You could call Erin Cochrane T’97 an ambassador for Tuck and not be far off the mark. After more than eight years working at the school—as director of career services, then as regional director of development, and now in her new job as director of major gifts—Cochrane is intimately familiar with the alumni network and the needs of Tuck. And it only takes about 30 seconds in her energetic presence to see that she is good at her job—and that she loves it.
Her new position focuses on bringing in funds for the school’s initiatives. Cochrane also sees her role as an opportunity for match-making and getting the good word about Tuck back out to alumni and potential donors. And she is excited about the new challenge she has taken on. Cochrane will collaborate with Dean Danos and Andy Steele T’79 to develop strategies and engage alumni to support key priorities for Tuck’s current capital campaign. She’ll also help develop and implement strategies to support Tuck 2012, the school’s new initiative.
Investing in Excellence: A Campaign for Tuck is well on its way to reaching its target goal of $110 million to support faculty, facilities, and students. “I get to look at the needs of the school and try to match them with interested donors,” Cochrane says. “I meet with people and see where Tuck fits into their priorities, what aspects of Tuck they are most interested in.” From naming classrooms in the new building, to supporting professorships, to serving on boards, opportunities to make a difference at Tuck abound.
Currently, under the banner of Tuck 2012, the school is looking at plans for the future. “There are three pillars: Tuck’s approach to leadership, how Tuck prepares students for work in the global economy, and Tuck’s learning environment—especially the close interaction between faculty and students,” Cochrane says.
Much of Tuck 2012 focuses on enhancing faculty access for students. By taking this approach, she says, Tuck is bucking the trend. As many business schools trend toward high-level research faculty who may not spend much time teaching, Tuck is concerned not only with what is taught but with who teaches. Which means, of course, that Tuck will need more faculty. Much of Cochrane’s focus over the next five years will be to work with Dean Paul Danos and faculty committees to strategize on what exactly the school’s needs are and how to realize the goals set forth under Tuck 2012. She finds this aspect of the job—being in on the ground floor of a strategic review—tremendously exciting.
Danos says it is a pleasure to work with someone of Cochrane’s caliber. “She brings all the attributes that we associate with Tuck MBAs—she’s caring and strategic, and she has a great analytical ability and knowledge of business.” He adds that Cochrane “has an abiding love for Tuck and knows how important our alumni are in keeping its momentum going strong.”
Cochrane will probably be at Tuck for some time to come, because, as she says, “I don’t see myself purely as a development professional—I’m a professional Tuckie.” On top of that, her job lets her live in an area she loves very much. And it allows her time for a rich life outside of work, which includes teaching ashtanga yoga at Upper Valley Yoga and recently serving on the board of the Upper Valley Humane Society (“thanks to my dog, Sadie,” she says, referring to her Glen of Imaal terrier, who can be seen most mornings walking her owner around their neighborhood).
“I love my job,” Cochrane says simply. “And I am humbled by every gift.”
