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The Alumni Council of the Lafayette Alumni Association was called to order at 2 p.m. on Friday, November 6, 2009 at Pfenning Alumni Center, Wilson Room at Lafayette College.
ROLL CALL:
Alumni Council members in attendance: Paul McCurdy ’82 (President), Pamela Gaary Holran ’88 (Vice President, Programs, President-Elect), Ed Auble ’61, Barry Bregman ’77, Simone Chaddan ’04, Greg Crawford ’68, Sherri Jones (Secretary), Alex Karapetian ’04, Bill Kirby ’59 (Vice President, at-Large), Amanda Niederauer ’08, Dave Reif ’68 (Vice President, Outreach), Carolyn Romney ’08, Dave Schwager ’84, Lauren Steinitz ’08, Bill Tucker ’81, Ellen Weiler ’83, and Michael Weisburger ’82.
Alumni Council members unable to attend: Jon Ellis ’98 and Meredith Walburg ’03.
Staff members in attendance: Dave Block ’93, Mary Pat Staats, Chris Tomik ’03, Sarah Trimmer.
I. WELCOME
President Paul McCurdy welcomed the Council members and staff to the November 2009 meeting of the Lafayette Alumni Council. Mr. McCurdy opened the meeting by sharing his insights from the recent Board of Trustee meeting and Board Committee meetings. He reported that the Development and Alumni Affairs committee shared that fund raising efforts have gone well. He added that the Career Services committee reiterated the increased need for alumni support of the internship and externship programs. He also informed the Council that the Class of 2010 has earmarked its class gift for internship stipends as did the Class of 2009 and that they have collected more than last year’s senior class had at this time last year. Mr. McCurdy also shared that the External Affairs Committee is focusing its energy on ways to increase brand awareness. Two important projects that this Committee already has underway include the redesign of the College’s website and a focus on improving College signage.
II. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES
Mr. Tucker made a motion to approve the minutes from the August 28, 2009 Alumni Council Retreat; seconded by Mr. Schwager. There were two abstentions. All remaining members present were in favor and the minutes were approved as distributed.
III. UPDATE ON CONFERENCE CALLS WITH VOLUNTEERS
Fifty alumni chapter leaders, Alumni Council members and staff participated in the two September conference calls. These conference calls were scheduled to last one-half hour but both calls ran over to last about an hour due to the Q&A portion of the call. Mr. McCurdy expressed his belief that these calls were a great way to engage chapter leaders and was encouraged by the reception and enthusiasm of the chapter leaders. The consensus was that everyone seemed to appreciate the personal outreach and expressed an interest in participating in future calls as a way to keep in touch with each other and the Council.
Topics for this first call included an update on the recent Alumni Council Retreat, an announcement of plans for launching the new Chapter volunteer website, a discussion of a timeline for Council Committees planning to host events and best practices for collaborating with alumni affairs liaisons. Mr. McCurdy shared information about the Phi Gamma Delta situation and the perceived role of the Alumni Council. He offered to speak individually with anyone who wished to continue the conversation or to put them in touch with others who are knowledgeable about this situation. Mr. McCurdy concluded this topic by informing everyone that a College committee is being established to study Greek life and to discuss how fraternities and sororities can continue to participate in the life of the College and support the Strategic Plan. Additional details will be available soon.
Mr. McCurdy reported that he communicated with Carol Rowlands and Bob Massa to offer the Council’s assistance in the recruitment efforts. This year, the Admissions staff will continue to focus their efforts on California, Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, South Florida, Chicago, D.C. and Atlanta. The discussion that followed included suggestions for international outreach including London and cities in Asia. It was noted that admissions staff members are traveling extensively in other parts of the world as well. Mr. McCurdy added that he will now await further word from Carol and Bob on how the Council might best assist in the admissions outreach.
IV. UPDATE ON AFFINITY GROUPS MEETING
Ms. Chaddan reported that the recent affinity groups meeting, including representatives of Alumni Council, Lafayette Leadership Council, Council of Lafayette Women, McDonogh Network, Alumni Intrafraternity and Sorority Board (AISB), Marquis Parents Council, and the West Coast Advisory Committee, held its first meeting on Saturday, October 24. The purpose of this meeting was to introduce affinity group representatives to the Alumni Council and to open the channels of communication among the groups. The representatives were encouraged to find ways for collaboration and coordination among various alumni/parent affinity groups at the College.
Ms. Chaddan reported that representatives offered suggestions for improving communication and made specific requests for information on how to achieve their goals. The following ideas for improved communications included: creating “How to” guides for recruiting students from the West Coast and for recruiting extern and internship hosts; establishing an electronic platform for sharing minutes of the committee/council meetings (currently on website) and posting new ideas and comments (via Alumni Council Communiqué); hosting a standing meeting each year at Homecoming for the affinity groups.
Mr. Reif added that the affinity groups were all supportive of increasing the number of alumni hosted internships. The Council could improve the outreach to prospective hosts by sharing materials the groups need to tap their networks. Ms. Chaddan added the idea of setting up internships for athletes on campus during the summer or students taking summer courses.
V. Mr. Bregman shared that the College may have fewer externships hosts this year because of the economy. Career Services is writing a “How to” guide to answer questions and respond to issues that may arise when contacting alumni to serve as hosts. He urged Council members to recruit their committee volunteers and Lafayette friends and colleagues because Career Services has many more students than hosts. Ms. Holran also suggested the possibility of a conference call with affinity group leaders to encourage externship hosts.
