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President Jim Grim called the meeting to order at 9:35 a.m. He asked for corrections or additions to the minutes of the April 4, 2002 meeting. David Knott moved to accept the minutes as corrected. Dan Waechter seconded, and they were approved by voice vote.
BUSINESS
Regional Alumni Events
Charlotte Shepperd gave an update on the event prospects for this fall.
Reception in conjunction with the Ball State College of Fine Arts Indianapolis Art Walk, Thursday, September 5, 2002, 5:00-9:00 p.m.--The opening registration and wine reception point is at the Firefighters Museum. The ending point is set for the Rathskeller. Currently, the plan includes six restaurants, each of which provides hors d’oeuvres. Also, some of the College of Fine Arts groups will participate, including University Singers, Reflex (an Improv group), and the jazz band. The cost will likely be less than $20. The Rathskeller will have complimentary hors d’oeuvres and a cash bar. Since the Art Walk concludes there, that is also where President Brownell will speak and the jazz band will play, beginning at 8:00 p.m. The suggested time for the journalism gathering might be 7:00 p.m., and then let it dovetail into the concluding portion of the Art Walk. To make this effective, the charge needs to be the cost of the Art Walk and state on the mailing that this will admit people not only to the journalism event, but also to the other evening’s activities. The journalism reception information would be included in the mail-piece being done by the Fine Arts Alumni Society. Journalism faculty attendance would also be emphasized. The reception could possibly be designated by a banner and a unique name tag. The reception could also be promoted by a separate mailing, a PUSH e-mail, and personal contact method. The only journalism expense would likely be for a separate mailing. Following discussion, the board agreed to host the reception. Marilyn Weaver and Shepperd will work on final details.
Dinner in conjunction with Public Relations Conference—The conference will be October 3-5, 2002. A dinner in conjunction with the conference was suggested for Friday, October 4. The Alumni Center is available for the dinner. There will be a reception and tour of the Art/Journalism Building at 5:15 p.m., so the dinner could be at 7:00 p.m. The event will dovetail with the conference, so there will be other people attending the dinner. Dinner cost will likely be $30 for non-conference participants/$25 for conference participants. The board agreed to host the dinner. There was discussion about how to involve journalism alumni in the conference and, ultimately, the dinner. It was suggested to include a program with the dinner—have a department update and invite the dean to present the iCommunications program. Dinner information and a reservation form will be included in the conference brochure mail-piece. A brochure with a journalism letter will also be sent.
Homecoming, October 19, 2002—In consideration of the timing with the October 4 dinner, it was agreed that it is not in the best interest to participate in Homecoming this year.
Chicago Event—It was agreed to plan a Chicago event for Spring 2003.
The Alumni Event Committee will schedule a meeting to work on these events. Committee members are: Amy Ahlersmeyer, Brian Hayes, Pam Records, and Deborah Robinson, along with Grim, Waechter, Weaver, Shepperd, and Diane Williams. Mark Kornmann will also serve on this committee for the Chicago event.
Department Update
Weaver said there had been a few faculty hired since the last meeting. Mike Hanley, an alumnus of Ball State, is on contract in Advertising; Larry Dailey has been hired as part of the iComm grant (his specialty is Web); and Lori Dimo, who comes from the University of Kansas, is the new director for the iComm program.
Brian Hayes reported that the high school workshops had been a success. More than 400 students have been involved. Hayes commended Mark Herron for an outstanding job in directing the workshops.
An advisors’ workshop is scheduled for the coming week. At an ASNE workshop the previous week, Gary Graham was a speaker and there was a very strong group of advisors from across the country who participated.
Dan Waechter reported that enrollment is very strong. There is a new specialization in P.R. and there is a new iComm minor, for which Waechter distributed a handout. Waechter has worked closely with the iComm master’s program, which includes a focus on creating content for digital media.
Distributing handouts including the department’s mission statement and strategic plan, Weaver encouraged board input. The department is very encouraged with the large number of students in the program.
In other matters, the Atwell and DeMotte scholarships are now endowed. Waecther reported that enrollment is very strong. Weaver also asked for each board member to submit a paragraph bio and an electronically submitted photo for the Web site. Lana Nannie is leaving the department to go to a position with the Office of the Vice President for Technology.
Alumni Council Update
Charlotte Shepperd reported for Amy Ahlersmeyer that the Council had met June 15 on campus, in conjunction with the annual Alumni College. Among business items were the recommendation by the Council to Governor O’Bannon to reappoint Tom DeWeese for another four-year term to the university’s Board of Trustees. DeWeese and Hollis Hughes are the two Alumni Association representatives on the board. DeWeese currently serves as its president.
