Proposed bylaw revisions and upcoming Alumnae Board elections

At the fall 2011 meeting of the Alumnae Board, members voted unanimously to revise several sections of the Alumnae Association’s bylaws. Proposed changes are summarized below. As outlined in Article XII, section 1, “Bylaws may be amended or revised by the Board of Directors (Chapter (h) 2), but all Bylaws made by the Board of Directors must be ratified by the Association, before going into effect, by a two-thirds (2/3) vote of members voting and present. Proposed changes in the Bylaws shall be sent to the Association members at least two (2) weeks in advance of the annual Association meeting.”

All Hollins alumnae and graduate alumni are members of the Alumnae Association and eligible to vote. An online proxy will be available on the Hollins Web site in April. Those who prefer a print copy of the proxy may request one by contacting the alumnae relations office at alumnae@hollins.edu, (800) TINKER1, or by mail at P.O. Box 9629, Roanoke, VA 24020-1629. Final votes to ratify bylaw revisions and elect a slate of directors and officers for the Alumnae Board will take place at the annual meeting of the Hollins Alumnae Association at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, June 2, 2012.

Summary of bylaw revisions:

• In consultation with the Board of Trustees, the Alumnae Board recommends removal of the designation of “Alumna Trustee” from two of its members. Currently, these members are elected on a rotating basis to serve concurrent terms on the Alumnae Board and the Board of Trustees. The original intent of this provision was to ensure alumnae representation on the Board of Trustees at a time when membership was predominantly male and therefore not automatically inclusive of graduates of the institution. Given that the majority of Hollins trustees are now alumnae, eliminating this designation does not negatively impact alumnae representation, but will eliminate redundancies that have developed for members serving in this role, allowing them to focus on their primary board position. As proposed, the president of the Hollins Alumnae Association will continue serving on both boards, acting as a representative of the Alumnae Association to the Board of Trustees (Article V, Section 2; Article X, Sections 1-4).
• The alumnae relations office increasingly receives requests from alumnae to reduce or eliminate the number of print mailings sent from our office. The Alumnae Board recommends revising the bylaws to allow for enhanced online options in order to respond to these requests (Article II, Section 3; Article IV, Section 3).
• Several outdated committee and campus event names are mentioned in the bylaws and the Alumnae Board recommends updating those to reflect the board’s current structure and goals. References throughout the bylaws will be updated to reflect the board’s current committee structure: Executive, Nominating, Alumnae Communications, Enrollment Management, and Career Development (Article VI, Section 1; Article V, Section 7).
• The proxy will also include a slate of nominees to the Alumnae Association Board. The nominating committee of the Alumnae Association Board of Directors is responsible for selecting the slate of candidates. Criteria for selection include service to Hollins or to one’s community. All are invited to submit candidate names to the committee through the alumnae relations office. All alumnae are welcome to attend the annual meeting of the Alumnae Association during reunion, when voting for the board of directors will take place.

Questions? Please contact Ann Cassell, director of alumnae relations, at (800) TINKER1 or alumnae@hollins.edu.