Election Process

Sustaining Members in good standing, Life Members and Legacy Members of the Alumni Association are eligible for nomination to the Board and to vote in director elections. A Sustaining Member is considered in good standing when said member has made the required membership investment on a current annual basis as defined by the Board of Directors.

To be eligible for consideration by the Nominating Committee, nominees must:

  • Be a UMass Amherst alumna/us
  • Meet membership eligibility requirements as noted above
  • Meet eligibility requirements for maximum allowable years of consecutive Board service
  • Sign and pledge to abide by the Volunteer Code of Conduct

    In addition, nominees must submit a complete nominee application to the Alumni Association no later than 12:00 pm on Wednesday, January 25, 2012.

Six (6) directors will be elected to the Board of Directors in 2012.

The Nominating Committee will conduct an initial review of all applications to determine which nominees will be invited to interview with the Nominating Committee. Interviews will be conducted in February.

Upon completing nominee interviews, the Nominating Committee will develop a proposed slate of candidates for review by the Secretary of the Alumni Association. A maximum of twelve (12) candidates will be included on the director slate.

All nominees will be notified as to the final status of their nomination. Nominees who are not selected for the director slate may resubmit their nomination at another time.

The Nominating Committee will distribute notice of the director elections to eligible voters in early March by whatever means are most practicable. Eligible voters may vote online or by paper ballot.

Voting closes at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 25. An organization independent of the Alumni Association and its staff members will tally all ballots.  The Nominating Committee will publicize election results by whatever means are most practicable no later than April 1.

Elected directors will serve a three-year term beginning July 1, 2012 to coincide with the Alumni Association’s fiscal year.