AEC Business Meeting 2013-2-10 minutes

Alumni Executive Council St Lawrence University Business Meeting of Sunday February 10, 2013 Meeting Minutes President Steve Todd ’92 called the meeting to order at 8:30 a.m Roll Call Secretary Bill Cowan ’86 called the roll: Members present: Norman Abbott ’65, Kim Hoffman Amoroso ’79, Adam Casler ’06, William Cowan ’86, Robert Donovan ’75, Helen Druce ’63, Edward Forbes ’02, Heidi Hansen ’70, Joanne Honeywell ’80, Jennifer Hunter ‘94, Tishara Joseph ‘13, Patricia May ’63, Heather McCauley ‘06, Brendan McLaughlin ’91, Annie Montgomery ’68, Brittany Moten ‘13, Susan North ’76, Mary Claire Schwab ’03, Lissa Short ’83, Charles Sullivan ‘89, Steve Todd ’92, Janet Williams ’70 Members absent: Lori Bantz ’67, Norman Abbott ’65, Amy Callahan ’13, Andrew Chan ’14, Neil Chatterjee ’99, Timothy Furnary ’03, Dave Halstead ’91, James Hennessy ’71, Manish Kapoor ’97, Daniel Posener ’82, Jared Soper ’97, Danielle Weaver ’07 President Todd declared a quorum was present for the conduct of business Approval of the minutes of the business meeting of November 4, 2012 The minutes were approved unanimously on a motion from Ms May and a second from Mr McLaughlin Treasurer’s Report Mr Sullivan provided Council members an overview of the financial results and position of the Alumni Council for the calendar year ended 2012 Receipts for 2012 totaled $17,543, in part comprised of $8,035 from the Bank of America Affinity card, $6,061 from Saints Wear sales, $2,065 from auctions, and $80 from Adirondack Life Total revenue for 2012 was $2,500 short of the budget target for the year Mr Sullivan reported that expenses for 2012 were slightly less than the $29,350 budgeted for the year Mr Sullivan reminded Council that the focus for 2013 is on revenue growth from the Alumni Council’s planned activities Upon completion of the report on the Council’s financial position, a motion was made to approve the Treasurer’s report by Ms Honeywell, seconded by Ms McCauley, with the report then duly approved by unanimous verbal vote President’s Report President Todd stated that he will be meeting with the Board of Trustees at a regular scheduled meeting later this month He stated the central theme of his presentation will focus on the progress made on the retired Council member reengagement initiative that was started this year President Todd stated that he will be authoring an upcoming column in the St Lawrence Magazine This article will describe for readers the extent to which the AEC and alumni are part of the conversation at the University and the many opportunities for input President Todd thanked Council for the hard work being done by members Campus Report Ms Cania began her report by updating Council members regarding the good work being done by senior staff members who weren’t able to visit with Council this weekend while we were on campus Ms Cania stated that Val Lehr is working with the faculty to review current class schedules to assess whether changes can be made to address dining hall overcrowding that has resulted from the increase student enrollment on campus It was reported that Student Life has approved a Thelmo-backed proposal to allow gender-neutral housing at St Lawrence Under the gender-neutral housing policy, Ms Cania stated that “two people, regardless of gender, can live together as roommates after their first year on campus” The policy change will be communicated to the St Lawrence community shortly Ms Cania provided a more detailed response to a question raised by a Council member at Saturday’s breakfast meeting, an inquiry regarding what additional things can we do, as Council members, to support the University As part of her response, she directed members to an article on the AEC dashboard that lists “Things we can for SLU every day Finally, Ms Cania thanked Council for its work and commitment to the University Student Delegate Reports Ms Moten reported that she participated in College Prep Day, where she met with high school students to share her perspective regarding the college application process She also reported that she will be the student moderator for the next Laurentian in Residence program Ms Joseph reported that she has been working with a variety of campus groups to get them to small fundraising efforts for the University as a way to “give back” Committee Reports Prior to hearing committee reports, President Todd announced that committee chairs are to submit their written reports and updated strategic plans no later than March 1, 2013 Admissions Report Mr Donovan provided an update on Admissions that included the following highlights:     Overall applications are up 11-15% Early decision applications were down 