great schools across this land, is pretty damn good.
 
The list is about what I would expect. Stanford, the Ivies, schools like Michigan and Texas. I am a bit surprised by Georgetown, but my real world experience tells me the rest deserve to be where they are. Going to Penn State opens doors. Going to Stanford, or Harvard, gets you in the door for dinner with the CEO. Put another way, if you want to be a Common Pleas Court Judge, go to Penn State. If you want to sit on the Supreme Court, go to Harvard or Yale. That said, 28th, among all the great schools across this land, is pretty damn good.

I would have expected to be in the high teens but I see what you are saying
 
But we had so many applications! Things are going great! Only a handful of alumni haven't moved on!
 
I would have expected to be in the high teens but I see what you are saying
28th is certainly very good. You look at all the schools listed below us, and then those that are not listed at all (where are our BIG RIVALS?) and we have done quite well.
 
28th is certainly very good. You look at all the schools listed below us, and then those that are not listed at all (where are our BIG RIVALS?) and we have done quite well.

The one time The Wall Street Journal surveyed industry recruiters concerning their preferred schools for hiring (2010), Penn State was ranked #1. Penn State also has the largest on-campus career fair in the country. Penn State may not have the tightest alumni network for landing jobs, but Penn Staters are still highly sought after.

Two areas where the alumni network probably matters most, law and business, are not areas where Penn State has a long-standing tradition of excellence. Penn State's business school has made great strides the past 20 years or so, but it doesn't have the tradition of the top programs. Penn State has also made great strides in law, but they still have a way to go there.
 
The one time The Wall Street Journal surveyed industry recruiters concerning their preferred schools for hiring (2010), Penn State was ranked #1. Penn State also has the largest on-campus career fair in the country. Penn State may not have the tightest alumni network for landing jobs, but Penn Staters are still highly sought after.
Two areas where the alumni network probably matters most, law and business, are not areas where Penn State has a long-standing tradition of excellence. Penn State's business school has made great strides the past 20 years or so, but it doesn't have the tradition of the top programs. Penn State has also made great strides in law, but they still have a way to go there.
We will never be a Stanford, or a Harvard, nor should we aspire to be. You are right on the money with your comments about business and law. In my experience as a lawyer, the Penn State law school is far from elite and I see no desire on the part of our Administration to take it to a higher level.
 
The list is about what I would expect. Stanford, the Ivies, schools like Michigan and Texas. I am a bit surprised by Georgetown, but my real world experience tells me the rest deserve to be where they are. Going to Penn State opens doors. Going to Stanford, or Harvard, gets you in the door for dinner with the CEO. Put another way, if you want to be a Common Pleas Court Judge, go to Penn State. If you want to sit on the Supreme Court, go to Harvard or Yale. That said, 28th, among all the great schools across this land, is pretty damn good.
This!! Especially since PSU is a public school whereas many on that list are private, exclusive universities.
 
The one time The Wall Street Journal surveyed industry recruiters concerning their preferred schools for hiring (2010), Penn State was ranked #1. Penn State also has the largest on-campus career fair in the country. Penn State may not have the tightest alumni network for landing jobs, but Penn Staters are still highly sought after.

Two areas where the alumni network probably matters most, law and business, are not areas where Penn State has a long-standing tradition of excellence. Penn State's business school has made great strides the past 20 years or so, but it doesn't have the tradition of the top programs. Penn State has also made great strides in law, but they still have a way to go there.

law school was rated 71st.. not sure if that's worth talking about. my interpretation of the WSJ article was that we have kids who are well versed in a variety of areas and perhaps better able to adapt to the rigors of real work... just not so much in biz and law.
 
I believe this is a case of Penn State arrogance -- Roger Williams and others at Old Main believe our own press clippings and PR when it comes to the Penn State Alumni Association. There is much more that can be done to activate Penn State Alums. There are about 631,000 PSU alums out there and only about 174,000 are members of the Alumni Association. This means opportunity -- opprtunity to expand and engage. Raise your voices and vote in the Penn State Alumni Council election currently underway. You can check out PSAAforAll.org to learn more about the election and what is at stake.
 
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