Hello everyone,
I’m delighted to have joined RMIT as Vice-President Engagement, and to be writing to you as one of RMIT’s most important communities.
The Engagement portfolio plays a central role in the University’s future, bringing together communications and marketing, student recruitment, fundraising to support students and research, and engagement with our alumni, philanthropic and industry partners.
I have spent much of my career working in the tertiary education sector, both as practitioner and strategic adviser (read more here) and I’ve long admired RMIT. It’s a special place with an ambitious agenda that genuinely puts service to our communities at the heart of what we do.
One of RMIT’s aspirations – and a key focus for me – is to strengthen how we engage with our communities. That community is large and diverse, encompassing government, industry, students, staff, delivery partners, donors, and importantly, our alumni. As leaders and ambassadors, alumni are stewards of RMIT’s reputation and success. With more than 500,000 alumni around the world, there is a significant opportunity to deepen our partnership, learn from your experience, and co-create value for alumni that also amplifies RMIT’s impact.
An important step in this work is the establishment of an Advancement function, designed to take a whole-of-institution approach to alumni engagement and philanthropy. I’m thrilled that Joanna Watts has joined the team as RMIT’s inaugural Chief Advancement Officer.
At RMIT, Advancement is about the initiatives and activities that advance RMIT’s mission – “to empower people and communities to adapt and thrive across generations with education, research and civic engagement that are applied, inclusive and impactful”. Our focus will be on creating meaningful programs and opportunities that foster connection, invite participation, and enable support for students and research in ways that are clear, tangible, and visibly impactful.
You’ll hear more from Joanna along the way, and we are both eager to involve you as this approach takes shape. Your insights, experience and perspectives will be invaluable as we refine how RMIT engages with its alumni and broader community.
I am genuinely excited about the opportunity to help shape the future of engagement at RMIT – strengthening relationships, unlocking shared value and deepening our collective impact.
Best wishes,
Michelle King
VP Engagement
