Alumni Council Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, October 22, 2005

Welcome—Hope Palmer Bramhall ’56
Hope brought the meeting to order by welcoming council members and guests and urging them to help themselves to the buffet lunch. She reminded class representatives of the importance of writing their Alumni Council class letters each year. Last year only 20 percent of class representatives wrote letters to their classes about their council activities and campus visit experiences, despite several reminders, sample letters, and the shared council minutes providing material with which to work.

Ms. Bramhall asked for a motion for approval of the minutes of the June 4, 2005, Alumni Council meeting as mailed. The minutes were approved. She then asked for reports from Committee chairs.

Committee Reports/Updates

Admissions and Financial Aid—Linda Mitchell Potter ’66
Linda reported that Colby admissions staff provided statistical information on the large incoming class. The size of the class, together with an unusually high number of students returning to Colby from programs abroad and an increased number of students wanting to live on campus this fall, resulted in a housing crunch on campus. Admissions staff also shared that the College dealt with these increased numbers with temporary housing at the Colby Gardens, formerly the Mt. Merici Convent, less than a mile from campus. Admissions expects to accept the same number of applications for next year's group of potential first-years, so the temporary admissions bubble should not have a long-range impact.

A legacy admissions event for the greater Boston area is being planned for May 2006. Alumni are needed to be a presence at the event. As a service to Colby alums with college-age children and grandchildren, the event will focus on the general college admissions process.

Admissions staff also provided background information on the most recent Posse group that has entered Colby. The first Posse group of seven will graduate in May 2006.

Alumni Fund—Jessica D'Ercole Stanton '92
Jessica reported that the Alumni Fund closed the '05 fiscal year (ending June 30, 2005) at $3.71 million, which was slightly off the target goal of $3.75 million; however, this was up 4 percent from previous fiscal years and included 50.65 percent participation. This year's goal will be $3.93 million cash-in, and the trustees have put forth a goal of 52 percent participation. Jessica reminded all alumni that their participation is critical, and it will take a grass-roots effort from all to reach that 52 percent goal.

Athletics—Christopher Vickers ’87
Christopher reported that the Athletics Committee is trying to focus attention on student athletes and wants to serve as a resource for students—either as career mentors or by encouraging students to take advantage of the entire Colby experience, whether on the field, in the classroom, or within the College community. Also, there is now a formal mentoring leadership program that consists of faculty members acting as liaisons for the different teams. About 29 of the 32 teams now have a faculty liaison. The Athletics Committee and C Club are also considering redesigning the spring awards banquet format, which honors the Carl Nelson Award winner and senior student athletes. Christopher encouraged attendees to think about attending the C Club dinner on Friday, October 28, 2005, during Family Homecoming Weekend. The dinner will honor council member Frank "Alex" Wilson '73 and the Shiro brothers as C Club Persons of the Year.

Awards—Byrd Allen ’75
Byrd reported that the work of the Awards Committee could not be shared at this time, but he looks forward to publicly announcing the 2006 honorees at the January meeting. He added that his committee is always looking for credible nominations for these honorary and service awards to the College, and he encouraged people to check the Web site for the award criteria and to give any recommendations or nomination suggestions to the committee.

Career Services—Patricia Whittemore Jenkins ’67
Sarah Dressler '02 (vice-chair, standing in for chair Patricia Whittemore Jenkins '67) reported that the Colby Office of Career Services is planning a Jan Plan class for career experience. The four-week class will include three weeks in the classroom on campus and a fourth week of site visits in Boston. The class is intended for first-year students and sophomores, and it is hoped that at least five to 10 students will participate. Five different job shadow experiences will be scheduled in the areas of journalism, finance, government, science, and non-profit/social services. The program is intended to help younger students determine their education and employment plans, and the committee has agreed to help arrange the job shadow opportunities in Boston.

Nominating—Peter Merrill ’57
Peter reported that the Nominating Committee will not meet until Sunday morning, October 23, 2005. The committee will be considering candidates for the two alumni trustee positions that expire in May 2006 and the three Alumni Council member-at-large positions that expire in June 2006. The Alumni Council representative for the Class of 1989 resigned in October 2005, and the committee is looking for a new representative for that class.

Hope Palmer Bramhall '56 closed the meeting by recommending that everyone on the council take a tour of the new Schair-Swenson-Watson Alumni Center and attend the dedication of the building later in the day if possible. The SSWAC is already being used by many student, faculty, and alumni groups as well as individuals for a variety of activities. She thanked everyone for their committee work and urged them to enjoy the rest of the weekend's activities.