7% (but still the second best results ever) Currently applications are near gender parity Geographically, applications from the South were up 44%, Southwest up 24%, Midwest up 14%, West Coast up 10%, with the Northeast down year-over-year The Admissions Committee is expecting to hold recruiting events again this fall as was done in 2012 Career Services Report Ms Short thanked Council for making Friday’s Mocktail event a success She specifically thanked Mr Posener for organizing the event and Neil Chatterjee for his presentation It was reported that the Alumni Webinar Series has several upcoming events with topics addressing networking tips and International jobs Ms Short stated there is a need to put together some Microsoft Excel training videos because many students are not adequately skilled with this important tool as they enter their internships or full-time work She asked for volunteers to help on this initiative Ms Short made another call for internships for students, seeking Council members to provide names of people in their work networks who may be able to offer such positions Community Relations Mr Casler thanked Ms Callahan for her outstanding work on the Accolades program this year Mr Casler announced that the social media effort by the Community Relations committee will be relaunched shortly, with a goal to engage alumni in a more consistent way He stated the Committee will be introducing digital avatars Larry and Lauren Laurentian as a whimsical way to draw attention to our communication efforts Development Report Ms May congratulated Ms Moten for being selected to moderate the next Laurentian in Residence event Further, she provided at update on the thank you calls being made by Council members to first time donors She reminded Council of the importance of this initiative, since only 38% of first time donors make a second donation in the subsequent year The goal of the calling program is to increase the percentage of follow-on donations Ms May reported that the Student Alumni Association dinner held Thursday was a success and thanked members for their participation Finance and Saints Wear Report Mr Sullivan reported that the Committee has been focusing on Saints Wear marketing A master planning schedule has been developed which should smooth the production of email marketing messages Mr Sullivan stated that while each email campaign will have a focus on a particular Council revenue generating activity, the plan is that the messages will promote all of Councils efforts Finally, Mr Sullivan stated that the Committee is investigating other ways to digitally promote our fundraising activities Ms Schwab reported that she is working on an action event to be held this summer She further reported and provided information about the online auction initiative To support these efforts, Ms Schwab requested Council members’ assistance with providing her names of alumni who may be able to donate auction items as well as wanting ideas of items members would want to buy themselves Ms Honeywell provided an update on the Saints Wear product line, stating that new items may include golf club covers, SLU branded wine and wine baskets, and personalized baby blankets Membership & Honors Report In Mr Chatterjee’s absence, Ms Williams provided the M&H report Ms Williams stated that the committee is actively contacting and reviewing candidates for membership on the AEC There are currently five vacancies that need to be filled New York City Taskforce Report Mr Donovan gave an update on the New York City semester program He stated that the program is starting its third semester and a kick-off reception was recently hosted by Mr Posener Mr Donovan said the program continues to need good internships for the students and asked our help in identifying such opportunities Announcements and Adjournment Ms May announced that a pre-reunion kick-off party is being held in New York City on February 26th Mr Abbott then moved to adjourn the meeting His motion was seconded by Ms McCauley President Todd brought the meeting to close at 10:00 a.m Respectfully submitted, William Cowan Secretary ...President’s Report President Todd stated that he will be meeting with the Board of Trustees at a regular scheduled meeting later this month He stated the central theme of his presentation... breakfast meeting, an inquiry regarding what additional things can we do, as Council members, to support the University As part of her response, she directed members to an article on the AEC dashboard... City on February 26th Mr Abbott then moved to adjourn the meeting His motion was seconded by Ms McCauley President Todd brought the meeting to close at 10:00 a.m Respectfully submitted, William