Board of Directors Meeting Minutes

Memorial Hall
Saturday, November 5, 2011
8:30 a.m.

Board Members:  Bridget Boles, Tom Campbell, Sara Coady Howe, Jeremy Copeland, Konstantin Danilov, Petra v.Z. Davenport, Grant George, Ed Godek, Ron Grasso, Andy Hochberg, Paul Hohenberger, Ogechi Ibe, Michelle-Kim Lee, Sean LeBlanc, Sarah Low, Andy MacDougall, Mike Mahoney, Carole Mansur, Adam Martignetti, Molly McCullough, Zachary Morello, Joe Moro, Michaella Morzuch, Rahul Prakash, Dave Richter, Kim Sherman, and Ron Spicer

Absent:Gerald Fonville, Bob Graham, Christine Lopes, Joe Piedrafite, John Pride, and Scott Robbins

Staff: Deb Goodhind and Elena Lamontagne

Guests: Vice Chancellor Michael Leto

Call to Order
The meeting convened at 8:35 a.m.

Welcome and Networking
Ron Grasso welcomed everyone in attendance and thanked them for their participation.  Board members who were not in attendance at the last retreat introduced themselves and provided a brief overview of their UMass Amherst academic and volunteer profiles.

Kim Sherman facilitated a networking session, asking board members to split into three groups to discuss the following questions:

  • What makes you proud of UMass Amherst?
  • What makes you feel most connected to UMass and why?
  • What do you hope to accomplish today during the board meeting and/or while on campus this weekend?

President’s Update
Ron noted that he is serving as the Alumni Association representative on the search committee for a new UMass Amherst chancellor, and both he and Kim Sherman are serving on the search committee for a new executive director.  Witt Kiefer, an executive search firm, is assisting both search committees with identifying potential candidates.  Candidates for the executive director position will be interviewed in late November with finalists to be forwarded to Mike Leto, the position’s hiring authority, in January.   Chancellor candidates will be interviewed in February, with finalists forwarded to President Caret towards the latter part of winter.

Ron has discussed with the chair of the Chancellor search committee the possibility of inviting alumni to attend an input meeting in the Boston area, as well as respond to an online survey, providing them with an opportunity to share their ideas on the qualifications, experience, and goals of potential chancellor candidates. 

Ron represented the Alumni Association as part of the academic procession at President Caret’s inauguration on October 31, and attended a meeting earlier this fall of the Dean’s Council to provide an overview of Alumni Association programs and services.

The Alumni Association was recognized with a service award by the Marching Band Alumni Association during the Multibands Concert last night.

Executive Director’s Report
Deb Goodhind reported that negotiations have been finalized with the Association’s new affinity credit card partner, and discussions with UMass Amherst magazine staff relative to enhancing our current partnership continue.

Finalists for the new business development manager position are scheduled for second interviews later this month, and several staffing realignments have recently been implemented in the programs area.  Kevin Fleming will oversee a new constituent programs unit and Kate Robert will oversee a streamlined regional and affinity programs unit. 

Deb referred board members to the Homecoming 2011 event listing in their board packets and noted that the Association has collaborated with numerous partners across campus to develop nearly 40 events for students, alumni and other campus community members for this year’s Homecoming festivities.  Staff will begin discussing options with various campus partners for both Homecoming 2012 and tailgating at Gillette Stadium next fall in the coming weeks. 

Consent Agenda
Tom Campbell presented the consent agenda that included:

  • Approval of Minutes
    • Annual Assembly – May 21, 2011
    • Board Meeting – May 21, 2011
    • Board Retreat –  July 16, 2011
    • Board Retreat 2.0 – September 17, 2011

Motion: by Dave Richter, seconded by Petra v.Z. Davenport, to approve the consent agenda.  The motion passed with 26 ayes, zero nays, and one abstention.

Presentation of Financial Statements
Andy Hochberg presented the FY 2011 audited financial statements and noted that the FY 2011 tax returns were available for review by directors on the Board website.  No material deficiencies were identified during the audit and the tax returns will be filed later this month.

Andy noted that the FY 12 operating budget includes a significant deficit as the result of the change in the Association’s affinity credit card partnership agreement, as well as its continued partial funding of staff salaries.  Both the Business Development and Finance and Investment committees will be working this year to develop a long-term strategy for addressing this structural deficit.

Committee Reports and Retreat Discussion Points
The chairs of all board committees and task forces provided an overview of their respective committee goals for FY 12.  In addition, they reviewed a listing of specific action items that were developed to address the various points of consideration identified by the consultant at the last Board retreat.  Each action item has been assigned to a specific committee’s oversight with proposed completion dates, and committee chairs will provide updates on assigned action items as their status changes.

Old Business
The Black Alumni Network is collaborating with the Association to host a reunion on campus in April 2012. 

Mike Mahoney presented the Association’s first annual Alumni Clean Energy (ACE) Award to Walter Musial ’80, ’83 MS at the Clean Energy Connections Conference earlier this week.  The Scholarships and Awards Committee will begin accepting nominations for the ACE Award in January 2012. 

New Business
Bridget Boles provided an update on two projects the SAA has recently been working on: Beat T-shirts and Bears that Care.  Board members briefly discussed avenues to increase interaction between SAA members and the Association’s Board of Directors.

Adjournment 
Motion: by Dave Richter, seconded by Michaella Morzuch, to adjourn the meeting.  The motion passed unanimously.

The meeting adjourned at 11:50 p.m.