The Marquette University Alumni Association (MUAA) Director is elected to a two-year term, with the possibility of a second two-year term. The director serves as an advisor to the university and advocates for alumni interests. An MUAA Director also is expected to promote Marquette University and its alumni association in a manner consistent with the mission and goals of the university.

Responsibilities include:

• Serve as an advocate and ambassador for Marquette University, working to increase the university’s visibility and reputation among alumni, prospective students and their families, business and industry, and the wider community.
• Advise the university as a representative of the alumni voice. Evaluate and offer feedback and perspective to Alumni Engagement staff on programs and services offered to alumni.
• Lead by example and make an annual Presidents Society-level gift ($2,500 or more; less for young alumni depending on graduating year) in support of university priorities or other giving areas that are personally meaningful.
• Help secure financial support for the university (transformational gifts, annual gifts, sponsorships, gifts-in-kind) by working closely with University Advancement staff.
• Facilitate connections with influencers who can help advance the mission and goals of Marquette University, advocating for the university’s strategic projects and causes in collaboration with University Advancement staff.
• Attend and actively engage in MUAA National Board meetings (three per year) and assigned committee meetings.
• Attend local and/or regional Alumni Association events as an enthused and engaged alumnus(a) who encourages deep connection with the university among fellow alumni.

The Marquette University Alumni Association has existed formally since 1893. For most of the time since, the National Board of Directors has guided the MUAA activities. Naturally, the organization and shape of the board has evolved over time, but it has consistently involved alumni volunteers dedicated to giving back to a university that made them who they are, and gave them the knowledge and talents to shape their and the greater world. In September 2009, the board revisited and restated its role, and articulated its directors’ job responsibilities (job description below).

Focus of MUAA National Board directors
The job of our directors is to focus at the 10,000 foot level to keep sight of the broader reach of MUAA programs and services. And while our directors’ affiliation with particular college or interest-based alumni boards or regions of the country makes up part of who they are and contributes to their perspective, we don’t want directors to restrict their thinking to what things mean to only a segment of the alumni community. We want board directors to focus on high-level thinking, and direct their attention to issues that reach across all segments.

Roles of MUAA National Board directors

• Advisor: The MUAA National Board of Directors is an advisory body. Its long history has seen many roles come and go, but its purpose has never shifted off the foundation that alumni advice and input is crucial to our success in engaging our alumni. It is a corps of talented, dedicated stakeholders to help us make our efforts the most targeted, the most effective, they can be. Through their own academic experience and professional expertise, our directors can make our MUAA plans better. Their feedback is actively sought.
• Advocate: Every great organization needs leaders and champions. Marquette deeply values the National Board of Directors’ leadership contributions and actively seeks their advocacy and support. 
• Ambassador: When volunteers step up to advocate for MU, or speak on behalf of a university program, they do what staff cannot. We count on our directors to be door openers, in their local communities and their professional circles, and with their friends and others. When Marquette is able to enlist volunteers onto the host committee for a CIRCLES event, for instance, we are attracting more people, and showing the importance alumni have in the Marquette community. Volunteers are opening doors for Marquette. And in this way, volunteers bring a dimension to our work that gives Marquette a distinct advantage.
• Visionary: While together we can devise and execute plans to engage our alumni, directors can and should be drawing on their expertise to guide us into the future, helping us always to be ahead of the curve, providing us a competitive advantage over all the other organizations and causes that vie for our constituents’ attention.
• Alumni conscience: A key role is keeping us all honest and accountable to the purpose, guiding principles, goals, and the agreed-upon strategic initiatives. Large boards can drift off target of what is most important. As our conscience, this group – each individual director – is charged with keeping us on target.