Dear panelists:

It’s another quiet and humid summer in Bloomington. Wherever you happen to be, we hope you’re enjoying the perfect temps for you.

When we created the IU Panel in 2012, it was the first custom survey panel in higher education. We launched our pilot project for six months, not knowing if we’d see sustained interest from 50 or 500 alumni and friends.

Since then, we’ve maintained a healthy panel of about 1K alumni and friends. Our panel’s success is, in large part, due to your dedication. Thank you for being so thoughtful, helpful, responsive, and all-around awesome!

Response rates have been as high as 89%. We’ve covered topics ranging from IU Bicentennial programs to membership models and communication preferences. We’ve won an industry award for the best collaborative project across an institution, and every year we hear from a handful of other college administrators wanting to replicate IU’s panel success. We’ve made smarter decisions based upon your input.

Now the time has come for me to move on and pass the torch. I’m leaving IU Marketing Research in early September. You’ll be in good hands with Joanna Landrum. She has been my partner and colleague since our panel’s beginning, so nothing will change much for you. Every email invitation will still include “IU PANEL” in the subject line. You’ll simply be hearing from her going forward.

Know that I have relished my role in representing your voice to units and administrators. Keep IU strong with your opinions and suggestions! And please, be good to Joanna as she shepherds you through your next round of surveys.

Go IU!

Angela Zahn Tharp, BA’95, MA’00
Research Director