Dear Bren School Alumni: 

I can't believe I have been with the Bren School for almost 20 years and that the school itself just passed its 20th anniversary. For how fast time has gone and how much I have enjoyed my work, it seems like it has only been half that many years. Through all the years, I have never reached out to the broader alumni community for financial support for the Career Development/Alumni Relations Program. I have always wanted to separate our program from development. However, with the need to provide more useful alumni resources combined with a significant reduction of state funds to UCSB (1980-60% state-funded, 2005-33%, and now only 15% state-funded), I now see the need to reach out to all of you for help.

As you have probably seen from John Onderdonk's Bren Alumni Advisory Council message, creating a more user-friendly and robust Bren School online network is a top priority. If we are going to capitalize on the incredible network of talented Bren graduates and students and stay ahead of the curve, we need to make the online network a go-to resource for all of you. We believe it will be one of the best resources for your career.

We are currently pursuing a platform called Bren Connect that would provide all of you with more advanced online network capabilities, including LinkedIn connection, chat features, more user-friendly and comprehensive search functions, and mobile device compatibility. The new system will allow all of you to tap into the network in a more efficient and productive way. The students, alumni, staff, and faculty have relied on my knowledge through the years. But, as the Bren community has grown, it is no longer feasible for us to function this way. As my team members say, we need to get all this information out of my head and out to all of you.


I know many of you are at a stage in your career and/or personal life where you might not be able to make a large contribution; however, for the Career Development/Alumni Relations Program, any amount is significant and greatly appreciated. If we were to get $25 to $50 (or more) from each of you, the impact would be huge and would go a long way toward providing us with the resources we need to reach our goal. To get things started, I will be making a personal contribution of $250 to support Bren Connect--together, we will be able to use this platform to harness the strength of the Bren community for generations to come.

We (Kristi, Monica, Rebecca, and I) are more committed than ever to keeping the Bren School Career Development/Alumni Relations Program functioning at a high level. Anything you can do to help us develop an advanced network is very much appreciated. Our goal is to raise $32,000 by June 30 for this endeavor. With your help, we think we can do it.

Thank you for all your help and support through the years!  You have all made my job so enjoyable, and it is so much fun to follow your careers and see the positive impact each of you is having on the world. Keep up the great work, and thank you so much for your support!

Sincerely,

Dave Parker

Director, Bren School Career Development and Alumni Relations Program