President John Bergman called the meeting to order at 5:30 p.m. 

Minutes
The minutes from the June 8, 2005 meeting were unanimously approved as written following Denise's move to approve and Danesa's second.

Alumni Council Report
Alumni Council met on Saturday, September 10 before the first home football game of the season versus Bowling Green. Sue reported that the Alumni Association added several new outings to the calendar, many of which include meeting President Jo Ann Gora in different geographical settings. It was noted that the Ball State Foundation continues to be in solid financial standing. Homecoming events begin the week of October 3 for students, and will culminate on Saturday, Oct. 15, when the Cards play Toledo. Members of the Alumni Board are invited to attend all Homecoming activities and may contact Laura or Sue for details and reservations. Jacque Brown noted that the College of Fine Arts Alumni Board meetings have been suspended until there is renewed interest from the Dean and an agenda that supports the constitution and bylaws of the Ball State Alumni Association. As a result, the organization will no longer be represented on the Council. Terry Coleman told the Council about the success of the first White River clean-up and mentioned that he had to choose between the meeting or the clean-up that was being conducted. Journalism Alumni developed their own logo to market and publicize their organization. The new dean of the College of Communication, Information, and Media is Roger Lavery. Teachers College alumni hosted an event at The Children's Museum of Indianapolis for alumni and their families on October 1. More than 500 attended. Shipley noted personnel changes in the office, and that Ball State enrollment is 17,728, down 1.72 percent. Every state in the union is represented except Rhode Island, and four students have transferred to Muncie as a result of Hurricane Katrina. Shipley mentioned that the September issue of the Alumnus featured a question/answer article that provides insight into President Gora's first year at Ball State. The president, Shipley said, is challenging everyone at the university to be better. She is working tirelessly to meet leaders and the general alumni population in communities throughout Indiana and the country. For a detailed copy of the minutes, please visit http://www.bsu.edu/alumni/council/minutes/.

Departmental Report
Hugh reported that undergraduate enrollment in the department was down slightly with 75 majors but that course enrollment remained strong and no classes were under-enrolled. Dr. Siewert is teaching NREM 101 and is impressed with the quality of students. Dr. Godish is developing a program in Homeland Security that may be available in the next year or two.  In addition, the department is assessing curriculum this year and working to define learning outcomes.  Information for the new Gas Chromatograph with FID and ECD is being obtained and a decision will be made soon.

In faculty news, Dr. Popovicova will be the new faculty representative to the NREM Alumni Society Board of Directors. She was unable to attend this meeting due to a class outing. Hugh attended a meeting of the Council on Environmental Deans and Directors in San Jose, CA this past summer. In the summer of 2006, field studies are planned in Hawaii with Hugh, California with Dr. Popovicova and Jordan with Dr. Chandler.

Dr. Van Meter and Heather Rickleff wrote and produced a video for the department.  The DVD is a recruitment tool and will soon be posted on the NREM website. Hugh said he would provide a copy of the DVD to any board member with a venue to show it. Amanda noted that she can use it when students shadow her on the job. Following the department report, the board viewed the promotional DVD.

Old Business
River Clean-up. Amanda reported on the September 10 Adopt-A-River Clean-up. She said it was a highly successful event with over 400 pounds of debris collected. This included 9-10 tires and a trash can which was found and used!  More trash would have been collected if the group had had more canoes than kayaks. However, canoe availability was limited due to the White River clean-up. Despite the activities for the day, Schwartz's was very accommodating with the drop-in and the pick-up. John B. noted that most of the trash picked up came from the side of the river that the NREM Alumni Society had not adopted. 

Amanda thanked John M. for a wonderful job organizing the clean-up and for providing lunch for the 17 participants. John M. will also be submitting paperwork for the clean-up with Adopt-A-River. The sign indicating the NREM Alumni Society's section of the river will be posted now that two clean-ups have been completed. Amanda said she would keep an eye out for the sign. Emily suggested that the group could do an official sign unveiling and photo at any time and not necessarily the day the sign is put up.

Dean noted that September 10^th is a big day for river clean-up. To increase the availability of canoes and, thus, the amount of debris that can be removed, another day might be more beneficial.  He also requested that participants do introductions such as name, work place, and hometown because nametags are not enough.  Amanda agreed and said that other housekeeping issues could be done at that point as well, such as, addressing where the lunch take out is.

New Business
Bike Trip – October 1, 2005. The board agreed via electronic ballot to postpone the bike ride. Emily noted that she would prefer a morning ride. Hugh suggested April 8 or 9 and Denise agreed to check with Gerald regarding any spring clean-up and Greenway availability for those dates.

Career Day – November 2, 2005. Hugh noted that Afton Hess and Matt Kline agreed to participate in Career Day. He will entertain suggestions for representatives from parks and recreation and interpretation and environmental communication. The board made several suggestions that Hugh would try to contact.

Internship Day – January 24, 2006. Danesa agreed to chair Internship Day. Amanda agreed to help with door prizes.  Laura inquired about the NR Club having a display as had been discussed at previous meetings. Hugh agreed to talk with the club and noted that the department should probably have a display as well. Sue suggested those tables be the first displays seen to welcome students in.

The board was asked to submit vendor contacts, particularly from the private sector and zoos, to Laura and Sue. Hugh said he will poll faculty for vendor contacts and will follow up with the Cincinnati Zoo.

Awards. Tim J. agreed to chair the awards committee which consists of John B., Hugh and Sue. The committee will meet prior to Career Day festivities at 2:30 or 3:00 p.m.

Archives. Sue reported that the assistant archivist can store materials in Bracken Library that would be easily accessible to interested parties. She asked the board to submit printed materials and other items from their group activities or board meetings for archiving. John B. and Emily both said they may have their original letters to join the alumni society from Hibbs. John B. also recommended the Daily News article from last spring on Ted Levin.

Next Meeting
The next meeting will be held on January 24, 2006 at 4:30 p.m. in the Alumni Center following Internship/Career Opportunities Day. Laura will be taking photos of the group for the website.

The meeting was adjourned at 6:45 p.m.