President Peter Hetzler '72 convened the meeting at 2:10 p.m., and those present introduced themselves. Present were: Christopher Auguste '76, Christine Balling '86, Alfred Blum '62, Les Callahan '68, Alan Cantor '76, Susan Urie Donahue '73, Rosalina Feliciano '81, Peter Hetzler '72, John Kane '63, Michael Koehler '94, William Kummel '81, Steve Matloff '91, Michael Marrus '82, Morissa Sobelson '05, Mary Ann Somers '82, Stefanie Scheer Young '81, and Mark Cutler, faculty representative. Sara Su Jones '91 joined through teleconferencing. Representing the Office of Academy Resources were Peter Ramsey, Mike Ebner '70, Dick Howe '64, and Judy Turgeon.
Minutes of the last committee meeting (April 28, 2007) were approved with one correction—that of adding Chris Auguste to the list of attendees.
Susan Urie Donahue said there were no updates to the nomination process for alumni trustees but said we have gathered suggested nominees from Council members. She said that the Vice Presidents would collect the names and others from last year's list. They will then whittle the list down and personally contact each person to be considered. A slate will be submitted for Executive Committee consideration at the winter meeting.
Barbara Landis Chase, Head of School, joined the committee at about 2:20 p.m.
Peter Hetzler stated that he would like to clarify what the Board needs are for Alumni Trustees and what the trustees need from the Board. Mrs. Chase stated that the Trustees were very pleased with the process and the nominations in the past.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Class Secretaries:
Stefanie Scheer Young said that they had class secretaries in their meeting from class of 1930 to 2007 and that there were many different perspectives with regard to class notes and web pages and the way people gather information. She gave an example of Face Book being one of the uses of “new media” by the younger classes. Al Cantor and Bill Kummel brought up the question of liability and media control with regard to web pages. The question was asked as to whether or not there should be a screening by the staff and Peter Ramsey said they looked into it and the best way to handle it was not to be involved—that whatever is put up is the responsibility of the individual. Mike Ebner noted that this eliminates concern about potential Academy liability. Peter Ramsey said that we will check the legal issues further. Stefanie Young made a request to represent the Class Secretaries as part of the CLAC group and was appointed by Peter Hetzler.
Athletics Committee:
John Kane gave an update on the Athletic Hall of Honor. Peter Ramsey said that it is definite that it the first recipients will be honored during reunion of '08. John said that the decision was made to include at least one Abbot alumnae and the committee is seeking suggestions. A question was asked aabout the number of awards in the first year, and John noted that has not yet been determined. Peter Ramsey suggested that the first round should included people prior to 1940. John also stated that this award could be given posthumously.
Steve Matloff made a recommendation that it would be a good opportunity to see this first venture to include people reuning. It was stated that the first time we do this has to give credibility to concept and process so that reuning alumni have not been a primary focus. It was also stated that the Academy will try to get a key alumni speaker to be part of the induction ceremony. John also stated that they are focusing not only on athletic capabilities but of the broader role of athletics in education. There was discussion as to when this would happen during reunions, and Mike Ebner provided an overview, suggesting that the best time might be after Saturday lunch, but that nothing is "cast in stone".
Annual Giving: Mary Ann Somers said that their meeting that morning was open to all fund raising volunteers—not only the Annual Giving Board members. She also stated that the funds received last year were $860,000. She said there is a plan to revisit some prospects who were previously not solicited. She briefly described the “20-20” task force, a new effort to engage younger alums.
Mary Ann noted that the Board discussed the frequently-heard statement that Andover may be "worthy but not needy". They discussed how to motivate potential donors and that different groups are motivated in different ways. She noted that participation has dropped by 2-3% over the past few years, and this is a concern.
Barbara Chase noted that some schools reinforce the idea that “we made you what you are.” Andover rejects that approach, preferring to build self-reliance among students, helping them believe that they can do it for themselves. So our graduates may not see Andover as a place that they love for their subsequent success. In response to a question about inactive alumni, Peter Ramsey stated that they are removed from the mailing lists, but restored for their 50th reunions. John Kane asked why people volunteer? Among the factors are legacy, franchise, association to school, gratitude, and pay back Barbara said that we care about the message that people give in participating. Mary Ann answered questions about how people are grouped together.
Peter Ramsey stated that the Trustee Board approved the funding of the new Alumni Web Portal. He said that there will be continued consultation with various affinity groups in order to gather information for the design.
Chris Auguste referred to the Af-Lat-Am and Asia Society goal to have a gathering for alumni of color every two years. By engaging people in this manner, he said, an increase in giving may follow. Mike Ebner noted that Chris Hughes '02 has experience utilizing affinity groups in political campaigns, and Mike would contact him to see if that experience can be applied to this issue.
Regional Associations : In the absence of co-chairs John James and Murrey Nelson (who had to return to California ), no report was given.
Admission: Sara Su Jones and Mike Marrus noted that discussion at the spring meeting will focus on online alumni interviews and integrating this into the school's new web capability.
Special Events : No action items. The committee continued its discussion of its charge.
Mentoring: A motion was made to change the name of the committee from Mentoring to Mentoring/Networking in response to the requests from the young alumni. The motion was seconded and passed. Mike Koehler said that they will be concentrating on hosting networking events with the regional associations.
Morissa Sobelson stated that we need to market the module at all events. Al Blum said that we should change the language on the module and tie it into job fair portals.
Multi-Cultural: Chris said that they met with 6 students of color to gather their experiences on the campus and to capture their feelings.
Action items: 1. To do an Asian reunion
• AF-LAT-AM reunion every 2 years
By-Laws: There was brief discussion on several of the thornier issues with the By-laws. It was stated that the executive committee would try to approve these in the spring.
Communications: Les Callahan and Christine Balling noted that they had represented Alumni Council in meetings with the web designer. They recommended that student life be given the top priority on the school's home page. They will continue to advocate for the Alumni Portal and will remain an active committee until that is achieved.
A d Hoc Committee for Governance:
Susan Donahue will be refining the committee's charge, including the exit process for Council members, alumni trustee nomination, and evaluation process to gather feedback. Also, they will discuss the attendance issues and bring these up to the Executive Committee. It was agreed that the Governance Committee should be a permanent committee, but that the By-Laws committee should recommend how best to accomplish this.
Non Sibi Day:
The questions arose as to the need of a committee—that maybe the special events committee should handle this for next year. It was recommended that it should still remain as an ad hoc committee for now, and that was agreed to.
Peter Ramsey said that we need to revisit the "voluntary"/"non-voluntary" aspect of student participation in Non Sibi Day. He stated that there was discussion about this on campus. Mark Cutler said at the debriefing meeting with students and advisory committee they felt that serving is still serving. Discussion was had also about keeping publicity down so that we're not looked upon as "tooting our own horn" vs. developing good citizens of the world and that it's more of a chance to learn about social justice. Rosalina Feliciano asked if there was dialogue before this day in classes. The answer was affirmative.
Other Business:
Peter Hetzler mentioned that the committee chairs who are rotating off this coming spring should be thinking about their replacements. He also stated that anyone who has a topic to be featured in the spring meeting should let him know.
Peter Ramsey thanked everyone and stated that we have reached a new level of accomplishment and a high level of volunteer involvement.
The meeting then went into executive session to hear an update on the recruitment and selection of a new Director of Alumni Affairs.
The open meeting was adjourned at 3:50 p.m.
|
