For nearly a decade, marketing professional Suzy Swartz has helped students at Rutgers School of Business–Camden (SBC) get internships at WXPN, the Philadelphia-based public radio station where she works. “I love Rutgers–Camden. It’s part of who I am, and it helped shape who I’ve become as a professional,” Swartz SBC’85 says. “I feel really strongly about helping these students.”
She also feels strongly about helping her alma mater. As president of the new Rutgers School of Business–Camden Alumni Association—chartered in June—she is able to do much more of both.
In addition to fostering alumni mentorship of School of Business students, Swartz says, the association aims to encourage alumni to network, stay informed about the school, and explore the many programs their alma mater has to offer.
It couldn’t be easier for alumni to join in: there are no dues, membership is automatic upon graduation, and existing (pre-association) alumni have been added as members.
Below are two of the perks of alumni association membership—and how to learn more.
A sneak peek at SBC news
One of Swartz’s top goals is to keep alumni informed on SBC’s latest happenings. “I think of Rutgers as a crown jewel,” says Swartz. “We need to elevate the business school and all the wonderful things that they do.”
Rory “Cal” Maradonna, director of off-campus programs for the School of Business–Camden, is particularly excited about the curriculum changes that happened during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Maradonna CCAS’74, SBC’79 has seen plenty of SBC changes, having earned his degree before it broke away from the College of Arts and Sciences in 1988.)
“We’ve added different master’s programs [and] combined some,” says Maradonna. For example, there is now a fully online master of science in business analytics degree, as well as a graduate certificate in modern financial technologies. (Learn more on the SBC Graduate Programs page.)
“Our alumni need to know [how much positive change has occurred] because that’s what keeps them interested,” adds Maradonna. “They want to see that their business school is changing with the times.”
A chance to forge the future
From mentoring current students to participating in a recent curriculum revision, alumni input has always been invaluable to the business school, says Dean Monica Adya. “From the time [students] start with us in freshman year until the time they graduate, they have many shared experiences and learning opportunities,” she adds. “Alumni associations are a continuation of those shared experiences.”
Maradonna says he hopes that, before too long, it will be safe to gather large groups of alumni and students in person again. “Alumni want to go into the classroom,” he says. “They want to share ideas. They want to become part of not only a social system, but the academic system, too.”
As for what those activities might entail, the alumni association team welcomes ideas and questions from alumni.
“We are a young business school,” says Adya. “This is great timing for us to say [to alumni], ‘This is where you started, this is where we are today, and this is where we’d like to be. How can we pull the right activities together that might be rewarding experiences for alumni and students?’”
To share your insights or learn more, visit the RSBC Alumni Association homepage.
