President John Bergman called the meeting to order at 5:20 p.m. 

Minutes
The minutes from the January 25, 2005 meeting were unanimously approved as written following Hugh's move to approve and Terry's second.

Alumni Council Report
John B. said that he and Danesa had gone to the College of Sciences and Humanities forum at Oak Hill Mansion. They learned that many alumni identified more with their department than identified with the Collegeof Sciences and Humanities as a whole. He and Danesa spoke about the alumni society and noted that participants from other departments were interested in the group and its functions.

Terry reported on the January 29, 2005 Alumni Council meeting. Topics included President Gora's Inauguration Scholarship and the 2004 Alumni Involvement Index which measures interaction between alumni and the Alumni Association in a given year. The next Council meeting is held on Saturday, June 14 in conjunction with the Symphony on the Green (Alumni College was cancelled due to low participation). Terry will serve on the Graduate of the Last Decade (G.O.L.D.) committee.  He noted that Amanda Smith was recently nominated for the award.

Departmental Report
Hugh reported that the university had just named Tom Taylor the new vice president for marketing, communications and enrollment management. Taylor will assume his position on August 1. In other staff news, Dr. Siewert makes regular visits to the department and is doing great.

Hugh thanked board members for their participation in a very successful Earth Week and Awards Dinner. He enjoyed the Adopt-A-River clean-up and thanked John M. for organizing it. 

In departmental news, university research grants will be required to cover tuition costs. The department has asked for clarification on how this might impact out of state students who have a higher tuition cost. A master plan is being developed for Cooper-Skinner Field (part of Field Station and Environmental Education Center) and will include a stakeholder survey, location of onsite intended plant communities and a usage policy.

The Mortenson Fellowship needs approximately $4000 to be endowed. Endowment enables monies to be awarded without depleting the principle.

NREM Department awards winners for the spring of 2005 include: Richard Huyck, Muncie Bureau of Water Quality, for Outstanding Service; Kelly Wiese for Outstanding Service and COTE Green Initiative Award; Thomas Warrner for Outstanding Senior and Cooper Award; Chris Edelstein for Outstanding Thesis; and Courtney Hall and Laura Fribley for Outstanding Graduate Student(s). Rachel DeRyk and Greg Towler were recipients of the Hibbs Scholarship. Chelsea Cohen and Joel Grant were recipients of the Nicoloff Scholarship. Christopher Higginbotham received the CITES Scholarship.

It was suggested that the NR newsletter include an extra printed page or an insert to include NR department and alumni events.  Hugh noted that the newsletter goes to approximately 1600 alumni in early November and can advertise 2006 events. He will check into the cost of this addition.

Old Business
Awards Dinner. John B. stated that the awards dinner went very well and thanked everyone for their attendance and participation. He pointed out that the front page Daily News coverage of Ted Levin on the day of the awards dinner was very nice.  Hugh said that the recognition of Tom Lowe was very appropriate and very well done. Emily said that she enjoyed the Lowe presentation and she enjoyed Ted Levin's essay reading. He is an author and it was very appropriate. Hugh reported that Danner's sold about 15 of Levin's books.  John M. liked the seating arrangement because it was a good mix of students, alumni, board members and faculty.  The board is looking at Friday, April 21 for the 2006 awards dinner. If that date does not work, the board will look at Thursday, April 20.

River Clean-up.  John M. thanked Amanda for helping with the arrangements for the clean-up. He noted that 8 tires, a CRT monitor and 15 bags of debris were collected. He estimates that approximately 400 pounds of trash were removed from the NREM Alumni Society's section of the White River in Hamilton County (the section begins at the SR 37 bridge and continues for 1 mile downstream). John M. has written thank you notes to those who volunteered their assistance (i.e., canoes) and John B. has signed them. The notes will be mailed this week. John M. has also submitted his clean-up report to the Riverwatch Coordinator at Adopt-A-River. The next river clean-up is scheduled for September 10, 2005.

New Business
Float trip – July 23.  Amanda emphasized that the float trip last year was very successful. She expressed her concern that doing three events on the water (two clean-ups and one float) might decrease participation and be a strain on schedules for board members. The board agreed and decided to look into combining the float trip with the Adopt-A-River clean-up on September 10. Ideas include a clean-up and then a float to Potter's or float Perkinsville to the work site and float to Potter's.  John will organize the September 10 outing. Amanda will check with Schwartzs about canoe availability on September 10.

Bike Trip – October 1, 2005 (rain date, October 2) from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The Cardinal Greenway Bike Trip is scheduled for October 1 and will begin at the Depot. Bikers can turn around at the New Medford Silo for approximately a 5 mile ride. More ambitious bikers can continue on to the reservoir. The publicity will request that riders bring their own lunch in order to picnic at the gravel lot in New Medford and will encourage riders to have helmets, water and maybe a power bar for the ride. The NR Club, Alumni Association or St.A.R.T. will assist with a refreshment stop halfway between the Depot and the Silo.  The Depot will organize parking. It is also requested by the Greenway that crossing guards be placed at any crossing near a highway. Emily noted that Jackson/32 and 12/Memorial are two that would need guards.

Career Day – November 2, 2005. The department will be doing the same format as last year. However, the event did run a little long last year so Hugh will probably drop the number of speakers down to four.  John B. suggested that the department consider a name change to jazz up the day. Perhaps, throw professional into the name. Hugh suggested Professional Development Day and noted that a name change is under consideration.

Internship/Career Opportunities Day – January 24 with a back-up date of January 31.  Hugh noted that the day was typically a Tuesday because that is when his undergraduate seminar is held and he can provide some attendance via that.

Earth Week – 2006. Denise would like to see another format for the animal exhibitors. She said that the message they are trying to convey does not come across in the current format. She would like to have them do a presentation versus just having the animals on display.  Amanda agreed and said that a demonstration time might be easier on the exhibitors as well. Hugh asked Abby, the NR Club president, to take this to the NR Club. Terry noted that Abby was also an intern at Mounds State Park this summer.

Dean asked about the Earth Day lunch schedules. He noted that his group had ordered 3 lunches but all were not available when he arrived. He suggested that tickets might resolve this situation. Hugh noted that the timing of lunch was difficult as it had started early for the COTE Awards. He will look into this situation for next year.

Involvement
John B. stated that the board is always trying to involve more alumni in its events and asked the board for suggestions. Terry said we could ask people to "bring a buddy." Amanda and Abby agreed. Abby added that it was hard to go to an event if you were not sure you would know anyone. Emily suggested that giving away a small BSU memento might be a nice touch.

Hugh suggested doing something at the zoo with Paul Grayson. John M. agreed and said that incorporating anything kid friendly, like the zoo, would be a great idea. Amanda suggested a "sneak peek" exhibit at the Zoo, Prophetstown, the museum, etc. This would allow alumni to interact with their families and one another at a fun event and would show them something "behind the scenes" of a new exhibit they might not otherwise get to see or know.  Terry liked the "behind the scenes/behind locked doors" idea.  Emily suggested a BSU family friendly weekend at a state park.  John B. thanked everyone for their ideas and asked the board to think in more detail about this for the next meeting and for implementation in 2006.

Next Meeting
The meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m. The next meeting will be held on September 15, 2005 at 5:00 p.m. in the Alumni Center. The board is welcome to attend a presentation by Catherine Gray at 7:00 p.m. in the Student Center's Cardinal Hall following the meeting.