VI. AUGUST 28, 2009 RETREAT
Ms. Holran reported that many good ideas were generated at the Alumni Council Retreat. The key issue was how to improve the communication among Council members, staff and alumni volunteers. Suggestions for improvement included the establishment of a communication vehicle on the web such as, Linked In, Facebook, and a Google group. Ms. Jones added that she will meet with Stephanie Shelly (Communications Department) to discuss the possibility of a meeting this communication need. The matter was deferred for further discussion and implementation.
At the August Retreat, council members requested that the Alumni Affairs staff create a timeline for planning events. Ms. Holran distributed this new document and asked Council members to send their feedback and any questions to Sherri Jones. She advised Council committee chairs to begin planning now for 2010-11 Alumni Council events being mindful that next year’s budget will be reduced by 3%. Committee chairs should consider their Alumni Affairs liaison as point of first contact in the event planning process.
Ms. Jones announced Lafayette will host a Summer College in 2010. Details will soon be available on a web site accessible by visiting the Alumni Affairs home page. The maximum enrollment has been set for 50 participants on a first come, first served basis. The comprehensive cost has been set for $575 per person.
VII. BREAK OUT GROUP REPORTS
Chapters Committee Mr. Tucker reported that the Chapter Volunteer web site should be ready to launch before the holidays. At present, the Committee is searching for three new members to fill the places vacated by Jim Benjamin ’84, Amanda Alpert Knight ’99 and Scott Malyk ’98. The Committee also is searching for four new mentors to take on the new chapters that are emerging. As soon as these committee members and new mentors are in place, Mr. Tucker and Mr. Ellis will conduct the next round of conference calls with the committee and mentors.
AAR Committee Mr. Weisburger reported that the AAR Committee will have its first conference call on Wednesday, November 11 at noon. The emphasis of the call will be on how to engage young alumni in the AAR program after graduation. Mr. Reif suggested that Mr. Weisburger and Mr. Crawford collaborate with the Young Alumni Committee on this initiative. The committee also will discuss ideas about how to improve the interview process by getting younger alumni to partner with more experienced AARs. Mr. Weisburger will tell the committee about his idea to invite all his prospective students and young alumni (using Evite) to join him for dinner and talk about Lafayette at his personal expense. He will be willing to offer personal interviews to any interested students. The committee also will learn about the “I am Lafayette” initiative, a prospective program that will enlist current first-year students to visit their high schools during the holiday break. The committee is hopeful that funding will be available to provide these student volunteers with Lafayette sweatshirts
Ms. Chaddan suggested that a fact sheet be developed to share with the affinity groups as not all are AARs and might have an interest. Perhaps this fact sheet could be posted online. Mr. McCurdy offered the following topics for the fact sheet: student/faculty ratio, internship and externship opportunities, campus safety, study abroad opportunities, core curriculum information.
Mr. Crawford and Mr. Weisburger confirmed that all AAR committee members and as well as over 300 AARs have registered for the new AAR website. The new web site has key information presented through narrative and video clips to open communication and encourage collaboration and training among volunteers. AARs can easily find relevant information they will need to communicate with prospective students and their families as well as a means to report their activities to the AAR staff coordinator.
International Alumni Committee Mr. Auble announced that there are 31 alumni now listed as Alumni International Ambassadors on the College’s web site. And, as of the date of this meeting, nearly 130 of approximately 400 international alumni have joined the Facebook page for international-minded alumni. A key objective for this year will be to increase the number of alumni who can become actively involved in student recruitment. The Admissions staff is working to identify those international schools that they wish to target. The Committee will work with Bob Massa and the admissions team to identify alumni with connections to these international secondary schools.
Young Alumni Committee Mr. Karapetian announced the idea of a coast-to-coast wine tasting party, the first to be hosted by the Young Alumni Committee and the area chapters on March 9, 2011. The committee wishes to brand this event as Wine 3/9 and they hope it to become an annual event. In summer 2010, the Young Alumni Committee plans to collaborate with alumni chapters in NYC, Philadelphia and D.C. to host a “Welcome to the City” event based on the success of such events previously held in these chapters. Additional chapters are under consideration and may be added to this list in order to give the event a more Lafayette-branded feel. The Young Alumni Committee also will send their YAC newsletter in mid-December.
Undergraduate Committee The Undergraduate Committee is working on an Undergraduate Committee web site that will feature news from the committee. The committee is considering having students blog about their internship and externship experiences. They will be working with alumni affairs liaison Sarah Trimmer who will consult with Rachel Moeller, Associate Director of Career Services.
Special Events Committee Committees formerly known as the Homecoming, Volunteer and Reunion Committees have merged successfully into the Special Events Committee. Members of the former committees were surveyed to determine interest and comment on the changes. It was determined that a second survey, followed by calls/emails from the chairs was required. The Chairs, Ms. Weiler, Mr. Schwager and Dr. Walburg (not in attendance) along with staff liaison Chris Tomik discussed committee logistics and plans to bring together the new committee for an initial call before the end of 2009. It was determined that the new committee would serve as a sounding board for many of the events and help with the bigger picture of Lafayette events and alumni involvement.
VIII. UPCOMING MEETINGS
Thursday, January 14, 2010, 2:30-5 p.m., Kelley, Drye & Warren
New York City Networking Night, Yale Club, Thursday, January 14, 2010, 6-9 p.m.
IX. ADJOURNMENT
The meeting was adjourned at 5 p.m.