University of Minnesota Alumni Association

Reviewing an Alum Association?!
Well, I guess I’ve come to enjoy reviewing things that are rather esoteric (see my review on Trash Hauling!)…but hey, if it helps somebody then it’s worth it.
Nutshell review, worthless association fixated on getting revenue and funding sports, no interest in furthering academic excellence.
OH yes, they like to send out news releases like «Nobel prize winning person was briefly at UMN 40 years ago before leaving to do something better» and other feelgood fluff, but they do nothing genuine to further the future legacy of the U.
They even had the audacity to sign my name (without my permission) to a petition supporting a new stadium that I loathe. When I complained, they couldn’t even seem to grasp that there might be UMN grads who don’t want to see more money spent on sports while the U’s once excellent academic reputation crumbles and it’s former research excellence deteriorates.
That’s the political side of it, but they also just suck.
What if you want to actually use their services?
Well, first off – there aren’t many services. Some very mediocre discounts at very limited locations (discounts on UMN Gopher sweatshirts and Pen Desk Sets? No thanks).
Lousy life insurance «benefits» (priced far higher than comparable plans).
They are reasonable responsive to emails. However they will spam you like crazy after selling your name to mailing lists. And they have no mechanism to let you opt-​out.
And, don’t be fooled; the promised «Alum Networks» that they claim will help you find jobs and socialize and all that hoopla is nonexistent. The networks are weak and in my experience the few events I attended resulted in, you guessed it – the Alum Association hitting me up for more money.
I do have something to compare to: I am a member of the Wisconsin Alum Association and Penn State Alum Assn and they are powerful, helpful and
worthy of my membership. They even use the funds to actually help students and researchers achieve something.
Hmm, well – I guess that’s all a little grumpy isn’t it? But it makes me very sad to see an organization that could be making the UMN a better institution instead abet it’s decline to mediocrity.

Since graduating a few years ago, I’ve gotten next to nothing from the alumni association. The fundraisers call regularly to ask for money. The last time they called, they asked for $ 150 after I told them I was unemployed. Then they asked for money again. Thankfully, they were able to verify my information so they could sell it to third parties like auto insurance companies. I get mail with ~special offers~ for U of M alumni. As someone who doesn’t care about sports, the alumni association means little to me.