UMass Amherst Alumni Association
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Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
Saturday, October 9, 2007
Memorial Hall
UMass Amherst Campus
6:00 p.m.
Committee Members: Ron Grasso, Sean LeBlanc, Kathleen Mitchell, Mary Custard, Andy Hochberg, Anna Symington, Kim Sherman
Absent: Mike Fiorentino, Hal Lane, Ron Spicer, Christine Lopes
Staff: Deb Masloski and Kevin Fleming
Guests: None
Call to Order: The meeting convened at 6:15 p.m.
Approval of Meeting Minutes
Motion: Andy made a motion, seconded by Sean, to approve the minutes from the September 8, 2007 Executive Committee Meeting. The motion passed with 5 ayes and two abstentions (Kim & Anna).
President’s Report
Kathleen told the committee members that the first meeting of the Chancellor’s search committee had convened on campus, and that the Committee Chair is Jennifer Braceras. The search committee decided to form two sub-committees. One sub-committee will focus on the hiring process, and the other will focus on corresponding with campus constituents to seek and incorporate input regarding qualities they would like in the next Chancellor of UMass Amherst. She noted that the Alumni Association is one of the campus constituents the search committee would like feedback from, and the Executive Committee discussed how to best obtain information from alumni. The committee members decided to ask for alumni feedback through @UMass, and to consider holding a special conference call meeting of the Board of Directors to let them express their opinions.
Kathleen also noted that the UMass Amherst vs. Boston College game and reception were exceptional. The reception was well attended, the game was close and our team played very well.
Exec Director’s Report
Deb provided several updates to the group. There were several factors surrounding the Governor Patrick event that will prevent it from being organized in the near future. However, she also recognizes that the “bio-initiative” incorporated into the event is time sensitive and may not work next year. The University administration is currently determining who will be the person to invite Governor Patrick. She also noted that Kathleen and Hal sent a letter thanking Thorr Bjorn for his service to UMass Amherst Athletics. Finally, she relayed that there would be a session on the Board of Directors and their connection to the clubs during the Club Leaders Conference over Homecoming Weekend, and asked for any additional Executive Committee members who would like to participate in the panel.
Deb discussed that Toivo Tammerck will talk to Annual Giving about possibly changing the script to better define the distinction between donors and Alumni Association members. Additionally, the Alumni Association staff is developing a flyer to include with the pledge “thank you” cards, but Deb is not positive that the Annual fund will include the flyer in their mailing. Toivo had also suggested that donors to the University receive a free Alumni Association membership for a year, but the group decided that this was not something they wished to pursue. While it would make membership numbers look better initially, the retention rate would plummet the following year.
The Executive Committee then discussed an article that had recently been printed in the Boston Globe regarding Alumni Association membership. Deb noted that the Alumni Association staff had not received much feedback from alumni about the article, and that the feedback they had received was generally positive suggestions on how to increase awareness of the Alumni Association. Staff has composed speaking points to use if alumni or members of the press contact Board members about membership. Kim believed that the article provided an opportunity to educate members and build our membership. She suggested that the Alumni Association send an email to our alumni responding to the article and outlining the steps we have taken to create value to membership, why it is important for alumni to become members, and appealing to them to join.
Deb also shared an email from a member of the Foundation Board of Directors, in which the individual expressed confusion over the purpose and function of the Alumni Association. This prompted discussion amongst the Executive Committee members on how to communicate the mission, initiatives, achievements, and impact the Alumni Association has on the UMass Amherst campus. The committee members decided to ask the Foundation Board if several of the Alumni Association Executive Committee members could speak at one of their future meetings. They will also invite a group of Foundation Board members to one of the Alumni Association Board of Director meetings. The Executive Committee members also discussed the need to educate the Deans of each school on what the Alumni Association does, as well as the impact our initiatives have on the campus and their departments.
Additionally, Deb provided a tentative agenda for the November 10 Board meeting, and asked for feedback from the committee. Chancellor Cole has been invited to attend, and the meeting will incorporate strategic discussions amongst Board members. Potential items for discussion provided by the Executive Committee members included better engagement of ALANA alumni, out of state reimbursement policy, modifications to the current Alumni Association investment policy, and a review of the recent Audit findings. There was also some discussion about the amount of time available for both an Executive Committee meeting and a Board of Directors meeting due to the time of the alumni tent and football game. The group decided to hold a full Board meeting on Saturday morning, and hold the Executive Committee meeting the following week.
