PBK, Alpha of Colorado, Emergency Meeting Spring 2007 Minutes

An Emergency Chapter Meeting of Alpha of Colorado was held on Thursday, May 3, at 12 pm in Eaton Humanities 345.

Attending: Nancy Watson, Megan Burgess, Bob Schulzinger, Kate Kidder, Jerry Peterson, Michael Wertheimer, Jon Rush, Mack Eason, Susan Prince

An emergency meeting was held for the purpose of electing new officers. Jerry Peterson will step down as president because he has been invited to serve the government in Washington, DC, next year. Susan Prince will step down as secretary/treasurer because she has accepted a position at the University of Cincinnati effective in the fall.

Jerry Peterson called the meeting to order at 12:00. He announced that the chapter had received a generous donation from Hazel Barnes for the new Hazel Barnes Undergraduate Scholarship fund. The total fund stands now at about $12,500.

Old business:

I. Professor Peterson identified three outstanding projects to be left incomplete upon his departure:

A. The Hazel Barnes fund. The precise purpose of the scholarship and procedure for selecting scholars remains to be determined. He suggested that undergraduate members lead the project. There was some discussion on whether the fund would be treated as capital for generating income or spent directly. The fund at its current size would support annual scholarships of $500 if it were considered an endowment.

B. The By-Laws. The chapter’s existing by-laws have been recognized as out of date.

C. The Parmele Challenge. The chapter has not yet accepted PBK National’s offer of $2000 in matching funds for efforts to enhance visibility on campus.

II. Professor Peterson summarized some of the chapter’s activities for AY 2006-07:

A. Thomas Rawski appeared as a Visiting Scholar, in cooperation with the Center for Asian Studies. CAS would like to co-sponsor a scholar next year.

B. We made a nomination for the Romanell-Phi Beta Kappa Professorship in Philosophy but were not successful.

C. We awarded two CRISP fellowships, to Jamie Justice and Mack Eason. One of the awardees, Mack Eason, has not secured admission to a graduate program in philosophy and requests that the award be applied to a theoretical program in the CU school of journalism. The decision was referred to the Crisp Committee.

New business:

I. Elections.

A. Professor Peterson opened the floor for nominations for secretary/treasurer. Susan Prince nominated Kate Kidder, the receptionist in Physics, a PBK member from Earlham College. Jon Rush seconded. Kate was elected by acclamation to complete the two years remaining on Susan Prince’s term as secretary/treasurer.

B. Professor Peterson opened the floor for nominations for president. Kate Kidder nominated Bob Schulzinger, Distinguished Professor of History and International Affairs, a PBK member from Columbia University. Nancy Watson seconded. Bob noted that he will be on sabbatical next year and will not have a lot of extra time, but foresaw that he could make greater contributions in the two succeeding years. Bob was elected by acclamation to a three-year term as president.

II. Undergraduate Enrollment fees. Nancy Watson, referring to previous discussion in fall 2006 and spring 2007, proposed an increase in the enrollment fee from $60 to $70. This would give the chapter $14 per student rather than $4 towards expenses. Megan Burgess noted that in her time only one student has requested waiver of the fee due to financial hardship, and the chapter consents to such requests. Jerry Peterson moved to increase the fee to $70. Bob Schulzinger seconded. The motion passed 8-0.

III. On the motion of Jon Rush, the chapter passed a resolution of appreciation to Jerry Peterson for his very long term of service to PBK, Alpha of Colorado.

The meeting was adjourned at 12:38 pm. Informal discussion followed on new strategies for visibility on campus.

Susan Prince

Secretary/Treasurer