Lisa Pratt, Director of UMD’s Office of Alumni Relations, has done an outstanding job advancing the participation and engagement of our alumni over the past several years. Lisa is now starting a new chapter in her life and will be retiring from UMD on August 21 in order to spend more time with her three daughters and her grandchildren, who live in the Twin Cities area. A UMD graduate, Lisa joined the Alumni Office in July of 2004 and has proudly served as director for the past three years.
Under her leadership, she increased alumni participation across generations and established the Young Alumni group. She partnered with the collegiate units on alumni initiatives, and she helped establish the Hospitality Tent at the home football games. Under her guidance, revenue and participation increased through a variety of initiatives, from an Alumni Awards Card to enhanced travel opportunities. She also led the increase in donations for the Alumni Association scholarship, which is awarded to the children and grandchildren of UMD alumni. This included successfully spearheading the Division II Liberty Mutual Coach of the Year campaign on campus, with UMD football coaches Curt Wiese and Bob Nielson winning in 2014 and in 2010. This national honor included $50,000 each year to local charities, as well as $20,000 for alumni programming and scholarship support.
Although I hate to see Lisa leave UMD, I fully support her decision to spend more time with her family. We will miss her outstanding contributions in serving UMD’s 70,000 alumni, but she will be a Bulldog forever. We will begin immediately preparing for the search for a new alumni director, and Tricia Bunten, UMD’s Chief Development Officer, will chair the search. Please join me in thanking Lisa for all she has done for UMD.
Sincerely,
Lendley C. Black
Chancellor
Chancellor's Office
University of Minnesota Duluth
515 Darland Administration Building
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
218.726.7106
218.726.6535 (fax)
