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�鶹Ӱ�� Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes

January 27, 2024 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Virtual Meeting

Board Members in Attendance: Alfredo Romero ’91, Carol Kruse ’84, Andrea Venezia ’91, Julie Siebel ’84, Stuart Friedel ’08, Jim Sutton ’84, Andrew Brown ’77, Linda Luisi ’81, Marcel Green ’90, Amy Rhodes '07, Miguel Delgado ’20, Timi Adelakum ’24, Jeff Levere ’12, Soren Austenfeld ’15, Toran Langford, Michael Bright ’10, Nina Zhou ’19, Josh Rodriguez ’13, Robi Ganguly ’00, Tricia Sipowicz ’85 P’22

Staff Members Present: Pritina Irvin, Tray Hammond ’22, Ryan Kolter, Kerry Martin, Kristen Romero

Call to Order: Alfredo Romero ’91

Welcome & Trustee Update: Alfredo Romero ’91 gave a quick overview of the Trustee Meeting. President Starr met with the other 4 C Presidents and shared their collective agreement on campus priorities with the Board of Trustees:

1. Make sure everyone is safe.
2. Fulfill the educational mission, making sure that classes and sessions and campus happenings continue as scheduled and as necessary.
3. Make sure the operations of the college are as they were.
4. Respect the right of free expression for everyone.
5. Respect the right of all members of the Claremont community.
6. Promote cooperation.

Approval of Board Meeting Minutes from 10.07.23. 
Alfredo Romero ’91 asked for a motion to approve the minutes. Andrew Brown ’77 motioned to approve; second by Linda Luisi ’81. Meeting Minutes unanimously approved.

Committee and board representative “Highlights”
Development Committee: Nina Zhou ’19 shared that the committee has exceeded their goal and thanked everyone for their support. Current goals are partnering with AG office to encourage more participation form the Senior class. They had a meeting with some of the Seniors to get a better idea/understanding of what the Senior class is really seeking; on-campus memories and having fun. Robi and Nina have been brainstorming on the details of the giving appeal and AB matching. Robi added that when talking with the Senior class they made the connection with being athletes and having affinity for �鶹Ӱ�� vs. non-athletes, and how important it would be to keep that in mind when thinking about who we fundraise from and who would be in a more positive place about the College.

Engagement Committee: Joshua Rodriguez ’13 shared 2 things they are working on: message they posted on social media on behalf of the alumni association board. The second is the CDO Young Alumni Paths webinar; Josh shared that the webinar was very active and engaging. They are looking to plan some things for alumni weekend with more to come on those developments. They are working with Kristen on drawing more engagement on Sagehen Connect, while also in talks with Ryan and Pritina on a webinar as a resource for Seniors as they graduate Pomona. Josh is excited about the cross-committee work the engagement committee is doing in Claremont and in the Bay area.

Regional Chapters Committee: Andrew Brown ’77 The winter break parties have commenced. The are looking forward to 47-Day to tie into a specific fundraising campaign, talking with Nina and Josh about that. The RC Committee is working to get 7 for 7 events for 4/7 day. More to come about that. Lastly, in support of getting faculty to engage with alumni off-campus, Professor Sancho-Lobis will be in New York to discuss the great things happening at the Benton Art Museum. Linda shared more on the work that she has been doing in DC on developing Career Development framework. Linda shared that she had a great time engaging with alumni at the DC winter break party. Linda was able to pitch the CDO programming survey (currently live) via QR codes on the tables. The goal is to have this survey shared through various avenues and events.

Faculty: Victoria Sancho-Lobis (absent)

Career Development Office: Kerry Martin shared a few highlights of the CDO. First shared a summary of the Young Alumni Paths webinar on Liberal Arts in Product Management. The webinar was very engaging and informative. The CDO is making a push to rebrand this series as Alumni Paths to encourage all alumni to participate. Kerry shared more the upcoming Alumni Paths webinar: Liberal arts in Sustainability. The CDO folks are also working on a variety of programs to with a Government and Policy meet-up coming up. Kerry also shared some updates on the Smart Start Fellows Program trip to San Francisco in January, giving “Kudos” to all who supported and participated in that tour. Lastly, Kerry shared that during AW’24, the CDO will host the annual Chirp and Chats on the “CDO Lawn” providing a space to network.

