If you spend your career in higher education, one of the things you’ll likely have a chance to help celebrate a milestone anniversary.
Anniversaries are a lot of work to plan and execute. However, I find they’re some of the most rewarding projects because they allow you to celebrate the role an institution plays in the lives of its alumni, donors, community members, and students.
The events are the visible part of the work. The real opportunity is using the anniversary to remind people why the institution matters and why its next chapter matters just as much.
Framing
Framing the anniversary correctly is important to help showcase the value of the institution. The framing I think works best is: past. present. future. This is a common way to frame anniversaries and it works because it provides a clear framework for the scope of the anniversary.
Using this model, if an event doesn’t fit one of these buckets, it should be reconsidered. It also helps the planning team to make sure there’s a nice balance of events that look backward but also look forward, which is helpful in managing expectations of the entire campus and local community.
Past
A portion of any anniversary should look back at all that’s been accomplished and the people who helped make it happen. It’s important to honor the early leaders but also those key players throughout the institution’s history. Some common ways to look back include:
- A university history website
- Museum exhibits about university history
- Profiles of key individuals in the university’s history
All of these offer an opportunity to pay homage to the people and moments that helped make the institution what it is.
Another way to celebrate the past is to bring back lost traditions. At most institutions, things can get lost to time. What are the things that were once a part of the institution and faded over time? Some possibilities could include revenging a homecoming tradition, a special event, or reopening a space. At UA Little Rock, we are reopening a planetarium on our campus that has been closed for about 20 years.
Present
During a milestone anniversary, it is also important to honor the present. One of the ways I like to do this is to elevate existing traditions during the anniversary year. Often, there is pressure to create new events, but elevating existing ones helps manage planning, capacity, and budgets because people are already familiar with them and how they’re organized.
Possible ways to enhance existing events include:
- Elevating a speaker series with a higher-profile speaker
- Adding support to a student expo
- Enhancing Homecoming and Welcome Week with additional giveaways
In addition to elevating existing traditions, it is important to have a couple of anniversary-specific events. These are events that highlight the anniversary or put something in place for future generations to experience. Some possibilities include a service project that supports the community, an alumni or community celebration, or special anniversary regalia for professors and students.
Future
Finally, it’s important to use the anniversary to think about how the university might position itself in the future. To me, this is the hardest because envisioning can be challenging, but it’s also important for our institution to always be evolving. A few activities for looking forward could include:
- Creating a time capsule for the next generation
- Launching a new program, research effort, or partnership
- Inviting the community to help imagine the university’s future
This one also creates the opportunity to have fun. During a UA Little Rock anniversary planning meeting, I asked each planning group to imagine what the university might look like in the next 100 years. The groups brainstormed living on mars, virtual reality-style learning, and huge growth for the university. While several laughs were shared during reporting, the exercise also created space to begin thinking what legacy the institution wants to have in the future. After doing this exercised, several on the planning team are working to replicate it throughout the year.
Celebration Success
One closing thought is that every anniversary will look different. As you plan, build events and approaches that align with your audience. Don’t feel pressured to do a grandiose event if that doesn’t match your community. Additionally, many institutions start or end campaigns around anniversaries, so it is important to leave space for those moments.
However the final preparations end up, it’s important to savor the moment. After all, there’s a good chance we may not be around to plan the next significant milestone.