Alumni association rebrands as “Tower and Crescent,” increases recruitment

Mark Winokur, Staff Reporter|March 21, 2018

Kabir Shah | Staff Photographer

The Bea Field Alumni House resides on Willow St. and is the center for Tulane alumni events.

Over the past summer, members of the Student Ambassadors Association, an organization dedicated to helping connect Tulane students with alumni, brainstormed ways to revitalize and improve their club. This process resulted in Tower and Crescent, a rebrand of the same organization that seeks to provide students on campus with opportunities to network with alumni.

The organization’s purpose is to educate students about the importance of alumni support, engage students in activities to network with alumni and excite students about maintaining their connections with Tulane after graduating.

According to Madison Hurwitz, a staff member at the Office of Alumni Relations for Tower and Crescent, the mission of the organization did not change with its transition from the Student Ambassadors Association. Instead, the transition’s focus was primarily to modify the internal structures within the organization and rebrand the club.

Members of the organization expressed concerns that the Student Ambassadors Association lacked an effective brand identity, which negatively affected the organization’s recruitment.

“We would be at the student activities expo, and it would say Student Alumni Ambassadors,” Hurwitz said. “There was a little bit of a disconnect because students would see the word alumni and not really understand that it was a club for them, and so I think that was a little bit of a barrier for recruitment.”

The name Tower and Crescent originates from Tulane’s historic seal, which includes a tower and a crescent in its logo. The organization changed its name to Tower and Crescent because members believed it better reflected the club’s mission and its values.

“Part of it is revitalizing old traditions from Tulane’s history and past, like connecting Tulanians with the past and the present and the future,” Hurwitz said. “We thought it would be really cool to have the name of the club rooted in a tradition.”

Additionally, in this transition, the organization restructured its leadership positions from a committee membership system to a point system. In the point system, students have a greater ability to determine their leadership roles with Tower and Crescent to better fit their interests and strengths. The purpose of this system is to allow its members to engage with the organization in wider variety of ways.

Tower and Crescent offers a wide variety of programs for students to interact with alumni, such as university events where students can serve as ambassadors. For example, the organization conducts a program called Dinner with Twelve Tulanians, where local alumni host dinner parties at their homes for students to attend.

Meredith Galanti is an active member of Tower and Crescent who joined the organization last year under its previous branding as the Student Alumni Association. Galanti said she believes the rebranding of the organization has allowed it to increase its membership and grow further toward achieving its mission.

“Last year they were just looking for anyone who wanted to join and be active, but this year there was such a high demand for it that we actually had an application process,” Galanti said. “It really brings in different student leaders from all across campus from different involvements and different grades.”

According to Hurwitz, Tower and Crescent’s programs serve as valuable opportunities for students to connect themselves with the broader network of Tulane alumni.

“I think it is really important for students to understand that they’re part of a family, and it’s a family for life,” Hurwtiz said. “That’s one of the things that when you come to Tulane you get, so you might as well take advantage and capitalize on this global network.”

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