Advancement Communications: Kristen Romero shared the current and upcoming projects that the ACE team is working on including updates to Pomona.edu/alumni weekend. ACE is also working on a few alumni weekend emails and a social media campaign kicking off, as well as a postcard that will be going out in late February. Kristen has been working very closely with Ryan on our C event system site in helping to smooth out any wrinkles experienced with our pilot run last year. Kristen noted that Pomona.edu/alumni weekend is the best place of reference to stay updated on all things Alumni Weekend 2024.

Kristen shared that a pulse (short) survey will be going out via email in late February/early March, as a follow-up to last year’s attitudinal survey, and shared a link to the summary from last year’s Attitudinal Survey in the chat. ACE is hoping for a great response with more helpful information. Kristen asked all board members encourage their alumni friends to participate. Kristen shared some details the brand-new Stories of Impact blog site is live, there are a couple of stories coming up on Professor April Mayes on her lifelong connection to �鶹Ӱ��, also a new story about Pomona alumni at Harvard Medical School, and lastly a story on our Smart Start Program’s trip to the Bay Area. Ace is working with Robi on a story to bring awareness to his connection and support of �鶹Ӱ��. Next issue of Pomona magazine will be out in March with a nice feature on our Regional Chapters and the work they have been doing.

Annual Giving Nina Zhou ’19 (see notes from Development Committee)

Admissions: Tray Hammond ’22 shared that the Admissions team is nearing the finish line on the first part of reading applications. After 13 years, Seth Allen will be retiring as of March 10, with a nationwide search launching shortly after. Admission is gearing up for Spring Travel and alumni weekend participation. Lastly, Tray shared that Admissions held their inaugural Transfer Open House on Friday, welcoming 69 guests with almost half of those attendees being from SoCal community colleges.
 

ASPC: Timi Adelakun ’24 gave an overview of the campus happenings; Some students and Senators were displeased with President Starr’s message for various reasons with some Senators stating that President Starr’s message seemed one-sided. Some students questioned the college’s poster policy and call for the college to publicly address the arrest of a faculty member on campus. The college has seen frequent protests occurring all around campus calling for �鶹Ӱ�� to disclose its investments and divest from weapon manufacturers which arm Israel's genocide. In general, Timi’s thoughts on the student body and campus atmosphere is there is a “layer” hovering over, with students wondering why no one is talking about all the challenges on campus.

11:35 am LUNCH BREAK

AFE Directors Report: Ryan Kolter

Alumni Weekend Update: Ryan shared breif details regarding the AW ’24 Registration soft launch to select reunion commitees, however registration is now open, with 150 registered;

Alumni Awards / PPC Update: Ryan is currently working with the Past President Committee and Young Alumni Award committee on selection of alumni awardees (DSA, Blaisdell).

In search of a new AFE Director, candidate inteviews took place in Decebmer and an offer has not been sent to any of the candidates.

Leadership Development Committee Update: Alfredo shared that the LDC is underway. Carol shared an overview of a typical LDC meeting. We have 10 AB members who will term out in FY24. There is an option for those current AB members to extend their term, within reason. The LDC is looking to find nominees from the classes of 1960s, 1970s, 1980s and 1990s decades, and also looking for diversity in majors and geographical areas to make sure the board has representation from many different regions of the world.

Old Business: Action Items / Next Steps: Alfredo Romero ’91

• Alumni Weekend '24 Volunteers

New Business: Action Items / Next Steps Alfredo Romero ’91

• Alumni Weekend Hotel Room Block
• Campus of Care: alumni ideas/fun traditions of the past at Pomona.

Next Alumni Board Meeting: Saturday, March 16, 2024
Key Dates: 2023 - 24
7/22/23 Alumni Board Meeting - New Member Onboarding
8/12/23 Alumni Board Meeting #1 - August
8/19/23 New Student / Family Orientation
10/6/23 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: Senior Class/AB Mixer
10/6/23 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: New Faculty Dinner (Faculty Award)
10/7/23 Alumni Board Meeting #2 - October
10/27/23 Family Weekend 2023
12/2/23 Alumni Board Meeting #3 - December
1/27/24 Alumni Board Meeting #4 - January
3/16/24 Alumni Board Meeting #5 - March
4/25 – 4/28/24 Alumni Weekend 2024
4/28/24 Alumni Board Meeting #6 - April
6/22/24 Alumni Board Meeting #7 - June