Alumni and giving · For alumni relations and advancement directors
An alumni engagement display your graduates will want to share
Alumni stay close to a school through its stories. Build a display with class pages, old photos and news from graduates, open it in the lobby, and send the same web address to alumni wherever they live.
No account needed to start. Free to use. No payment details required.
What is an alumni engagement display?
An alumni engagement display gives graduates something of their own to look at and add to, such as class pages, old photos and alumni news, usually in an alumni office, lobby or reunion space. HistoryShowcase runs the same display on the lobby touchscreen and at its own web address, so graduates far from campus can browse their class pages in a web browser.
Updated
- Made for
- Alumni relations and advancement directors
- Where schools put it
- Alumni office or lounge, Reunion weekend registration, Alumni emails and newsletters
- Layouts
- Photo gallery, Timeline, Portrait gallery
- Visitors can filter by
- Decade, Year
- Cost
- Free to use. No payment details required.
Alumni drift when there’s nothing new to see.
Most alumni hear from their school a few times a year, often when a giving appeal arrives. In between, there is little that feels like theirs: no place to see their class, the teachers they remember or what classmates have been doing. The photos they would love to see sit in boxes in the archive or on an old drive in the alumni office.
An alumni engagement display gives graduates something to look at and something to add to. Class pages hold yearbook and reunion photos, an alumni news collection shares what graduates have been up to, and a then-and-now gallery shows how campus has changed. It runs in the lobby for visitors and has its own web address, so a graduate across the country can find their class in a browser and send the link to old friends.
How does an alumni engagement display compare with a printed alumni newsletter?
| What matters | Printed alumni newsletter | HistoryShowcase |
|---|---|---|
| How often it changes | A few issues a year | Whenever your office publishes new stories |
| Old photos | A few per issue | Up to 100 photos in each story |
| Finding your own class | Flip to class notes | Tap your class year or filter by decade |
| Volunteers helping | Send notes to the editor | Class agents added as editors by email |
| Keeping past content | Back issues in a file drawer | Everything stays on the site, organized by class |
What keeps alumni coming back to the display
A page for every class
Class photos, yearbook pages, reunion pictures and the class’s own traditions, gathered under each graduation year.
Alumni news
New jobs, weddings, books, retirements and other news alumni send in, reviewed by your office before it is published.
Teachers they remember
Profiles of longtime faculty with old classroom photos, the ones alumni ask about at every reunion.
Then and now
The same corners of campus decades apart, from the old cafeteria to the new science wing.
Mystery photos
Unlabeled photos from the archive, posted so alumni who recognize someone can write in and help name them.
Alumni back on campus
Graduates who came back to speak, coach or volunteer this year, with photos from the visit.
How to set up an alumni engagement display
Lead with class years, since that is where a graduate looks first. Everything else can grow around them.
Your siteAlumni
- Class pagesPhoto gallery
One sub-collection per class year, with yearbook pages and reunion photos.
- Alumni newsTimeline
News in date order, each item with a photo.
- Teachers we rememberPortrait gallery
Longtime teachers and staff, each with memories alumni shared.
- Then and nowPhoto gallery
Pairs of old and new campus photos.
Visitors can narrow it by
- Decade
- Year
How do you set up an alumni engagement display?
Pick the first classes to feature
Start with the classes holding reunions this year, and add their yearbook pages and old photos first.
Invite class agents as editors
Add class agents or volunteers by email as editors, so they can gather news and photos for their own class.
Publish and send the link
Review their drafts, publish, and send the published site’s web address to each class before reunion weekend.
Where should an alumni engagement display go?
- Alumni office or loungeVisiting graduates browse their class while they wait.
- Reunion weekend registrationClassmates gather around the screen to find themselves in old photos.
- Alumni emails and newslettersLink to the published site so graduates far from campus can visit in a browser.
Alumni engagement display questions
Can alumni send in their own news and photos?
Alumni send them to your office by email or a form you already use, and your team adds them. You can also add trusted volunteers as editors. Everything is reviewed in a private draft before it is published.
Can alumni see it without coming to campus?
Yes. The published site has its own web address, so anyone with the link can open it in a web browser and browse the same class pages as the lobby screen.
We have thousands of old photos. Where do we start?
Start small. Pick the classes with reunions this year, add a few dozen photos to each class page and grow from there. Each story can hold up to 100 photos.
Can an AI assistant help us build it?
Yes. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini Enterprise or Microsoft Copilot Studio can connect to your site once you sign in and approve it. Publishing access stays off unless you grant it.
Related ideas
Give your alumni a place to come back to
Free to use. No payment details required.
