Meet CAAE's Forman And Preo Fellows 2021-2022

ROBERT G. FORMAN FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT

Karen Moran has 13 years of higher education alumni engagement experience, with the last two as the Director of Alumni Engagement for Rutgers Biomedical Health Sciences (RBHS). In her role with the Rutgers University Foundation, she not only directs the alumni engagement efforts for the eight schools that comprise RBHS, but also serves in a central alumni engagement capacity regarding strategy, specifically as it relates to engagement metrics. 

Karen's passion for ensuring that alumni engagement efforts are supporting all areas of the enterprise led her to exploring an area through the Forman Fellowship that she had not previously. Karen will be exploring how alumni engagement teams can structure an alumni engagement campaign in conjunction with a fundraising campaign that supports the fundraising initiatives, while staying true to the heart of alumni engagement. The two questions she's really looking to answer are:

1. How do alumni engagement teams identify their campaign priorities?
2. How do alumni engagement teams set quantifiable goals that still tell the alumni engagement story?

About the Robert G. Forman Fellowship

Named in honor of CAAE’s founding president, Robert G. Forman, who served for 28 years as President & CEO of the University of Michigan Alumni Association until his retirement in 1994, applicants must have five or more years of professional experience in alumni relations at a CAAE member institution or senior-level experience at another organization. Forman Fellows receive up to $3,500 to cover research-related expenses as well as hotel and travel costs for participation in the CAAE Winter Institute.

LAWRENCE S. PREO FELLOWSHIP RECIPIENT

Gerald Corporal (he/him) serves as Director of Alumni Career Engagement at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Alumni Association. He manages a slate of alumni-to-student programs and initiatives, stewarding alumni, prospective employers, and community partners to create transformative academic and career programs for students. Prior to UCLA, he served as a career advisor and academic advisor at the University of Southern California (USC) Marshall School of Business. Gerald is the first in his family to graduate from college, earning his Bachelor of Arts in Cinema Studies and Communication at the University of Washington, and Master of Education in Postsecondary Administration and Student Affairs at USC. He plans to pursue a Doctorate of Education; the Lawrence S. Preo Fellowship is a tremendous honor and Gerald will use this fellowship to become engaged in research on our work in alumni relations.

As part of Gerald’s fellowship, his research will center on alumni motivations and impact of participation in mentoring programs with their institutions. His primary research question will ask what motivates first-generation alumni (alumni that were the first in their family to attend college) to participate in mentoring programs? It will consist of two secondary questions:

1. What specifically motivates first generation alumni of color (alumni that identify as non-white) to participate in these programs?
2. How may the involvement of first-generation alumni play a role in student persistence?

About the Lawrence S. Preo Fellowship

Named in honor of CAAE’s first Executive Administrator until his retirement in 2013, Lawrence S. Preo was Executive Director of the Purdue Alumni Association for 16 years, following a career that spanned more than 20 years with Purdue’s Division of Recreational Sports. Applicants must be entry-level professionals with up to five years of experience in alumni relations at a CAAE member institution. Preo Fellows receive up to $2,500 to cover research-related expenses as well as hotel and travel costs for participation in the CAAE Winter Institute.

CAAE's Tardy Fellowship recipient was introduced previously - meet Liz McKee, Director of Volunteer Engagement at the Northern Illinois University Alumni Association.