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University of Findlay welcomes new avatar
By Richard Mast
mastr@findlay.edu
The University of Findlay has introduced a new member to its advancement team, an AI-powered virtual engagement officer named “Daphne.” This is the latest innovation that is designed to connect alumni, expand outreach, and place Findlay at the forefront of higher education technology.
Ryan Hite, the Assistant Vice President for Advancement, said that Daphne’s primary role is to bridge the gap between the university and its nearly 30,000 alumni spread all across the country.
“We can’t get in front of everybody,” Hite explained. “Our development officers typically hold a portfolio of about 150, and our VEO, virtual engagement officer, Daphne, she can handle up to 1,000. And she’ll get through those in two months. She’ll have an engagement with everybody, all 1,000 in two months.”
The idea was proposed to Findlay by a Boston-based company named Givzey.
Givzey has already been working with other universities. William & Mary, a West Virginia University says it booked more than $1 million in new commitments using Givzey, and Kenyon College says using Givzey, it confirmed $100,000 dollars in gifts in a matter of months.
While initially cautious, the advancement team realized quickly how the university could be a pioneer in this space.
“It’s earlier on in this process, we have the ability to have some input that can be an agent of change to support and guide where we need to be, which impacts anybody else down the road that works with Givzey and virtual engagement officers,” Hite said.
Daphne isn’t intended to be a replacement for human staff, but rather a tool to expand outreach, according to Hite. Daphne is able to hand off conversations with alumni to real staff members who are interested in supporting.
“One of the aspects of the VEO is that if somebody expresses interest and moves into a conversation, especially if it’s about fundraising support, there’s a process where Daphne will, what we call, hand off to one of us in our office,” Hite said.
To participate, alumni and community members have to opt in to Daphne’s outreach. The process is done through email. So once someone opts in, the advancement office receives that notification and then has the ability to be added into Daphne’s portfolio.
Bella Rae Taylor, a sophomore animal science pre-vet major who works in the advancement office, sees potential in Daphne.
“I think it’s going to help by connecting people more,” Taylor said. “This way, they can just send an email or a text and I get a response like right away.”
Both Hite and Taylor acknowledge that there might be some skepticism that comes with this.
“I know not a lot of people are comfortable with AI,” Taylor said. “So I do expect backlash, especially from older alumni who don’t really know how to use the internet that well.”
However, Hite viewed the skepticism as an opportunity.
“If we get somebody that reaches out to us and says, I can’t believe that you would go with this process, I’m appalled. I think we are now communicating, dually communicating in a way that we hadn’t prior,” Hite said. “So it gives us an opportunity to explain what we’re trying to do and what’s going on at the University and tie them in further.”
With the introduction of Daphne, Findlay hopes to set itself apart in the communication landscape by showing that it is willing to experiment with new technologies.
“If you can choose to lead or wait, I think it’s a good decision for us to move,” Hite said. “And I don’t mind being at the forefront of something that can be really helpful to our process.”
