This is my first installment of my reflections of the alumni council meeting I attended for the first time last Thursday and Friday at main campus.
The first question many of us were asked during orientation was “were you elected or were you appointed?” ie were you hand picked by the powers that be or voted in by the dissident alumni? Not where are you from, when did you graduate, what was your degree, what do you do for a living, what committee assignment do you have, etc etc. During orientation we received insightful information, asked many questions (some of which the existing council members could not even answer about their own organization) and received many warnings as to how we were allowed to proceed in meetings and what actions we were and were not allowed to engage in. It is interesting to note, those that went through orientation last year received no similar warnings. These warnings during our orientation were repeated more than once.
You will be happy to know that your dues are well spent on more food than we could ever eat. Although some of the meals did occur simultaneously with meetings. Gifts, receptions, socials, tickets to the football game, and events for our significant others seemed a bit excessive. I as well as a few others donated our football tickets to veterans or scholarship funds. Also I and a few others did not attend the non working receptions and social events.
I can not speak about others individual committee meetings but I enjoyed my two committee assignments very much. It seems as though the council members help hash out ideas and then the PSAA staff implement them. Of my two committees I found the alumni and student engagement committee meeting most interesting. The changing dynamics of how alumni reconnect once graduating from the University is somewhat fascinating. We reviewed data from a focus group study of alumni. My fellow members of this committee were wonderful to interact with. Although once the final meeting of the 2 days took place and the renewed efforts to address the bylaw changes came about none of my fellow committee members would speak to me.
This defeat came as a great disappointment to those of us hoping to return the alumni association to the alumni. We asked the questions “When will JVP be honored?” “When will the statue be returned?” we heard no reply. “Why isn’t the alumni association standing up to the negative press against our university?” You may be able to answer this for yourself if you look at the PSAA bylaws as they are available at the PSAA web site. The executive director of the PSAA is an employee of the University and as such answers to the University.
As some of you may know a few of the newly elected council members David Paterno, James Smith, Brad Mitchell and myself place an ad in the CDT last May asking council members to not approve the bylaw changes that enabled the dramatic change in the makeup of the council and the only manner one could get onto the ballot by democratic process. It proved to be of no avail and the bylaws were changed by a majority vote at their spring 2015 meeting. At the alumni council meeting this past week renewed efforts to mitigate the bylaw changes that diluted accountability and engagement with the members of the alumni association were defeated. The process also seemed to widen the gap between the 9 of us that were on the PSAA for all slate and the existing council members.
Where does this leave us? If we are to continue to fight for our alumni association more alumni must get involved. If you are in a college or campus alumni society, find out who your leaders on the alumni council are. Look up and contact alumni council members and politely express what you desire your alumni association to do for you. Ask them how they feel about the bylaw changes. And if you are a member of the alumni association consider trying for a seat on the alumni council.
Thank you
Elizabeth Morgan
The first question many of us were asked during orientation was “were you elected or were you appointed?” ie were you hand picked by the powers that be or voted in by the dissident alumni? Not where are you from, when did you graduate, what was your degree, what do you do for a living, what committee assignment do you have, etc etc. During orientation we received insightful information, asked many questions (some of which the existing council members could not even answer about their own organization) and received many warnings as to how we were allowed to proceed in meetings and what actions we were and were not allowed to engage in. It is interesting to note, those that went through orientation last year received no similar warnings. These warnings during our orientation were repeated more than once.
You will be happy to know that your dues are well spent on more food than we could ever eat. Although some of the meals did occur simultaneously with meetings. Gifts, receptions, socials, tickets to the football game, and events for our significant others seemed a bit excessive. I as well as a few others donated our football tickets to veterans or scholarship funds. Also I and a few others did not attend the non working receptions and social events.
I can not speak about others individual committee meetings but I enjoyed my two committee assignments very much. It seems as though the council members help hash out ideas and then the PSAA staff implement them. Of my two committees I found the alumni and student engagement committee meeting most interesting. The changing dynamics of how alumni reconnect once graduating from the University is somewhat fascinating. We reviewed data from a focus group study of alumni. My fellow members of this committee were wonderful to interact with. Although once the final meeting of the 2 days took place and the renewed efforts to address the bylaw changes came about none of my fellow committee members would speak to me.
This defeat came as a great disappointment to those of us hoping to return the alumni association to the alumni. We asked the questions “When will JVP be honored?” “When will the statue be returned?” we heard no reply. “Why isn’t the alumni association standing up to the negative press against our university?” You may be able to answer this for yourself if you look at the PSAA bylaws as they are available at the PSAA web site. The executive director of the PSAA is an employee of the University and as such answers to the University.
As some of you may know a few of the newly elected council members David Paterno, James Smith, Brad Mitchell and myself place an ad in the CDT last May asking council members to not approve the bylaw changes that enabled the dramatic change in the makeup of the council and the only manner one could get onto the ballot by democratic process. It proved to be of no avail and the bylaws were changed by a majority vote at their spring 2015 meeting. At the alumni council meeting this past week renewed efforts to mitigate the bylaw changes that diluted accountability and engagement with the members of the alumni association were defeated. The process also seemed to widen the gap between the 9 of us that were on the PSAA for all slate and the existing council members.
Where does this leave us? If we are to continue to fight for our alumni association more alumni must get involved. If you are in a college or campus alumni society, find out who your leaders on the alumni council are. Look up and contact alumni council members and politely express what you desire your alumni association to do for you. Ask them how they feel about the bylaw changes. And if you are a member of the alumni association consider trying for a seat on the alumni council.
Thank you
Elizabeth Morgan
