The meeting was called to order by President Brian Hayes at 9:10 a.m. Refering to the minutes of the June 23, 2007 meeting, he asked for corrections or additions. There being none, Marilyn Weaver moved to accept the minutes as presented, Juli Metzger seconded, and they were passed by voice vote.

Business
Hayes led discussion regarding the Colts Complex Outing, September 27. The event included guest speaker Myra Borshoff Cook, a wine and cheese social, and photos taken of participants with the Lombardi Trophy. Hayes said the event was excellent, but expressed concern that the attendance of 48 was low. Marilyn Weaver said that 3,000 emails went out to Indianapolis-area CCIM alumni. She said that while the turnout may have been disappointing, it was a great event to create excitement for the alumni group. Charlotte Shepperd reiterated the event was good, but that we need to continue to evaluate per capita cost of events.  Attending activities already planned by the Alumni Association, such as The Rock Bottom Brewery outing in Chicago in December, is one answer. The outing is Monday, December 10. A mailing will be sent to all Chicago-area alumni.

Shepperd reminded the board that every member should be a donor to the university. If they haven't contributed in 2007 yet, she said, everyone should consider a contribution by the end of the calendar year, whatever the amount, and that gifts can be designated to the program of the donor's choice. Weaver mentioned the David Knott scholarship as a good example of where funds are needed.

Committee Update
Awards: Letters will go out soon, along with push e-mails to past award recipients to nominate others. Hayes sent an e-mail to faculty requesting nominations. Juli Metzger suggested we might consider some additional awards to reflect specifically the new media concept.

Mentoring: Deb Robinson said the committee needs to meet with Sheryl Swingley to move forward. Ideas include fostering mentoring efforts with current students. A career day for students to network with alumni and creation of a speaker's bureau list to help get speakers for classes, are a couple of ideas. The time frame needs to be this year so it can be implemented next year. Weaver suggested a pilot program through one of the sequences could help us evaluate.

Professional Development: Board bios are not all in and need to be directed to Hayes. The board discussed ways to showcase alumni. A good starting point would be our alumni award recipients. Weaver suggested that Hayes work with graduate assistant, Doug Blemker, to pursue showcasing options. Sarah Maisto and Jim Grim offered assistance as board representatives.

Reunions/Outings: The board continues to plan for the Journalism Reunion, June 21, 2008, on campus. Tom Gayda recapped the last planning meeting. Advertising for the reunion will be done at the Rock Bottom Outing and was mentioned at the Colts Outing. The committee will meet again this fall.

Ideas include keeping the one-day activity casual, with a potential campus tour, gatherings by decades at places in the Village for lunch, and an evening event. David Knott said, besides a dinner, the committee is open to other suggestions for the reunion evening.

Board Appointments
Prospective board members were discussed and a list of updated prospects was distributed. Weaver suggested the needs to reflect a good balance of disciplines and graduation years. The board agreed to let Shepperd and Weaver meet to discuss and finalize board recommendations and appointments. New board members will be invited to begin terms in January 2008.

Department Update
Weaver summarized recent department activities. The Indianapolis master's program is up and running. Recent gifts to the department include a major contribution of photos, given by Cheryl Rhoads. Fred Blevins also has provided funds for a scholarship. The News-Scholars program is going very well. Several faculty members are involved with the Business Fellows program. Bob Pritchard received a $2.4 million grant through the Department of Homeland Security. There will be a Professional-in-Residence program October 24, featuring a young alumni career panel. Mark Popovich will retire at the end of the 2007-2008 academic year.

Alumni Council Update
Shepperd said the Alumni Council had met September 29. The 2008 president is Tom Farris from Muncie. Sarah Maisto continues as the Journalism Alumni Society representative on the Council. The next meeting of the Council will be February 2, 2008.

Other Business/Future Dates
The next meeting date is tentatively set for January 12, 2008.  Committees will meet before that date.

There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 10:50 a.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Charlotte Shepperd, Secretary
Journalism Alumni Liaison

Julie Johnson
Alumni Staff Assistant