Ed posted a comment on the Bill Gates post that I think deserves more attention than what is usually given to comments; hence this plug. Have a read.

Bill Gates was on campus today, so I went to his speech about “Software, Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Giving Back.”

It was decent. He played a longer cut of his hilarious “last day at Microsoft” video from CES 2008. Better yet, he didn’t use any PowerPoint slides!

The novice speaker will attempt to answer the actual question during audience Q&A. The expert speaker will simply use the question as a starting point to talk about some other topic with which they have greater comfort; a clear answer to the original question is not required. Bill was a professional: he didn’t give one straight answer during the Q&A part of the presentation.

I’m convinced that one of the hardest things to do in the world is to ask for money. Of course, the ability to solicit funds is a very useful skill, and improved skill comes only through study and practice. That’s part of the reason why I became a “class agent” for Rose-Hulman upon my graduation in 2004.

As a class agent, it’s my job to solicit donations from my peers on behalf of Rose. Easier said than done. If there’s one thing that’s harder than asking for money, it’s asking friends for money.

But enough about that. What’s really surprised me has been the decline in the alumni donation rate over the past few years. Once at about 50%, it has shurnk to only 29%. On a similar note, the much-maligned “senior dollar giveback” thing has seen reduced participation, from about 84% to about 70%. I’ve plotted this below for your evaluation. (I should note that while the alumni participation data was obtained directly, the dollar giveback data was inferred from individual class participation rates. Also, something strange happened to the 2006 data point, so I have chosen not to plot it.)

What is the cause of this decline? Are people that strapped for cash? Are people becoming less satisfied with their Rose-Hulman experience?

Whois bonnevilleclub.com?

Yes, Bonneville Club has been sold.  It’s been a fun six years.

The weather has turned warm, the sun is out longer, and nature is awakening.  Spring has arrived.

To celebrate, I’m thinking about going backpacking.  Yosemite is supposed to be beautiful in the spring, and I’ve never been there, so it seems like the perfect place.  It would also be the perfect way to celebrate the end of Winter Quarter.

Now I just need to get through another month of classes…