Troy, N.Y. - Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute has announced that Jeffrey M. Schanz, Ph.D., assistant vice president for alumni relations, has been invited to participate in a panel discussion on the “Future of Alumni Relations – Opportunities and Threats” at the Graduway 2015 Global Leaders Summit (GLS).

The 2015 GLS, to be held at the University of Oxford (UK) in November, will bring together senior academic and corporate leaders from institutions around the world to discuss best practices in, and the future of, alumni relations. Delegates will represent 22 countries including the U.S., U.K., Canada, Spain, France, Colombia, Belgium, Germany, Netherlands, Turkey, Israel, Italy, South Africa, and Australia.

Schanz is one of only nine alumni relations professionals to be featured in the program. Representatives of Brown University, Columbia University, IE, INSEAD, Johns Hopkins University, Stanford University, Tulane University, and Oxford University also will be making presentations. The program will also include presentations by corporate experts on alumni relations from McKinsey & Co., Goldman Sachs, Blackbaud, LinkedIn, Grenzebach Glier, and Graduway.

In addition to serving as assistant vice president in the Division of Institute Advancement at Rensselaer, Schanz serves as executive director of the Rensselaer Alumni Association (RAA) Board of Trustees. He has served in academe for 20 years, working closely with university leadership, alumni volunteers, and other constituencies to establish long-term and lifelong relationships for the betterment of higher education. During his tenure, advancement and alumni relations programs at Rensselaer have been honored nationally and regionally with nearly 30 awards and honors for best practices.

Over the past 15 years at Rensselaer, he has served as one of the Institute’s primary spokespersons to alumni and alumnae around the world. Schanz has established philanthropic and engagement activities for development and alumni relations with the goal of helping Rensselaer to meet the aggressive goals of The Rensselaer Plan and The Rensselaer Plan 2024 under the leadership of President Shirley Ann Jackson.

Contact: Allison Newman

Phone: 518.276.8432

Email: newmaa3@rpi.edu