For Alumni and Donors
Alumni care about the well-being of their colleges and universities. Giving several billion every year to their alma maters, they are the largest private source of support for higher education. Immune from the pressures of academic politics, they are free to speak up for fundamental academic values. ACTA is working to provide opportunities for alumni to effect positive reform.
Public Awareness Campaign
Public information and discussion of critical issues in higher education are essential to seeking solutions.
ACTA provides:
- A national voice for alumni—challenging policies and practices that threaten academic freedom and excellence wherever they occur in higher education.
- Timely information—through our quarterly newsletter, Inside Academe, media appearances, press releases, and published reports—keeping alumni informed about what is really happening on campus.
ATHENA Roundtable
ATHENA stands for Alumni and Trustees for Higher Education Accountability. Alumni, trustees, and education leaders gather annually at the ATHENA Roundtable to discuss critical issues facing higher education.
Each year, the Roundtable culminates in the presentation of The Philip Merrill Award for Outstanding Contributions to Liberal Arts Education. The award honors individuals that advance liberal arts education, core curricula, and the teaching of Western civilization and American history.
Alumni Groups
ACTA believes that, for too long, constituencies such as alumni have been expected to remain outside the walls of the ivory tower. There are those inside the academy who studiously believe they should have absolute autonomy. For them, the role of trustees, alumni, and taxpayers is to provide support—period.
But current conditions in the academy urgently call for outside scrutiny.
The American Council of Trustees and Alumni mobilizes thoughtful alumni and trustees on behalf of rigorous general education, good teaching, high standards, low tuition, and accountability. We believe that alumni have a vital role to play in helping to ensure that their alma maters remain true to their highest ideals and distinct character.
Most institutions—and their internal constituencies—need checks and balances and higher education is no exception. That is why ACTA is dedicated to articulating the concerns of alumni who believe that certain trends in the academy threaten its future stature.
In order to address many challenges on the modern campus, ACTA helps develop and coordinate alumni groups to raise key issues and bring outside pressure on trustees to address such concerns as academic excellence, institutional traditions, and accountability.
Read here how ACTA’s insider-outside approach has already met with demonstrated success at many colleges.
Fund for Academic Renewal (FAR)
FAR provides alumni with assistance on how to target their giving to excellent academic programs that exemplify the highest academic standards, an unpoliticized approach to education, a commitment to the study of the greatest achievements of human civilization and a critical appreciation of the heritage and principles of a free society.
FAR offers an array of choices for giving that fit donors' varying financial situations and educational goals. It is divided into multiple sub-accounts: a general account; accounts for specific institutions or for specific educational purposes; and restricted accounts. The ACTA board approves grants in furtherance of the purpose of ACTA.
The Intelligent Donor's Guide to College Giving
Alumni are the largest private source of financial support for higher education, giving billions of dollars each year. To transform higher education, it is imperative that alumni/donors target their giving to programs that maintain high standards of excellence and intellectual integrity. They have a responsibility to be good stewards of their gifts.
Alumni who support the general operating funds too often underwrite the unacceptable status quo, rather than supporting and promoting rigorous academic programs and alternative viewpoints on campus.
The Donor's Guide provides step-by-step instructions for donors on how to target their giving, with profiles of successful gifts. Based on the principle that, "It's your money—you get to decide how to use it," it encourages donors to decide what college activities they value most and direct their funds to those activities.
Alumni and Donor Resources
Please see ACTA Publications for reports on issues of academic excellence, academic freedom, and accountability, as well as specific guides for alumni and donors.
Check out ACTA's blog ACTA's Must-Reads featuring new and topical articles of interest.