Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes 10/19/24

Pomona College Alumni Association Board Meeting Minutes

October 19, 2024 – 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Virtual Meeting

Officer & Committee Chair Attendees: Andrea Venezia '91, Monika Moore '03, Stuart Friedel '08, Robi Ganguly '00, Joshua Rodriguez '13, Emily Zheng '19, Nina Zhou '19

Board Members in Attendance: Soren Austenfeld '15, Eliza Bennitt '98, Michael Bright '10, Lauren Clarke '83, Miguel Delgado-Garcia '20, Renee Dupont '80, Anne Elsberry '91, Jackie Huffman '83, Anthony King '97, Toran Langford '21, Te'auna Patterson '18, Jim Sutton '84 P'22, James Zhang ’95

Guests and Staff Attendees: Professor Ken Wolf, ASPC President Devlin Orlin ’25, Tray Hammond '22, Pritina Irvin, Kerry Martin, Karla Reid

Excused Absences: Victoria Sancho Lobis (Faculty Representative)

Quorum: The quorum for a meeting of the Board shall be a majority of the voting members. Therefore, this meeting had the necessary number of voting members (18) in attendance for a quorum.

Prior Meeting Minutes: From 8/10/2024 were distributed to the board for review and will be ratified at the December 7^th board meeting.

President’s Remarks: Andrea Venezia ’91 shared updates from the College’s Board of Trustees meeting, discussing the following key points & questions to the Alumni Association Board members:

1. Alumni Engagement and Giving: Alumni giving rates are low (17%, compared to peers in the 30% range). Trustees are concerned about alumni engagement and connections to the college. Discussions highlighted the importance of fostering stronger relationships among alumni, students, and trustees.
2. Campus Culture and Student Experience: Trustees and student leaders discussed campus climate, focusing on student traditions, spaces for fun, and post-COVID recovery. Challenges include a decline in traditions, disjointed student experiences during COVID, and reduced funding accessibility for student activities.
3. Transparency and Communication: The trustees and administration emphasized the need for clearer communication, trust-building, and transparency with alumni and the campus community. Suggestions included leveraging trustees as communication channels and increasing opportunities for direct interaction between stakeholders.

Key Questions:

1. How can the college increase alumni giving and engagement, particularly among younger alumni?
2. What actionable steps can be taken to rebuild lost traditions and enhance (the fun in) the student experience?
3. How can trustees and administration ensure consistent, transparent communication with alumni and students?

Alumni and Family Engagement Updates: Monika Moore ’03, director of alumni and family engagement shared department updates on trasitions in events and staffing:

1. Alumni Engagement for Career Opportunities: Alumni are uniquely positioned to strengthen post-graduate career networks for students, addressing gaps for under-resourced students. Emphasis on framing alumni involvement in impactful, actionable ways to support student success and bridge engagement gaps.
2. Reorganization of Event Planning: Creation of a centralized Office of College Events to streamline event logistics (e.g., alumni weekend, family weekend). Advancement team will focus on volunteer management and relationship building while events professionals handle logistics.
3. Alumni Admissions Volunteer Program Changes: In-person interviews discontinued due to low admit rates and regulatory challenges. Alumni can still participate in admissions fairs, career events, and application fee waiver programs.

Committee Discussions

Development Committee: Nina Zhou’19 shared with the board key topics the Development committee have been discussing and working on:

• Challenge of Initial Engagement and Fundraising: Alumni who lack prior engagement with the college are less likely to respond positively to initial fundraising requests. The committee is focused on fostering meaningful connections with students and young alumni to build a sustainable pipeline of engagement that leads to authentic financial support.
• Strategies for Engagement and Mentorship: Students express interest in alumni mentorship, particularly for career planning and skill development. Initiatives such as matching senior gift contributions, offering directed giving options, and connecting students to career-aligned alumni mentors through existing frameworks (e.g., Sagehen Connect) are being explored. Emphasis is placed on providing students with guidance on how to effectively engage with alumni.
• Alumni Board Giving and Participation Culture: The Alumni Board aims for 100% participation in giving, setting an example for broader alumni contributions. The focus remains on both the act of giving—regardless of amount—and directed giving to areas of personal significance, fostering trust and a sense of impact.

Key Questions/Action Items:

1. Identify tools or programs that can be implemented to ensure students are prepared and motivated to follow through on mentorship opportunities.
2. Should the Alumni Board formally match student gifts, and how can this initiative be structured for sustainability?

