Alumni Council Executive Committee Meeting Minutes, June 10, 2006

Welcome—Hope Palmer Bramhall ’56
Hope called the annual meeting of the Alumni Council to order at 10:30 a.m. She noted that the outgoing Awards Committee chair Boyd "Byrd" Allen '75 be recognized. Chris Sullivan '97 will chair the Awards Committee.

Committee Reports/Updates

Admissions and Financial Aid Committee
Janice Wood Parsons '65 discussed the legacy and retention/yield event in the Waltham/Boston area that was held in spring 2006. Judy Brody '58 provided a presentation. Approximately 50 to 60 families attended. Janice and Jay Scott-Harris were involved in interviews this spring. There were eight retention/yield events, coordinated by Alumni Relations and Admissions.

Alumni Fund Committee
Jessica D'Ercole Stanton '92 reported that the Alumni Fund is on target toward its goal of $4 million with $3 million raised to date. This is a 13.5 percent increase over last year at this time. Part of this success is due to the fact that we have had the strongest year ever for matching gifts, which are up 44 percent. Volunteers made calls in the Boston area and raised $16,000. The Gardner Colby Society ($100,000) now has three additional donors. This means we will generate $200,000 in new revenue for the Alumni Fund via the Gardner Society, and this fugue is not yet represented in the 13.5 percent increase, as most of these commitments are still in the "pledge" category. Participation is not where we want it to be; we are down from last year, so that will continue to be a focus. For the second year in a row we've asked alumni volunteers to help by making a second round of fundraising calls during the spring months, and we hosted an alumni phonathon at Babson in May. The Annual Giving Office will be pulling out all the stops in June, with last minute student calling, staff calling, e-mails, letters, and postcards. The trustees have set the participation goal at 52 percent this year.

Athletics Committee
Christopher Vickers '87 indicated that Marcella Zalot (director of athletics) is working on leadership programs for varsity team captains for the fall of 2006. Also, the mentoring group (leadership training) met with Bro and understands that the College will continue to support 32 teams. There were also changes in the senior athletic award dinner; the committee opened it up to more students on campus, and 140 students attended.Awards Committee
Byrd Allen '75 announced the award slate. The awards banquet was last night at 6:45 p.m.

Colby Brick Award: Hope Palmer Bramhall '56, David Sortor '56 and Rosemary Crouthamel Sortor '56, A. Francis Finizio '66, Paul Mercier Edmunds Jr. '71 and Jane High Edmunds '71, James W. Bourne '81 and Laura Littlefield Bourne '81, and H. Alan and Dorothy Hume

Ernest C. Marriner Distinguished Service Award: Peter Lunder '56, D.F.A. '98, and Paula Crane Lunder, D.F.A. '98

Outstanding Educator Award: Jeanne O'Brien Crocker '76

Distinguished Alumnus Award: Jeannette Benn Anderson '61

Charles W. Bassett Faculty Award: Richard "Pete" Moss (history)

Edson V. Mitchell Distinguished Service Award: Not being awarded this year

Career Services Committee
Patricia Whittemore Jenkins '67 reported that the committee that had helped to support the career services Jan Plan was well received; Cindy Parker formalized it as an annual event. The three-week course has focused on career exploration and will culminate with a week in Boston. The plan will focus on identifying possible career paths for underclassmen, followed up by a week in Boston job shadowing with specific area professions.

The committee is brainstorming to formulate long-term objectives and establish an agenda for measuring efforts against stated, strategic goals. They are also exploring whether efforts should be general or targeted to specific professional fields. They are starting to establish a plan to meet the objectives.

Nominating Committee
Peter Merrill '57 reported that the new corporate trustees are Richard Uchida '69 and Charles Terrell '70. They are both ethnic minorities, advancing the board's efforts toward more diversity. Cicely Finley Taylor '94, Jacquelyn Lindsey Wynn '75, and Laura Pavenko Lutton '94 have agreed to accept nominations to serve as members-at-large. Lutton, who just served out the balance of Susan Nestor's term, will continue to serve in her own first term. Taylor and Wynn, both minority women, replace Michael Cuzzi '98 and Jeffrey Bistrong '94. Kristen Sherman Cervati '89 has agreed to fill the position of class VP. The committee will look to fill the young alumni trustee position this fall.

Other Business
Hope asked for approval of the slate of officers for fiscao year 2006-07, which were unanimously approved. Hope reminded everyone of the reunion events planned for the afternoon and adjourned the meeting.