McDaniel College
Alumni Association
Alumni Council Meeting
September 10, 2009

In attendance:  
Executive Board
Joan Develin Coley, College President
Don Hobart ’62, Association President
Corynne Courpas ’76, Association President-Emerita
Robin Adams Brenton ’86, Executive Secretary
Jonathan Slade ’88, Treasurer 

Members-at-Large & Student Representatives
Jeff Carter ’70
Maureen Carroll Martin ’86
Lisa Hill Pearre ’97
Alice Smith Rau ’91
Ron Roth ’64
David Castle ’10
Holly Debaugh ’10 

Committee Chairs
Rebecca Arnold ’04
Ellen Earp Baker MEd’87
Julie Biddinger Jones ’90
Jim Kaufman ’91

Committee Members & Others
Josh Russin ’07
Phil Enstice ’71, Presidential Search Committee

The meeting was opened with introductions.  As it has become a tradition for the College President to share the State of the College with the Alumni Council at their first meeting of the academic year, Alumni Association President, Don Hobart, introduced President Coley who shared the following (encapsulated) good news about McDaniel:

State of the College - Joan Develin Coley
• A new curriculum, now in its third year, offers students the global, multicultural and interdisciplinary perspectives they’ll need to navigate the change they’ll encounter after they graduate.
• Faculty have more opportunities than ever before for professional development
• Our Post-baccalaureate programs have been expanded to 18 - including the Leadership in Global Enterprise certificate program - and these programs have changed to meet the needs of today’s graduate student.
• Our Budapest campus now offers a bachelor’s degree in 6 areas of study.
• We’ve established centers for excellence that focus on aging, faculty development, global enterprise and service learning.
• Since the beginning of our comprehensive campaign, we’ve invested more than 45 million dollars in capital improvements that include a bustling north campus featuring apartment-style living and a renovated Gill Center for fitness, fun and socializing and new inviting visitor entrances. Academic Hall provides a new facility for learning and our art studio has been expanded and renovated.  The Garden Apartments and Blanche Ward Hall underwent total renovations and the students feel that the $1 million bathroom renovation in McDaniel Hall was money well spent.
• Geothermal energy heats and cools North Village apartments, the Garden Apartments and Blanche Ward Hall - and it’s just one way we are working to reduce our carbon footprint, to be responsible citizens of the Earth.  And, we have developed a sustainability plan to guide our efforts to reduce, reuse and recycle.
• Graduate enrollments are up this fall - and 7 new students enrolled in our Gerontology master’s degree program.
• This past year - and despite a crippling recession - we raised more than $10 million and exceeded our $65 million goal of the Carpe Diem Campaign. That’s our fourth largest fundraising year ever.
• Nearly 30 percent of our alumni responded to an online survey last spring - and 70 percent of them said they feel very connected or somewhat connected to the college. They care about the college. They are engaged. That’s good news now and for the future.
• And the newest prospective alumni? I am pleased to report that the class of 2013 is robust and diverse.
• We have a new Strategic Plan to guide us through 2014.
• There were no layoffs due to the economy. However no one - faculty or staff - received a raise this year and there is a hiring freeze in effect.  We will weather this storm while making sure our students continue to receive an excellent education.
• We retained our strong bond ratings with Fitch and Standard and Poors of BBB+ and A- while many colleges were downgraded in this current climate.
• The State of the College – is good!

Following her remarks, Don and Corynne presented Joan with a thank you gift for her consistent and strong support of the Alumni Association during her tenure.

Don then introduced Phil Enstice ’71, former Alumni Association President, current member of the McDaniel Board of Trustees and also a member of the Presidential Search Committee who shared an update on the search process.

Presidential Search - Phil Enstice
• The Presidential Search Committee consists of eight trustees, three faculty members, one student and one administrator.
• The committee’s task is to conduct a search and then recommend a candidate to the Board of Trustees for their review.
• Mary Lynn Durham ’70, Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, is Chair of the Search Committee.
• The Board has contracted with Myers McRae, a national consulting firm, to help guide the search process.
• Focus sessions, including one for alumni leaders, were very well attended - a number of ideas that are being integrated into the search - came from these sessions.
• Advertising is under way and a great deal of interest has been expressed toward the position.

After Phil’s comments Robin walked through the Presidential Search website with the group.  After some questions, Phil and Robin asked the Council members to share this information with their classmates and friends to stimulate conversation and encourage participation from alumni in the search process.

Treasurer’s Report - Robin Adams Brenton
• The report was approved as presented.

