Wright State’s president goes on virtual road tour, visits with alumni

Wright State President David R. Hopkins shared news and answered questions in the university’s first virtual alumni event Wright State on the Road 2.0.

Hundreds of alumni from across the country listened to and interacted with Wright State President David R. Hopkins in the first virtual alumni event for the university.

Dubbed ‘Wright State on the Road 2.0,’ the May 30 event used streaming video to connect alumni from nine cities and four different states with the president, Student Body Vice President Nick Warrington and alumni in attendance in the Student Union Apollo Room.

“This is all part of Senior Week, which may indeed be our biggest Alumni Association event of the year because we expect to have over 1,000 people to participate throughout the week,” said Greg Scharer, executive director of the Office of Alumni Relations.

Watch parties organized by recently formed alumni association networks across the country tuned in for the event from restaurants, hotels and homes in cities like Cleveland, Indianapolis, Tampa and Washington, D.C.

“It was fun to share with our alumni all the great things we’re doing when I went on the road two years ago, and the virtual format last night was pretty neat too,” said Hopkins. “From our new clinical trial research partnership with Premier Health, to being recognized again as one of the top universities in the country for community service and accessibility, there’s just so much going on at Wright State that we want our alumni to know about and be proud of.”

Greg Scharer, executive director of the office of alumni relations monitors the streaming internet feed for the virtual event and the Twitter account that alumni used to submit questions.

Hopkins also fielded questions that were often submitted through the social networking and microblogging site Twitter. Questions ranged from inquiries about student engagement, campus development and opportunities to give back.

The event was created to try to capitalize on the success of the first Wright State on the Road event nearly two years ago that helped to create several new alumni networks.

“We thought, okay, how can we get Dr. Hopkins out to see as many alumni as possible when we have alumni in every state and 63 countries,” said Scharer.

Wright State on the Road, whether virtual or not, has all been part of the alumni office’s effort to further its engagement with alumni beyond the Dayton area.

“I think our alumni engagement has been solid for certain segments of the alumni population, but I think we need to do some work engaging alumni outside the Miami Valley, and that’s what we’re trying to do in many ways with new technology and new programming,” said Scharer.

Visit http://www.wrightstatealumni.com/seniorweek.html to learn more about Senior Week 2012 and the Wright State Alumni Association.