Engagement Committee: Joshua Rodriguez ’13 shared the following committee updates with the board:

• Defining Alumni Engagement Metrics: There’s a need to shift from focusing solely on fundraising to encompassing broader engagement metrics such as volunteerism, webinar participation, and mentorships. Alumni engagement strategies must account for diverse alumni profiles and geographic locations, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility.
• Gaps in Career Development Support: Alumni and students desire enhanced career networking opportunities, mentorship programs, and robust platforms like Sage Connect. Current career resources are fragmented and lack a comprehensive approach, such as an all-inclusive career fair.
• Infrastructure and Communication Challenges: Sagehen Connect is still underutilized; Invest in promoting and improving platforms like Sagehen Connect, ensuring they are well-integrated and actively utilized. One key area of improvement would be alumni data quality, particularly updated contact information, needs significant improvement to maintain relationships.

Action Items:

1. Develop a clear, inclusive definition of alumni engagement and establish measurable metrics beyond donations.
2. Advocate for dedicated funds or initiatives to enhance career development, including mentorship programs, career fairs, and networking opportunities.

Regional Chapters Committee: The committee has seven (7) members this year, six (6) whom are first-year members. As the Co-chairs Stuart Friedel ’08 & Emily Zheng ’19 utilize combined Regional Chapter leadership experience with valuable PCAAB insights to steady the Regional Chapters Committee on a focus of preserving effective traditions while identifying opportunities for innovation:

• Expanding Engagement: Discussion centered around diversifying alumni events, including international and domestic chapter activities, and innovative formats like online trivia or integrating events with traveling faculty, performers, and sports teams. Strong emphasis on supporting regional leaders with tools and templates to lower barriers for event organization and enhance alumni participation.
• Strengthening Regional Chapters: Ideas include a regional chapter summit for idea exchange and community-building, whether in-person or via Zoom. Past efforts to align regional events with performing arts or sports schedules highlight logistical challenges but offer significant potential for community cohesion.

Action Items:

1. Draft a plan to support regional chapter leaders with templates or guides for event planning.
2. Explore feasibility and budget options for hosting a regional chapter summit (in-person or virtual).
3. Coordinate with departments to integrate alumni events with faculty, arts, and sports schedules effectively.

New Business & Action Items:

Past president Alfredo Romero ’91, Chair of the Leadership Development Committee (LDC) is recruiting at least four board members to help with key tasks:

1. Nomination Slate: Recommending a slate of new board members to maintain a diverse and balanced representation (e.g., gender, geography, class years, backgrounds). Six members are transitioning out, so 6–8 new members will likely be added.
2. President-Elect Selection: Identifying a President-Elect to serve a one-year term before transitioning to a two-year presidency.
3. 4th-Year Option: Reviewing applications from members interested in serving an additional fourth year.

Key LDC Considerations:

• Diversity: Focus on balancing class years, gender, geography, and affinity representation.
• Board Composition: Strive to reflect the college’s alumni and student demographics.
• Process: Adopt a data-driven "factor rating" method to evaluate candidates based on agreed qualities.

Call To Action: Board members were asked to identify five qualities of a successful board member, suggest any additional values or priorities for incoming members, indicate their interest in joining the LDC.

Logistics (LDC Meetings):

• Monthly LDC meetings via Zoom.
• Documenting processes and decisions for continuity in future years.
• Rebuilding LDC policies to improve governance and decision-making.

Goal: To ensure a strategic and inclusive approach to board recruitment and leadership transitions. Feedback and participation are encouraged.

Reflections on Campus Climate and Culture:

Making the Case for the Value of a Liberal Arts Education: Special guests Professor Ken Wolf and ASPC President Devlin Orlin ’25 had an open discussion with the board discussing campus climate.

Adjournment: Having no further business being brought to the Board, the President Andrea Venezia ’91 adjourned the meeting at 1:51pm.

Next Alumni Board Meeting: Saturday, March 15 at 10am PT via Zoom

Key Dates: 2024 - 25 

7/27/24 New Member Onboarding

8/10/24 Alumni Board Meeting #1

8/17/24 New Student / Family Orientation

10/18/24 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: Senior Class/AB Mixer

10/19/24 Oct. Alumni Board Retreat: New Faculty Dinner (Faculty Award)

10/19/24 Alumni Board Meeting #2

11/1-2/24 Family Weekend 2024

12/7/24 Alumni Board Meeting #3

3/15/25 Alumni Board Meeting #4

5/1 – 5/4/25 Alumni Weekend 2025

5/4/25 Alumni Board Meeting #5

6/21/25 Alumni Board Meeting #6