The Association is encouraged by the progress being made with the ialumni relations program. Executive Director Ed Shipley and three other Association staff members have visited with 107 individuals since the official inception of the program, which is an outreach program to alumni.
A new group has petitioned to become an official constituent society. The Cardinal Football Alliance, a group of 963 football lettermen, have been working for nearly a year to organize and meet criteria.
In their trustee report, DeWeese and Hughes noted that the university is in good shape, on one hand, and facing challenges on the other, especially with the state of the budget through the state legislature. Ball State’s freshman enrollment is closed, a very good sign for Ball State, and the university continues to grow in ways all alumni can be proud of. Increase in tuition, a necessity for our continuing progress, has not deterred application to Ball State.
The Council voted on award recipients for 2002, which will be presented during the annual awards dinner Homecoming weekend. The three Distinguished Alumni are: James Lintzenich, former CEO of USA Group; Don Mikesell, emeritus Dean of Students at Ball State; and Anthony Smith, a partner with Ernst and Ernst. The Association will also bestow numerous other awards, including seven G.O.L.D. awards to outstanding young alumni; and six Benny Awards.
The Association continues to grant increasing money in scholarships, continues to expand services and programs to alumni, and continues to extend assistance to groups with university affiliation as they plan events for their alumni.
OTHER BUSINESS
There was discussion regarding the idea of a student publications alumni reunion for Summer 2003. A list of publications staffs through the years is needed from journalism to code in the alumni central database for mailing. David Knott is also a resource for the list. Publicity would include Phoenix, the Ball State Alumnus, mail, e-mail, the Web, and a personal contact method. A committee was formed to plan the reunion as follows: Brian Hayes, David Knott, Pam Records, Charlotte Shepperd, Lesley Stedman, Dan Waechter, and Marilyn Weaver. The committee will schedule a meeting and give a report at the next board meeting.
Ideas to increase journalism awards nominations were requested. Lists of recipients, active file, and inactive file nominees were distributed for the board’s reference. The board was asked to review the lists and make recommendations for nominations and e-mail at least four to Diane Williams at dkwillia@bsu.edu. The board was reminded that active journalism alumni board members are not eligible for nomination. Shepperd stated that active nominees are kept on file for three years and then go into the inactive file, unless they are re-activated at the board’s request or re-nominated. Letters are sent to all new and active nominees requesting their biographical information (a copy of the active nominee letter was circulated). It was suggested to revise the letters and include who nominated the nominee. It was also suggested that the board identify alumni through the alumni central database business list. Shepperd said there are more than 4,600 journalism alumni and the database has more than a 95 percent rate of good addresses; however, the business information is not as good. Another idea is a call for nominations utilizing the Phoenix, the Ball State Alumnus, a blanket mailing, and a PUSH e-mail.
The Marion Chronicle Tribune printed 5,000 copies of the journalism timeline. Copies were distributed to the board. Prints will be sent to absent members and also to 2001 board members. The board expressed appreciation to Pam Records for the design and to Juli Metzger for the printing. It was suggested to have former journalism chairpersons autograph 100 prints and have them matted/framed and available for sale at the October 3-5 PR Conference.
With respect to the 2003 Journalism Alumni board, Shepperd said that offices for president, vice president, and Alumni Council representative are two-year appointments. Current members need to give Shepperd their interest in being an officer. Absent members will be sent an e-mail request for officer interest. Typically, the past president serves as the Alumni Council representative. Board members Susan Akers, Gary Graham, and Deborah Robinson’s terms end December 31, 2002 and they will be given the opportunity for a new term. Gary Graham agreed to a new term, ending December 31, 2006. The board was asked to identify three or four potential new members. Names suggested were Layne Cameron, Sam Clemmons, Deanne (Baker) Hayworth, Steve Healey, Joe Hernandez, Bob Jonason, John Ketzenberger, Amy Leang, Michael Myers, Angie Rapp, and Celeste Williams. The names were narrowed to four by the consensus of the board to be contacted in order as follows: Amy Leang, Celeste Williams, Angie Rapp, and Layne Cameron. Shepperd will make the contacts.
The next Journalism Alumni board meeting will be Saturday, September 7, 2002, 9:30 a.m., Alumni Center Board Room.
There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 11:50 a.m.
