Transcript for: Staff profiles: Vivianne Robinson

Transcript for: Staff profiles: Vivianne Robinson

[Speaker is Vivianne Robinson, Director of human resources, recruitment and training, University Advancement]

Robinson: Actually I’ve been with the university for 26 years; I started working at Michigan State directly out of college. I’ve been with University Advancement for three years as the Director of human resources, recruitment and training. Essentially in that role I’m responsible for the recruitment and screening processes of all applicants for any positions within University Advancement that being University Development, the MSU Alumni Association, and Advancement Services.

The challenges are the economy, you know were finding that the fundraisers are saying it’s a little bit more difficult to get their foot in the door to have a conversation with donors however, we are told that donors are still very passionate about contributing in some way to advance what makes a difference for them in terms of their contributions to Michigan State University. So while fundraisers are still able to secure contributions it is a little bit more difficult in today’s  economy as everyone is holding on a little bit tighter to their resources.

The rewarding part of this is assisting the staff, directors and supervisors and identifying ideal employees who are a good fit and who are passionate about advancing the work of the university. We are charged with fundraising essentially, ‘friend-raising’ as we call it, to bring product support to the university to help sustain the university and so in that way we’re really making a difference to the overall goals of Michigan State University.

[Produced by Angela Minicuci. Michigan State University. University Relations. Media Communications. 2009.]