Committee Reports
Alumni Career Services: Kim noted that there were a number of Alumni Career Services events coming up in the next several months in Boston, Washington D.C., and New York. She expressed concern that prior events have had excellent speakers and been well organized, but have not had the level of attendance that she had hoped for. The group suggested sending one email with all Career Services events for the year listed, as well as to expand the radius of alumni who receive each email.
Kim also asked the committee if it was ok to use speakers at their events who were not UMass alumni. The group felt that good speakers still add value to our alumni independent of whether they graduate from UMass or not, but the preference would always be for UMass Amherst Alumni speakers.
Audit: Deb and Andy relayed that the independent audit went well, and the committee will be meeting with the auditor to discuss the audit results.
Alumni Clubs: The Clubs Committee had their first meeting, and discussed the major initiatives for the current fiscal year. They also worked on the schedule for the Club Leaders Conference.
Communications, Marketing, and Membership: Sean will be sending out monthly membership numbers, as well as highlights of initiatives the communications, marketing and membership committee is working on. Additionally, the staff is contemplating whether or not to sell advertising space on the Alumni Association website to a small number of vendors.
The membership and marketing team is also contemplating a student Alumni Association membership program, and he asked the committee members for their feedback. Deb noted that research at other universities have found these programs lead to increased giving and institute traditions that engage students. Ron G. inquired what value a student membership in the Alumni Association would hold for students in the Isenberg School of Management, given that the school already has a robust career services program. Kim asked if the student membership program was about enhancing what we do for students and engaging them more in what we do, or about better marketing and selling what we already do for students. The group agreed that student membership in the Alumni Association should be about greater opportunity for connections amongst students and alumni, and creating strong bonds between students and the Alumni Association. . The value of student membership must be based in the extra-curricular experience of students, and that membership should enhance the UMass experience on campus.
Finance and Investment: Ron noted that the Finance and Investment Committee discussed travel reimbursement for Board members. Ron Spicer had provided his perspective to the committee as an out-of-state Board member during their last meeting. The committee voted two separate times, and unanimously voted not to provide reimbursement. They believed that in-state Board members are required to travel to a number of events that out of state members do not attend, and they are not reimbursed for travel to those events. They also noted that the expectations of Board members are clearly expressed throughout the election process, and that candidates are made aware that they will not be reimbursed for travel. Additionally, the issue had already been voted on and addressed by last year’s Board of Directors, and the committee did not want to continue to revisit the issue. Ron noted that the Finance and Investment Committee still needs to develop a comprehensive reimbursement policy for the Board.
Additionally, Ron noted that the investment manager recommend that the Alumni Association drop its foreign investments by 5%. This decrease is within the guidelines for an allowable change in investments specified in the investment policy, without requiring approval from the full Board of Directors. However, there was some discussion on what the process was for changing the investments accordingly, and who was ultimately responsible for making those changes. There was some concern about the best way to proceed, and it was decided that the Finance and Investment Committee will further investigate the issue and make a recommendation to the Board at a future meeting.
Grants Review: Deb noted that the Grants Review Committee awarded about $10,000 in grants for the first cycle.
Governance: None
Honors and Awards: The idea was raised to investigate providing a scholarship for legacy students. The committee will look into this possibility. In addition, Ron shared that he investigated concerns that were brought up in a previous meeting that all award recipients came from Commonwealth College. He discovered that anyone who achieves the Honor Roll is considered a Commonwealth College student, which means that any student who would qualify for an academic scholarship would be considered part of Commonwealth College, even if they had not applied.
Nominating: The committee is currently recruiting two non-Board members to fulfill the requirements set in the Alumni Association bylaws.
Programs and Services: The committee will be organizing two task forces to investigate how to enhance our athletic and ALANA programming.
Volunteer Advocacy and Public Affairs: None
Old Business
Kathleen asked the group for feedback on the list of campus constituents the Board would like to reach out to, and noted that she would add the UMass Foundation to the list. Kim asked how to proceed in developing those relationships without stepping on the toes of staff members or other volunteers who have already developed a relationship with those constituents. The group believed that events were a good opportunity to develop these relationships. Kathleen asked the group to provide feedback on the next meeting about how the program is going. She also asked committee members to let Deb know if they were uncomfortable with anyone they were responsible for contacting, as well as if there were any additional individuals they would like to be responsible for contacting.
New Business
None
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at 8:25.p.m.
