VCU African-American Alumni Council

Council Meeting Minutes

MEMBERS PRESENT: Steve Bolden, Linnie Carter, Regina Harris, Wanda Ritchie, Edward Robinson, Jr., Nina Sims, Larry Powell

GUESTS:            Ms. Kathleen Barrett, President, VCU Alumni Association
                              Dr. Roderick McDavis, Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs
                              Ms. Alicia Aroche, Assistant Director, Career Planning and Placement

I.    CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 10:05 a.m.

II.    WELCOME
Ms. Carter welcomed everyone and asked for introductions.

III.    APPROVAL OF JANUARY 19, 2002 MINUTES
A motion was made to approve the January 19, 2002 minutes. Moved. Seconded. Carried.

IV.    EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE REPORT
Meetings

Due to scheduling conflicts, the Executive Committee has communicated through e-mail rather than conducting a meeting.

Mr. Powell shared a final copy of the reunion brochure that was designed by alumni Antoine and Spencer Holmes.

V.    GUEST SPEAKER
Kathleen Barrett, President of the VCU Alumni Association

Ms. Barrett reported on two projects the VCUAA is currently working on: 1) Dr. Trani asked the VCUAA to assist in presenting recommendations for renaming the academic and medical campuses. The VCUAA has diligently collected names from individuals through various means such as the Internet, word of mouth, standard mail, etc.; 2) developing a Legacy Program for alumni and their siblings. The purpose of the Legacy Program is to introduce children of alumni to the university to hopefully encourage them to attend VCU.

Ms. Barrett mentioned that the VCUAA met in various locations to allow the board members an opportunity to visit some of the new buildings on campus. So far the VCUAA held meetings in the Life Sciences Building, the Engineering School Building, the Sports Medicine Building and the Siegel Center.

Ms. Barrett also reported on several other VCUAA programs including "Now We're Cooking," activities for graduates participating in the spring and winter commencements, student recruitment calling phonation and Destination Imagination. She invited AAAC members to assist with any of these programs.

After reviewing the AAAC reunion brochure, Ms. Barrett stated that all of the events looked really good, especially the "Until We Meet Again" breakfast. She said if invited she would like to try and attend. She also asked to receive the AAAC's monthly e-mail newsletter.

Ms. Barrett thanked the Council for inviting her to the AAAC meeting and said that the VCUAA meetings are open to all and welcomed AAAC members to attend at any time.

Dr. McDavis thanked the Council for inviting him to the meeting and also expressed his gratitude to the Council for the welcoming reception held in his honor when he first arrived on campus.

Dr. McDavis gave a panoramic view of things happening at VCU and discussed some of the University's current initiatives:

1. Reach out to more alumni, who are the best ambassadors for the university.
2. Increase student enrollment from 25,000 to 27,000 and recruit more out of state students, particularly from the northeast.
3. Spotlight life sciences, engineering and technology without taking away any focus from history, arts, medicine or social work (areas already receiving considerable recognition).
4. Goal to become a Tier 2 institution in US World Report within the next 5 years. The University plan to accomplish this through increasing student retention, improved SAT and GPA scores, and graduating more students over the next 5 years.
5. Increase the diversity within the university. The university's faculty and administration need to reflect the diverse student base.
6. Increase student housing. Currently the university has enough housing for 3,000 students but would like to increase it to 6,000 in the next couple of years. The university is currently looking at various areas on and around campus and the neighboring areas.
7. There are currently three academic program proposals on the table to be approved for VCU: International Studies, African-American Studies and Financial Technology.
8. Get the School of Mass Communications moving forward again. Their new director will arrive on March 1. Dr. McDavis invited Mass Communications alumni to contact the new director and let her know of your experiences while attending VCU.

Alumni had several questions for Dr. McDavis:

Question: How do you think budget cuts will affect VCU?

