MEETING NOTES

WNUR Alumni Organization

Governing Board

Minutes of Meeting - February 5, 2001

[Read an article about this meeting.]

[View photos of this meeting.]

In Attendance

Stephen B. Rudolph, President; Linda Dillman, Toni Barnes Boyle, Jack Minkow, Bob Rodenkirk, Wally Podrazik, Don Jacobson, Anne Vandervort Purky, Mijke Roggeveen, Jonathan Lehrer, Scott Case, Lisa Elliott, John Wennstrom, Mike Schneider, Rob Olsen, Stuart Rivchun

WNUR Staff: Kevan Harris, Brian Nemorowski; Rick Morris, Faculty Advisor

Steve Rudolph called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.

Scott Case operated the PC and announced the presence of five Board members who were in attendance electronically.

Steve welcomed everyone, including Toni Barnes Boyle, who was visiting Evanston from Los Angeles. The minutes of the October 23, 2000 meeting were approved as submitted.

President's Report

Steve Rudolph gave the President's Report, in which he likened the Governing Board to a "weak mayor" form of government, which would be largely committee-driven. Committees were given wide latitude to approach their goals, while the President and faculty advisor, among others, would maintain their availability and input as needed.

Several Board members asked that a complete Board roster--with email addresses--be sent to the entire Board, so that everyone would know who was involved, and on what Committee. Steve said he would comply with the request later in the week.

Committee Reports

Communications Committee - The co-chairs were not present. Steve indicated that he would work to make them aware of everyone else's activities and see if they could make inroads with existing University publications and websites, in order to "get the word out."

Mentoring Committee - Robert Conrad was unable to attend, but indicated prior to the meeting that he felt the Committee should try to provide WNUR students with internships on a limited basis. Rick Morris suggested that this was possible and indicated that a discussion should take place after Steve and Robert fleshed out the idea in more detail.

Social and Events Committee - Co-chairs Anne Vandervort Purky and Mijke Roggeveen solicited ideas for a Chicago-based activity in the spring. It was suggested that a WNUR all-staff party be held to meet the Board members, possibly in conjunction with the School of Speech Honors Convocation in May.

Regional Alumni Committees - West Coast Chair Toni Barnes Boyle and Central States Chair Jack Minkow asked for specifics on the role of the regional Committees. Steve suggested that the Board furnish the Committee chairs with names of alumni in their areas, and that a lunch or dinner get-together be held before year's end.

Membership Committee - Steve, who volunteered for service on the Membership Committee, said he would try to generate more complete alumni lists with Rick's help. This would help in many ways, but would give the regional Committees an idea of who lives where. Steve asked that anyone having old WNUR staff lists make copies and mail them to him: 243 Thelin Court, Wilmette, IL 60091.

Career/Job Posting Committee - Bob Rodenkirk said that he is ready to provide the our alumni with the existing job bank information that he updates for the Chicago Headline Club and Illinois News Broadcasters' Association. Only the technical details need to be worked out. Steve suggested that Bob contact Jonathan, Stuart, and Rick to iron this out so we could be online with jobs ASAP.

Internet/New Media Committee - Stuart Rivchun was thanked for setting up the Internet "chat" facility so that the meeting could include people from around the country. This was Stuart's second effort on our behalf, the December meeting having been cancelled due to a blizzard in the Chicago area. Rick Morris reported that WNUR now offered three streaming channels, and expressed hope for more in the future. He invited alumni to listed to the signals, which are accessible from the WNUR main website.

New Business

Steve called for "New Business," and Wally Podrazik urged that a new "Archives Committee" be authorized to collect audio, writings, and images illustrating the station's history. Don Jacobson volunteered to co-chair the committee. A vote was held and the Committee was authorized unanimously.

The meeting was adjourned at 9:00 p.m.

Next Meeting

Next Meeting A date for the next meeting was not set, pending the plans to meet prior to the student-alumni function that was proposed in conjunction with the Speech Honors Convocation.

[Schedule of meetings is found here.] 

Respectfully submitted,

Stephen B. Rudolph, WNUR Alumni Association President