In the spring 2022 issue of the Punahou Bulletin, the Office of Alumni Relations and the Punahou Alumni Association shared the results of a comprehensive survey of more than 18,000 alumni. It was the first time in 16 years – not since 2006 – that the School had conducted a comparable survey.

The alumni office received nearly 2,300 completed or partially completed surveys with responses spanning gender, generations and geography. Alumni offered both praise and constructive feedback. 

We heard you – and put together a strategic plan of action based on the responses. “We consciously tailored our plan around the needs of our Alumni,” said Director of Alumni Relations Doug Rigg ’84. “There is no question that we leaned heavily on their feedback throughout this process – and it is reflected in the strategy ahead.”

Some of our initiatives are already coming to fruition. A new platform to connect alumni online, Ka ‘Ohana Punahou, launched in the spring. Thousands of alumni have signed on and are browsing the alumni directory and connecting over common interests. Regional alumni chapters, like Punahou Alumni Association New York (PAANY), have hosted small networking events to bring together leaders in popular industries to share their stories. College-aged alumni offered first-hand advice to Academy students at College Previews this past December. As the alumni office activates its strategic plan over the next four years, you will see many more exciting opportunities to leverage your Punahou experience for a lifetime.

Pivoting from a survey to a strategic plan was a collaborative process that involved working groups of alumni volunteers, staff and school leadership. Together, we authored five ambitious, long-range goals that will be implemented over the next four years and will serve as our roadmap for alumni engagement.

The goals focus on celebrating connections to the School and its people, targeting communications, building a shared culture of philanthropy and volunteerism, providing opportunities for mentorship of future and young alumni, and supporting alumni volunteers and staff. While it has always been the goal of the Office of Alumni Relations and Punahou Alumni Association to reach, connect and engage alumni, this plan allows us to better meet the needs of our larger, more diverse alumni community of contactable people. 

“We hope you will see yourself in this plan,” said Rigg. “As we strategize more creative new ways to get involved and to carry your Punahou experience with you for life, we invite you to participate in ways that are most meaningful to you.”