Greetings IUAA volunteers.

We love our redesigned IU Alumni Magazine. But, we were happy to find out that alumni love it too! Last month, we asked a panel of IU alumni for feedback on the magazine. We wanted you to know how it fared (and how we’re responding).

Some of the findings below, hot off the press, include responses from 753 alumni panelists:

• Overall, the print mag works. It has a high recall rate (76%). The most common descriptors of the magazine are “attractive,” “professional,” and “attention grabbing.”
• Alumni perceive the quality of writing to be strong. This was as true for the latest Summer 2013 issue as for the entire year’s issues!
• Some mag sections fulfill their intended mission (pride, value, or connection) more than others. For example, “Exchange” inspires the greatest pride (73%). Alumni want to see or read more content like the stories in “Original.”
• The most appealing cover in the last 12 months featured Hoosier basketball. The five prominent “IU faces” cover was a distant second, but the remaining covers were close behind.
• Finally, our alumni are pretty vocal about a preference for print and awareness of the online version remains low. To cover the bases for you, we still do both.

The mag staff is continuing to tap the open-ended comments from the survey, and to decide our next steps. We strive to continue to improve. We value your feedback, let us know what you think. And, please remind your fellow alumni that their feedback matters — and to keep it coming!

Mike Wright, Editor, Indiana University Alumni Magazine