“This is absolutely the way we need to be proceeding in our development and our alumni,” said Trustee Faylene Owen. “The two should be working very closely together. There has got to be somebody there, on top, that can help us support both.”

MSU President Lou Anna K. Simon said the change was made to get more students engaged in giving back to the university after graduation. The university just completed an eight-year, $1.4 billion campaign in October.

“Now with the close of the campaign, we can go back and take up that recommendation and find a way to take our success and move it to the next level,” Simon said. “This isn’t because we have a problem as much as trying to find ways to be more successful.”