Call to Order
President John Bergman called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. 

Minutes
The minutes from the January 24, 2006 meeting were unanimously approved as written following Terry's move to approve and Mike's second.

Alumni Council Report
Terry reported on the April 29, 2006 Alumni Council meeting. President Gora spoke with Council members about the direction of the university, the number one wireless campus ranking, and the focus on experience based learning.  Terry noted that the virtual distance learning collaboration between Ball State and the National Park Service sounded like an interesting event.  Terry headed the 2006 Legacy Scholarship committee. He said that there were over 130 applications that all members of the committee had to rank each application and then vote. The applicants were amazing and included a large number of salutatorians and valedictorians. He said that it was a difficult task but fifty recipients of the Legacy Scholarship were awarded.  Terry thanked the board for allowing him to serve on Alumni Council. He loves the experience.

Departmental Report
Faculty representative, Amy Gregg, gave the departmental report on behalf of new chair, Jimmie Eflin. Hugh has gone back to teaching more and he is chair of the Field Station, which he enjoys.  There is a new computer classroom for the department and it has been a wonderful addition. There are several hundred in the NREM 101 classes and there are 78 NREM majors and 28 minors.  The debate for the year will be a potential name change for the department.

Old Business
Bike trip. Denise reported that the spring bike trip had been cancelled. She is going to iron out additional details with the Greenway in order to gain access to the Depot for the next potential ride.

Spring river clean-up. John M. said that the May Adopt-A-River clean-up was cancelled because the water was too high and too fast. He tried to reschedule a couple of times but the weather was not very cooperative. In June, he and his wife went out and cleaned the adopted section of river. He said the water was still turbulent, it was difficult to see and there was not much trash.  The next clean-up is September 16, 2006. Box lunches will be provided by the Alumni Association. Amanda will pick them up at Kroger. The White River Canoe Company is supplying canoes, paddles and PFDs. In appreciation of John's Adopt-a-River leadership, Denise presented him with a gladiator helmet.

New Business
August 17, 2006 meeting.  John B., Jimmie, Amanda, Sue and Laura met at Cool Creek Nature Center on August 17 to discuss some agenda items for the upcoming year. There is interest in an NREM outing at the zoo or elsewhere and interest in community involvement/outreach to engage alumni and families. The department is also looking at new ways to reach high school students, perhaps via a speaker's bureau for schools and clubs. The department welcomes suggestions.

Discussion regarding the August 17 meeting. Don liked the idea of an NREM Alumni outing at the zoo. He also suggested a reception for state employees at the Government Center.  Mike S. said that the BSU Indy Center might be a great option.  It is only a five minute walk from the Government Center and is a nice way to introduce alumni to the Indy Center. Don pointed out that the Indy Center may not have an alcohol permit.  Terry said that if there was no alcohol at the Indy Center than the board could hold a short reception at the Indy Center and head to another venue afterwards. Mike S. agreed that there were a lot of opportunities in the area. He will check on the Indy Center facilities and get details back to Sue. Sue suggested that all College of Science and Humanities be invited if a Ball State event is hosted. Terry said that posters could be placed at INDOT, ISDH, DNR, IDEM, etc. to help spread the word about the alumni reception. Amanda said that "Are you a Cardinal? If so…" might be a catchy beginning to the flyer.

It was decided that the Indy Center might be the ideal venue for the reception. If that is not possible, venues such as the Government Center, the Arts Garden, etc. will be considered. Terry suggested that Monday and Tuesday might be the best days of the week for a reception as field staff are more likely to be in the office.  John B. and Mike S. noted that early November or sometime before the holidays might have the highest attendance.  Emily requested that the board consider the first Monday of November because state employees will be off for Election Day.  Suggestions made to encourage alumni participation included NREM or Homecoming related giveaways, license plate fee waivers like the BSUAA does at the state fair, birds of prey (courtesy of John B. and Terry), and a guest speaker. Don volunteered to donate a gift for a drawing.

There was much discussion on the need to show potential students the kinds of jobs that are available and the vast opportunities that exist and will become available.  In order to do this, accurate job data needs to be collected about NREM alumni. These individuals can then be invited to participate in Internship Day, Career Day or e-mentoring.  Emily pointed out that there are a large number of retirements that will be occurring over the next several years that will leave a great need in NREM related careers. Sarah said that she would like a well-organized display in the NREM halls that identifies what NREM is, what jobs are available, etc. in an interesting way.  John M. asked that the department consider talking to some IT professionals to get Ball State links on other pages. A name change and greater hits may not be enough to improve NREM numbers. 

Denise stated that she would like to help a student or alumnus find a job.  She forwards positions that she hears about to professors but what else can be done to raise awareness of these opportunities? Is there a streamlined way to get job information directly to the person posting on the web?  Sarah and Amy noted that job postings are available on the NREM website but that there are very few local opportunities.  Terry requested that the department post a link to the state job bank on the website. In addition, please submit any professional opportunities to Sarah.  John and Terry both agreed that helping employ students is an important duty for the NREM Alumni Society. If graduates are not employed or students are not aware of the post graduate opportunities then the department will struggle.

The departmental newsletter was also discussed. In order to engage alumni, it was suggested that the department make their potential name change a feature in an upcoming newsletter. Amanda suggested that "The Calling" might also encourage alumni participation, be helpful in promoting the department and in showing students what opportunities are available to them. "The Calling" would be a paragraph by an alumnus stating what drew them into the major, how they knew it was the right major and what the alumnus is now doing professionally.  Amy agreed that Amanda's idea would be helpful to the department. "The Calling" could be posted online, in the department, shared with students and with academic advising.

Internship Day. A committee was formed to address Internship Day needs and opportunities. The committee will include Denise, Crystal, Danesa, John B., Sue and Laura. They will meet prior to the alumni society meeting on November 8. 

Awards. Amanda will chair the awards committee. John B., Tim, Danesa and Sue will also serve. Amanda requested that Amy check with faculty for potential nominees.  For award criteria, past recipients and an online nomination form, please visit http://www.bsu.edu/alumni/article/0,1384,73243-6870-9102,00.html. The committee will meet before the alumni society meeting on November 8.

Jack Hanna. Jack Hanna will make a free presentation on campus at 7:00 p.m. on November 8. Don suggested that the alumni society hold a reception for NREM alumni in conjunction with the event. Laura would like to see if seats can be reserved for reception participants. Sue is checking on this with Bob Myers at Emens. Due to media commitments, Jack Hanna may not be able to attend the reception.

Mission Statement. John B. noted that the NREM Alumni Society's mission statement (http://www.bsu.edu/alumni/article/0,1384,73243-6870-9754,00.html) was the same as the purpose in the Constitution. He would like to revise and condense the statement. Sue said that this was never intended as a true mission statement and was placed online to inform NREM alumni about the group.  She said that the group may create a whole new statement if they wish. John B. suggested that the first paragraph might work as a mission statement. The discussion was tabled until the next meeting.

Membership
John B., Emily, John M., Danesa and Denise have terms expiring in December 2006. They will reply to Sue if they are renewing their terms or going off the board.

Next Meeting
The meeting adjourned at 6:20 p.m. for the pre-game rally and football game versus Eastern Michigan. The next meeting will be Thursday, November 8, 2006 at 3:00 p.m. in the Alumni Center. The meeting will adjourn for the Jack Hanna reception at Emens. Details to follow.