Alumni Association Update: March 2012

Annual Meeting and Picnic June 9th, 2012
The MSUSA Alumni Association Board of Directors would like to officially announce the Annual Meeting. It will take place on June 9, 2012 in conjunction with the annual picnic at a to be determined location in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. This meeting is open to all former Minnesota State University Student Association alumni and elections for a number of open positions on the
Board will be taking place that weekend. Watch your e-mail for more details on the event including location and election information.

MSUSA Alumni Association Board met Thursday March 1st, 2012
The MSUSA Alumni Association Board of Directors held their monthly meeting this past Thursday. Business covered included setting an annual meeting date, drafting a FY13 budget, and reviewing potential changes to the bylaws. To view minutes from the meeting, click here. Their next scheduled meeting is May 3, 2012. 

Alumni Spotlight: Kari Winter
Click here to read our most recent alumni spotlight featuring Kari Winter. Kari is a Winona State University graduate, served as the MSUSA Gender Issues Facilitator as a student, was the MSUSA Director of Development and Alumni Outreach from 2007-2011 and is currently the Program Manager of the Health Law Institute at Hamline University School of Law. 

Legislative Update
Over the past month, MSUSA has been working on a number of issues at the State Capitol. We are currently supporting H.F. No. 2210, a bill that would provide a tax credit to greater Minnesota companies who hire paid interns. In addition, we are currently advocating for H.F. No. 2213, a bill aimed at lowering the costs of textbooks. Lastly, the association is continuing to emphasize the importance of Higher Education Assest Preservation and Replacment (HEAPR) in our bonding discussions at the capitol. For legislative updates every Friday afternoon, check out our blog.

Alumni Association Bylaw Change: Election Guidelines
The Alumni Association Board of Directors would like to change Article IV, Section C of the Bylaws to allow board members who are appointed to fill a vacancy to serve out the remainder of their term. As it stands now, those appointed are only allowed to serve until the next Annual Meeting. As per our governing documents, any general alumni association members who have concerns or questions about this change should contact alumni association board chair, Josh Martin at jcmartin7872@gmail.com by no later than Tuesday, April 3rd, 2012. To view a copy of the bylaws click here. 

U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar Meets with Minnesota State University Moorhead Students
U.S. Senator Amy Klobuchar met with students from the Minnesota State University Student Association (MSUSA) at Minnesota State University Moorhead (MSUM) on Sunday, February 19, 2012. Minnesota State University Moorhead student body president, Kimberly Ehrlich has this to say about the event: "We were encouraged by the senator's support of Pell grants and keeping higher education affordable at a federal level, and hope to continue this conversation in the future." Check out more from the students' perspective of the event here.

February Conference and Alumni Social
On February 10-11 in Saint Cloud, MN the Minnesota State University Student Association Board of Directors and campus committees met at Saint Cloud State University to begin the Internal Affairs process and prepare for the organizing and legislative work needed to be done this semester. In addition, on Friday night of the conference a social was held between MSUSA alumni and students. While alumni turnout was lower than expected, those who did attend thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity to interact with the students.

Office Manager Kasey Gerkovich Resigns
Office Manager Kasey Gerkovich will be leaving the MSUSA staff effective Wednesday, March 7th, 2012. While we are sad to see her go, we wish her the best of luck in all of her future endeavors. We encourage any alumni who worked with Kasey and would like to stay up to date on her latest exploits to like her official Facebook Page.