TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Fellowship Recipients - 2010

This fellowship is made possible by TD Insurance Meloche Monnex.

Biographical notes on the recipients of the 2010 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Fellowships in Advancement

Maude N. Béland
Université de Québec à Montréal

Proven media relations skills, a knack for stewardship and adeptness in the world of social media have already brought Maude Béland to the attention of several advancement departments at the Université du Québec à Montréal. As a consultant on media relations and a communications aide during 2008-09, Maude enlisted her many talents and her enthusiasm in support of the UQAM Foundation, Communications Service, Division of Media Relations and Special Events, and the UQAM Gallery. She was instrumental in the success of special activities related to UQAM’s 40th anniversary. 

Now, as a 2010-11 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Fellow, Maude will play a key role in reinforcing the engagement of students and alumni with UQAM. She will support the UQAM Annual Campaign and UQAM Foundation; connect with “lost” alumni; highlight student and alumni achievements through both traditional and social media; build a sense of belonging among students; and support events such as Convocations, Open House Days and UQAM’s participation in the Montreal in Lights Festival. 

A 2009 UQAM graduate with a Bachelor’s degree in Communications - Public Relations, Maude became involved in advancement at UQAM as a media relations aide, press analyst and organizer of special events. Soon her grasp of the central role advancement plays in promoting Canadian education became evident. 

Maude has won high praise from the President of UQAM, Director of the Office of UQAM Alumni and the Director of Communications Service for her skill in stewarding students, professors, alumni, and donors to the UQAM Foundation. “Maude has shown herself to be a rare pearl, a very engaged person,” wrote Francine Jacques, Director of the Division of Media Relations and Special Events. “Through her effective work, enthusiasm and her aptitude for delivering the goods, Maude Béland would be an excellent candidate to accompany us in our solicitation efforts among our young audiences.” 

In her application to be a TDIMM Fellow, Maude wrote: “I am convinced of the primordial role that colleges and universities play in the advancement of our society. The institutional advancement services . . . are essential tools for the good functioning of Canada’s colleges and universities.”

During her term as a TDIMM Fellow, starting in June 2010, Maude will help craft a communications plan that foresees not only the development of new information tools, but also experimentation with new means of communication used today by students and the younger alumni generations: social media, including Twitter and Facebook.

“Maude is very much at ease in this universe,” wrote Diane Veilleux, Executive Director of the UQAM Foundation, “and our Foundation is at a crossroads in modernizing its practices. The ultimate goal: to reinforce the engagement of our students and alumni with UQAM, so that together, we can support the very development of the University that extends outward in human sciences, arts and sciences.”

Michael Duncan
University of British Columbia

Rare is the university graduate who has overseen the equivalent of a big business, with its myriad of logistical, budgetary, human resources and diplomatic challenges. Michael Duncan, who graduated from the University of British Columbia in May 2010 with a General Science degree (Mathematics and Biology specialty), can boast such experience.

As President of the Alma Mater Society at UBC, Michael represented 45,000 students; oversaw the management of a 75-person full time and 700-person part-time staff; managed a 40-person Board; helped set and manage a $27 million budget; and liaised with and lobbied university, provincial and federal government officials. Most notably, he accomplished a successful student referendum that led to the largest monetary donation to UBC in its history. He then negotiated a very positive MOU with the University to construct a new Student Union Building.

As well as being an avid swimmer, swimming instructor and Lifeguard, Michael played a wide range of volunteer roles. He served as Student Governor on the UBC Board of Governors, Student Representative on the University Athletic Committee, and was President of the Science Undergraduate Society. He was a key leader in developing the Abdul Ladha Science Student Centre, which opened under his tenure.

Michael Duncan will put his extensive management and volunteer experience to work for his alma mater as a 2010-11 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Fellow. He will assist the Director of Alumni Services with management of the Alumni Centre project in all aspects, including communicating with key stakeholders, drafting documents and project tools, and identifying community partnerships. Michael’s contributions to government relations, alumni programming and facilities, development of a pilot project in the Okanagan, and business services and partnerships will support three core areas of advancement at UBC.

“Michael Duncan has been a committed student leader over the past few years at UBC, and advanced the needs of the institution while serving his constituents with thoughtfulness and poise,” wrote Mark C. Sollis, Director, Alumni Services at UBC. “In roles as student president, UBC Board member and Alumni Association Board member, Mr. Duncan impressed me with his understanding of the critical importance of advancing UBC with external stakeholders and his boundless energy for supporting enterprises in which he believes.”

Wrote Michael Duncan in his application: “Advancement departments have the opportunity to provide a vision for Canadians to value and appreciate the post-secondary education system. For example: take UBC and its over 200,000 alumni. Imagine if they all spoke positively about the university to their friends. We could have millions of Canadians with a better understanding and increased value of the post secondary education system. UBC is only one school. Imagine a whole nation with engaged alumni. I want to ensure that every student who leaves UBC can feel the pride that I do and that they can feel at home when they come back to UBC.”

Erica Lind
University of Lethbridge

“Taking the ball and running with it” describes how Erica Lind approached the huge task of establishing and managing a pilot project, student-run call centre in fall 2009. It had been years since the University of Lethbridge had a program for alumni fundraising by phone. So Erica – who graduated from U of L in May 2010 with a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology – was breaking new ground and setting benchmarks.

With no space for a call centre on campus, the facility was set up offsite, using paper call sheets and ordinary telephones. Erica successfully instituted processes, and crafted a training manual including scripts for relationship-building and solicitation. She hired a shift supervisor and several student callers, mentoring and coaching students. She prepared data, statistics and reports to monitor the progress of the campaign.

So successful was the project that Erica was offered a second co-op placement to enhance the call centre. “She has taken true ownership of the program and has shown initiative and intuition in evolving the program,” wrote Kathy MacFarlane, CFRE, Manager of Development Programs at U of L. “Her strengths shine especially in her ability to mentor and lead others.“

Also an accomplished writer, Erica has won a number of awards for her skills, including the Isabel Miller Provincial Writing Award and the Get Writing! National Writing Award. Erica Lind will find ample opportunities to exercise and expand her many talents as a 2010-11 TD Insurance Meloche Monnex Fellow at the University of Lethbridge. An ambitious and wide-ranging Fellowship program will see Erica working in Development, Advancement Services, Alumni Relations and Communications on projects that include:

• The fall 2010 alumni direct mail campaign
• Strategies for electronic communication such as e-mail and social networking
• Exploring ways to engage young alumni with a new university President, whose term will begin on July 1, 2010
• Planning and executing call centre campaigns (Fall 2010 and Spring 2011)
• Writing for various communication media, both internal and external
• Creating content for the advancement portion of the U of L website
• Assistance in planning campus events
• Planning and executing an internal campaign (faculty/staff/alumni/employees)
• Participation in the planning phase of a multi-million dollar fundraising campaign

Wrote Erica in her TDIMM Fellowship application: “Actively keeping students informed of the issues at hand and the realities of the economic situation will build trust between universities and their students. Maintaining and enhancing connections with alumni is one of the most important ways Advancement can ensure the continued growth and success of universities.”