Mr. McDavis: Of course, cutting the budget by 3% and then 7% will hurt VCU. We may have to cut some services but we are looking at various options including tuition increases, increasing out of state enrollment, rethinking how university funds are used, and possible lay-offs. A lot of options are being explored but nothing is definite has been decided at this point.

Question: What is being done about student's writing papers that are well written but are not referenced properly?

Mr. McDavis: The Department of English will be refocused on the basics of writing and the University will provide more academic support for students. Every dean will commit more human resources to help students. VCU will commit more money to help student and classes will be asked to focus more time on writing skills. Improving writing skills is a university wide effort because of its importance to the students.

Question: What is the status of filling Victor Collins & Quincy Moore's vacant positions.

Mr. McDavis: There is an ongoing national search for candidates to fill both positions and he invited alumni to let him know of any potential candidates.

In closing, Mr. McDavis said that if the Council should ever need his services again to feel free to call his office at any time.

Ms. Aroche distributed folders to each Council member containing information about the VCU Career Center. Ms. Aroche plans special events such as career fairs, provide student counseling and develop new internships, co-ops and job opportunities

Ms. Carter stated that she would have Ms. Holmes get in contact with Ms. Aroche. The members also discussed the Council having a presence at the February career fair, possibly setting up a table for alumni to speak with students or assisting Ms. Roche in other ways.

VI.    COMMITTEE REPORTS

Budget - reported by Larry Powell (on behalf of Mary Cosby)

Mr. Powell distributed copies of the year-to-date budget. There were no questions regarding the information.

Mr. Powell reported that the terms of the Council's current officers would expire on June 30^th. Therefore, the Council needed to initiate the process of preparing a slate of officers to be elected by the June 1 meeting. A Nominations Committee will need to be formed and the group will be responsible for identifying AAAC members to serve in a leadership capacity. Mr. Powell explained the election process and Ms. Sims volunteered to serve on the committee. Mr. Powell invited other Council members who are interested in serving on the Nominations Committee to contact him as soon as possible.

Ms. Roberson resigned from her position as Secretary of the Council and chair of the Professional Development Committee. Ms. Debbie Holmes will now chair the Professional Development Committee.

Mr. Powell shared the final schedule of events for Reunion Weekend with the membership.

This year's project involve working with a group of teenagers from a program Ms. Sims working with. Ms. Sims will identify the teenager's preliminary life goals and then match them with alumni teenagers with similar interests. The project will take place at the Deep Run Park at 11 a.m. The teenagers will stay for the picnic and Ms. Sims will purchase box lunches for them.

Mr. Powell distributed forms for members to nominate an alum to be honored during this year's "Black History in the Making"

Ms. Sims reported that she would send a public service announcement to Richmond, DC and Tidewater and the Young Black Professionals Association regarding Reunion Weekend. She also reported that she would collect photos until the end of March to prepare a Reunion Weekend collage. She invited anyone who is interested in assisting with this project to contact her.

Ms. Sims stated she tried unsuccessfully to contact Lili Shoulders, the freshman scholarship award recipient, through e-mail to get biographical information on her. Ms. Harris said she would attempt to contact her.

Mr. Powell reported that he is scheduled to meet with Dr. Jackson next Thursday to work out the details regarding the African American Studies Program administering the AAAC's scholarship program.

A motion was made to table at all agenda items not discussed until the next meeting. Moved. Seconded. Carried.

VII.    OTHER BUSINESS

Next Council Meeting

Mr. Powell is trying to make arrangements to hold the next Council meeting in the DC area. Nothing has been confirmed at this point and Mr. Powell will notify members when the meeting location has been arranged.

In the future, Ms. Carter will request that members listed on the agenda e-mail their report to Mr. Powell if they are unable to attend the meeting.

A member suggested adding individuals who attended VCU but did not graduate to the database. Mr. Powell reported that we currently create records for non-alumni who wish to receive information from the AAAC or the VCUAA. He didn't know if it would be possible or feasible to acquire information on all non-graduates and incorporate it into the database.

VIII.    ADJOURNMENT

The meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.

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