Annual Fund Update - Corynne Courpas
• Our FY09 goal was $1.65 million but due to the economic climate, the year ended with the college raising $1.55 million.
• The FY10 goal will remain at $1.65 million and there are many plans to engage alumni and encourage their support of McDaniel students.
• Ralph Frith ’84, has agreed to remain in his position as National Annual Fund Chair for a third year.
• The focus for this year will be on educating constituents as to why funding is so vitally important to our students.
• As was expected, since we did not reach our dollar goal, our alumni participation rate dropped to 18.7%.  This is very disappointing and something we need every alumnus to be aware of - and to help us change. It is up to us, as alumni leaders, to get the word out that every gift, no matter the size, makes a difference in our participation – and in the lives our students.
• A major success for the FY09 year was in our student phone center where we have 30 students employed for FY10.  They are already off to a very positive start.

Committee Reports
Awards - Julie Biddinger Jones
• A new form was been developed by Don Hobart, outgoing chair of the committee, that makes review of the candidate biographical information easier for committee members.
• The following alumni were chosen to receive Alumni Association Awards at Homecoming 2009: 
o Alumnus of the Year - William Robinson ’41
o College Service Award - Lynn Habicht ’87, MS’91;
Jamie Walker Luse ’99; Lois Chilcoat Meszaros ’64, MEd’72
o Community Service Award - Miles Cole ’67, Victor McTeer ’69,
Dan Waeger ’04 (posthumously)
o Professional Achievement Award - Roland Fleischer ’52,
Lori Michau ’92, Sharon Crane Siegel ’75.
• The committee traditionally meets in the fall/winter to review and discuss current procedures; and in the spring to vote on award winners.
• Nomination forms are available on the college website and alumni are encouraged to nominate their classmates and friends.

Nominations & Governance - Jim Kauffman
• The long-awaited Sports Hall of Fame policy manual has been reviewed and finalized by the committee and then also reviewed and approved by the Sports Hall of Fame Committee.
• Jim indicated that the last step was to have the Alumni Council approve the manual.
• A motion was made to approve the Sports Hall of Fame policy manual. The motion was seconded and passed. 
• The next meeting of the committee will be held in November when they will begin review of the GOLD policy manual.
 
Outreach - Ellen Earp Baker
• No new business has been transacted by this committee since the last Alumni Council meeting in May.
• The committee will host their first meeting of the year on September 19.
• There are three new members on the committee.

Sports Hall of Fame - Robin Adams Brenton for Sally Stanfield
• The committee held their selection and election meetings in May and June.
• The Green Terror Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2009 includes: 
Julie Backof Boden ’98, Bruce Bozman ’70, Stephen Hallowell ’97,
John Heritage Jr. ’68, Joe Menendez ’81, John Montanye ’84,
Donna DuVall Sellman ’45, Gordon Shelton ’68.
• These alumni will be inducted into the Hall of Fame at the Green Terror Sports Hall of Fame Banquet on October 23.
• The Fellowship of Champions induction will also take place that evening.
• Nomination forms are available on the college website and alumni are encouraged to nominate their classmates and friends.

GOLD Committee - Becky Arnold
• The committee met on September 7 and the first order of business was to review their policy manual that will be turned over to the Nomination and Governance Committee for updating.
• A young alumni regional competition for the Annual Fund was held last year and was won by our GOLD alumni in Philly with 17% participation; Westminster and Frederick were tied for second at 11% each.
• Upcoming GOLD Events include:
o Hospitality room at the Maryland Wine Festival
o Wine & cheese reception at “In the Street” an annual event in Frederick
o GOLD alumni will gather for breakfast at Homecoming
o Care package drive for overseas alumni will be held at Homecoming
o Happy Hours in Baltimore and D.C.
o Tubing event at Ski Liberty
o Event with Capitols
• The Committee also discussed creating an “I Gave to McDaniel” Campaign for the Annual Fund encouraging gifts to come in the form of monthly withdrawals from an alums checking account or credit card.

Old Business
• At the last meeting of the Alumni Council, a letter to Vice President Rich Kief, under the signatures of Don and Corynne was reviewed and approved by those in attendance.  The content of the letter included concern about the visibility of alumni information on the college website.  Both Don and Corynne received phone calls from Rich who recognized the importance of this issue.  He explained that the website will be revamped in the near future and our recommendation will be taken into serious consideration.

New Business
• Don reviewed the meeting plans for the year and explained that Members-at-Large and Committee Chairs are requested to attend all meetings of the Council.
• Upcoming meeting dates and locations are:
o November 4 – McDaniel Lounge
o March 2 – McDaniel Lounge with members of the Student Alumni Council
o May 17 – President’s House with members of the Alumni Leadership Programs for Seniors

With no further business the meeting was adjourned.