Family and Consumer Sciences Alumni Society

Thursday, October 26, 2006 Board of Directors Meeting

Alumni Center Board Room

 

Members Present: Angela Abbott, Diane Blankenship, Trish Bowerman, Suzie Huber, Jackie Johnston, Marla Kurtz, Barbara Norrick, Joe Oliver, Alice Spangler, Sharon Stephen, Sue Taylor, and Sandra Wimmer.

President Suzie Huber called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m.

Following a motion by Jackie Johnston to approve the September 19, 2006 meeting minutes, the motion was seconded by Sandra Wimmer, and the minutes were unanimously approved as written.  Appreciation was expressed to Joe Oliver for hosting the September meeting at McDonald's Restaurant.

DEPARTMENT UPDATE

• Alice Spangler reported that the AAFCS accreditation Site Visit was held October 14-19 and a student exhibit was highlighted.
• Fall Semester 2006 enrollment figures were distributed.  Currently 961 students are enrolled in the FCS program.
• The department is involved in a philanthropic project with the Back To School Teacher's Store.
• Departmental faculty have been featured in various news media.

ALUMNI COUNCIL UPDATE

Jackie Johnston reiterated information from the September 9, 2006 Council meeting:

•       Homecoming 2006, "Cheers To 80 Years" was celebrated Saturday, October 21.  Traditional events were held as well as a new event, Music on McKinley, which included fireworks.
•       Work is continuing on the new Communication and Media Building and our new residence hall, Park Hall, both scheduled to open in fall 2007. The Board of Trustees named Park Hall after Don Park, vice president emeritus for university advancement, and the five generations of the Park family who have attended Ball State.
•      The new University marketing campaign has the tagline, "Education Redefined." President Gora will be making a national tour to various regional areas in an effort to promote Ball State University and also engage alumni involvement with the university.

The next Alumni Council meeting is Saturday, January 13, 2007.

OLD BUSINESS

Communique Newsletter—Marla reported that publication of the newsletter electronically involves a new process of computerized programming.  A meeting will be scheduled with Alice, Sue, and Steve Fulton, BSUAA director of new media, to discuss the technology and programming necessary to produce the newsletter in this manner. There is a concern of losing alumni communication because of the small percentage of e-mail addresses in the alumni database.  There are approximately 60% alumni with no e-mail information. It was suggested that perhaps a postcard could be mailed to FCS alumni requesting their e-mail information. Also a sidebar requesting e-mail information could be inserted in the Ball State Alumnus magazine.

2006 Career Mentoring Day Overview—Today's event was well-organized and the attendance was 598. There was discussion to consider new options for the future, such as alternation CMD with a new event; a title change (Career Networking Day, Career Internship Day) and invite alumni speakers with internship opportunities. Sue said that CMD needs to be scheduled two years in advance and the next date needs to be determined as soon as possible. The timeline should be comparable to the last Thursday in October.

NEW BUSINESS

FCS Awards Day—It was reported that FCS award nominations are needed for 2008 award selections. The Planning Committee and Awards Criteria Committee need to schedule meetings, respectively, early in 2007.

FCS Alumni and Families Event—There was discussion about partnering with the BSUAA Teachers College event in March, 2007 at the Indianapolis Children's Museum. Other partnerships suggested were the Fort Wayne Science Central event and the BSUAA Symphony on the Prairie event.

Discussion was opened about expanding board membership by three new members. FCS areas of Education- Extension and Family & Child are void of representation. Following discussion it was agreed that Sue will check the FCS Alumni Society Constitution for guidelines and then e-mail the board to submit nominations, accordingly. Also, a board vice president needs to be elected for a two-year term beginning in 2007.

The next board meeting will be presided by Jeanine LeMaster, 2007-2008 board president, Wednesday, February 21, 2007, Alumni Center Board Room. Refreshments will be provided at 5:30 p.m., and the meeting will begin at 6:00 p.m.

There being no further business the meeting adjourned at 2:40 p.m.

Respectfully Submitted,

Sharon Stephen, Secretary