Executive Committee Meeting Minutes
Beechwood Hotel
Tuesday, July 13, 2010
6:00 p.m.
Present: Tom Campbell, Jackie Carlson, Ron Grasso, Andy Hochberg, Sean LeBlanc, Carole Mansur, Kim Sherman, Dave Richter and Joel Slovi
Absent: Ron Spicer
Staff: Deb Goodhind and Anna Symington
The meeting convened at 6:05 p.m.
Approval of Minutes
Motion: by Andy Hochberg, seconded by Joel Slovin, to approve the minutes of the June 15 Executive Committee meeting. The motion passed with eight ayes and one abstention.
President’s Update
The Amherst campus has hired a new employee who will operate out of Boston and is charged with advancing the interests of UMass Amherst with state legislators.
Executive Director’s Update
Graduate School administrators have asked Anna for assistance in promoting the Alumni Association at a welcome reception for graduate students in the fall, with a goal of building future alumni affinity and educating attendees on Association resources. In addition, Anna is working with Athletics to identify possible avenues for engaging graduate students through athletics programming. The Women for UMass Amherst group has also expressed an interest in working with the Alumni Association to engage young alumni through mentoring or career development volunteer opportunities.
Staff has finalized a new contract with the UMass Club in Boston to provide a discounted enrollment registration fee to the Club for our Life and Legacy members, as well as access to free meeting space as available for Association volunteer committees. The Music and Dance department recently discussed with Anna their interest in providing event discounts to all alumni as a member benefit.
The chartered flight to Michigan, for the UMass vs. Michigan football game in September, has been cancelled due to lack of alumni interest. The Alumni Association will host an alumni reception at the CBS Scene facility outside of Gillette Stadium for the UMass vs. UNH football game in October. Staff is working to finalize the Association’s sponsorship contract with Athletics for FY 2011.
Staff is working with select campus colleagues to brainstorm various avenues for increasing student philanthropy efforts over the coming year.
The President’s Office is hosting an event this month to honor dignitaries from Japan, including the Governor of Sapporo. The University has a strong connection with the Hokkaido University in Sapporo. Two UMass Amherst alumni, who have a connection with the Massachusetts Hokkaido Association, were asked to present a gift to the Governor that represents the Amherst campus. The alumni contacted Anna for possible gift ideas. Anna provided them with a framed print of the Old Chapel with an inscription of “A Gift from the UMass Amherst Alumni Association – To the People of Japan.”
Affinity Credit Card Partnership
Motion: by Andy Hochberg, seconded by Kim Sherman, to move into Executive Session to discuss the affinity credit card partnership. The motion passed unanimously.
Motion: by Joel Slovin, seconded by Dave Richter, to move out of Executive Session. The motion passed unanimously.
Committee Chair Orientation
Deb provided an overview of committee chair, committee member and staff liaison roles and responsibilities, as well as instructional information on committee meeting guidelines. Anna noted her willingness to attend the kickoff meeting of each FY 2011 committee to assist committee chairs with explaining member roles, responsibilities and participation expectations.
Plans are also underway to present a full Board orientation at the October Board meeting that will cover director responsibilities and board policies and protocols.
Committee Reports
Audit
The external auditor will begin fieldwork for the Association’s FY 2010 audit in early August. Approximately 95% of directors have submitted a signed conflict of interest disclosure statement for FY 2011 and staff continue to follow up to obtain any outstanding statements.
Career Connections
Staff is planning to present a number of career-related webinars on a variety of topics this fall. In addition, they are coordinating several career development events for the Boston, NYC and Pioneer Valley areas. The Committee will convene a meeting later this month and plans to solicit feedback from Board members on possible alumni speakers at future Career Connections events.
Clubs
Staff has completed a five-year review of all club activities to include an analysis of club events relative to alumni participation and net profit/loss, as well as ongoing recruitment and engagement of new club volunteers. Based on this analysis, and understanding that a number of current club officers’ term limits are expiring this year, staff plans to present a recommendation to the Clubs Committee on which clubs should be placed on temporary “hiatus” status for the time being. This will allow staff the time and opportunity to recruit new volunteers, and put resources into strengthening our up and coming clubs with a goal of increasing our overall outreach potential. Staff will continue to support any volunteer requests to host alumni events from club areas identified as being on “hiatus” status.
Communications, Marketing and Membership
The Committee will convene its first meeting of FY 2011 later this summer.
Finance and Investments
The Finance and Investment Committee will meet in late August to review FY 2010 financial statements and investment performance returns.
Honors and Awards
The Honors and Awards Committee will meet in late summer.
Nominating
The Nominating Committee will meet in early September to review the FY 2011 nominations and elections timeline and identify selection criteria.
Programs and Services
The Programs and Services Committee plans to meet later this summer.
Technology and Online Services
The staff liaison for the Technology and Online Services Committee is working to schedule a meeting in the next several weeks.
Volunteer Advocacy and Public Affairs
Staff has been in contact with the committee chair to talk about the Committee’s goals and to identify an initial meeting date.
Old Business
Motion: by Andy Hochberg, seconded by Tom Campbell, to move into Executive Session to discuss the database memorandum of understanding. The motion passed unanimously.
New Business:
The Alumni Association will host the Leadership Conference on the Amherst campus during Homecoming Weekend in October.
Adjournment:
Motion: by Dave Richter, seconded by Joel Slovin, to adjourn the meeting. The motion passed unanimously.