Welcome to the Western College Program Alumni Association site!

Announcement from the Western College Program Alumni Association
December 3, 2009

We are writing you on behalf of the Board of the Western College Program Alumni Association (WCPAA) to let you know of this new group, and to invite you to get involved with our activities.  As many of you no doubt recall, the WCPAA was established during the summer of 2009 to provide a formal means for WCP alumni to stay in touch. 

It is our pleasure to tell you that the WCPAA Board met recently in Oxford to get the group off the ground.  The first thing we did was to clarify the basic purpose of the group, and we want to share that with you.  The WCPAA has two objectives.  First, it is the formal vehicle for graduates of the Western College Program to stay in touch with one another.  It is through this group that we will continue to organize our five year anniversary gatherings, and we even have in store some more frequent events.  We are an official chapter of the Miami University Alumni Association, but focused on WCP graduates and friends.  Second, we hope to support the new Western Program, or Western 3.0 as it has come to be called.  In this regard we desire to provide the supportive role for the new iteration of the Western spirit that the WCAA has provided for our group.  Indeed, we also strive to have a strong relationship with the WCAA, the alumni group of spirited women who graduated from the original Western College.

As our group becomes established, we invite you to get involved.  We have organized a number of committees to carry out our work, and hope you will find one of them a rewarding way to stay connected with old friends, as well as meet new friends from other alumni years (there are more than twenty of them).  A list of these committees, and who to contact will appear later in this message. 

We are pleased to say that at our recent meeting we were graciously hosted by Prof. Mary Jean Corbett, the Interim Director of the new Western Program, who gave us an update on recent developments.  In short, we were encouraged to learn of the strong support for Western on campus, and that there is much regret for the high-handed tactics that led to closure of the WCP.  Still, we know that experience left a bitter taste in the mouth of many, yet we are cautiously optimistic that Miami faculty and administrators will do the right thing and give the new program the support it needs.  When that happens, we will be prepared to throw in our support, too.  As an initial positive signal, the web page for the Miami College of Arts and Sciences lists interdisciplinary programs, and the Western Program in particular, as the center of the high-quality, innovative educational program available at Miami.  Find this at http://www.cas.muohio.edu/.

We want to ask each of you to consider an important request that comes from the seniors of the class of 2010.  Remember, they will be the last group of students to graduate from the old WCP.  They are asking for a representative from each graduating class from the WCP to join them for the candle-lighting ceremony in Kumler Chapel during graduation weekend (Saturday, 8 May 2010).  If you are able and want to do this, please contact Karen Gotter.

Finally, we want to share with you some specific information about how you can stay in touch with us, and help to make the WCPAA successful.  First, please consider standing for election to the Board of Directors.  We currently have eleven members of what should be a twelve person board.  If you are interested, please contact Jane Sharp.

We also are looking for members to help out with other activities:

1.  Communications Committee, which manages a website, list-serv and announcements.  Contact:  Dan Woltman

2.  Development and Fundraising Committee, which raises funds for our five-year anniversary and other activities.  Contact:  Irene Dvoraczky Bell

3.      Alumni Relations Committee, which plans the party and keeps in touch with the WCAA. Contact: John Rego

4.      Student Relations, which keeps in touch with the current Western students.  Contact:  Jonathan Schneider

As you can see, we are making great progress in establishing ourselves as a proper alumni group.  Without the direct support from the WCP that we relied on in the past, we need to pull together to keep our alumni group going.  Please read this as a call to get involved and to stay in touch.

Best wishes to all,

Bob Cox, President, Class of 1983
Irene Dvoraczky Bell, President Elect, Class of 1982
Jane Sharp, Past President, Class of 1980
Eric Becker, Treasurer, Class of 1980
John Rego, Class of 1981
Mike Conaway, Class of 1990
Dan Woltman, Class of 1991
Jonathan Schneider, Class of 1992
Sam Ackerman, Class of 1998
Karen Gotter, Class of 2009
Andy Miller, Class of 1994

Bylaws for the Western College Program Alumni Association

Enabling process for the establishment of
WESTERN COLLEGE PROGRAM ALUMNI ASSOCIATION
as adopted in 2009

Item 1.
All graduates of the Western College Program/School of Interdisciplinary Studies 1978 – 2008 and the current students in the classes of 2009 and 2010 were invited to vote on the future direction of their possible alumni association. In February 2009, the vote determined that the strong preference of those voting was to establish a Recognized Constituency Group within the Miami University Alumni Association, and maintain and enhance a relationship with Western College Alumnae Association, and partner with them as possible on projects and events.

Item 2.
Those alumni who expressed an interest in volunteering convened as a self-selected Establishing Committee in Oxford, Ohio, on April 25, 2009. This group prepared a proposed draft of By-Laws for a Western College Program Alumni Association and this plan to establish that Association.

Item 3.
This plan and the By-Laws were presented to the entire body of WCP Alumni for their approval or rejection. This consideration occurred between June 10 and June 18, 2009. By unanimous vote, these By-Laws were approved June 19, 2009.  With the approval of the By-Laws, the Western College Program Alumni Association was established.

Item 4.  
Those alumni who convened in Oxford, Ohio, on April 25, 2009 will serve as the interim Board of Directors until self-nominations and elections can be held for the initial directors and officers.

Item 5.
The first annual meeting of the Western College Program Alumni Association shall be held at the All-Western Reunion, in Oxford, Ohio, on June 19 – 21, 2009.  

Item 6.
Any alumnus wishing to propose an amendment to these By-Laws submitted their proposed amendments by June 18, 2009, and those amendments were considered at the meeting on June 20, 2009.

Item 7.
Attached here are the approved, amended By-Laws for a Western College Program Alumni Association.

Item 7.
Self-nominations for the Board of Directors will be open until 12:00 pm EST July 20,2009. The interim Board of Directors or a sub-committee of that group will serve as the nominating committee for this initial election. Any alumnus wishing to nominate herself or himself as a director or officer may do so by email.

Item 8.  
A slate of candidates will be presented to the entire body of WCP Alumni for their votes. This vote will occur via a link (to be available here at that time) between July 21, 2009 and August 10, 2009.

Item 9.
The presidency will be determined as follows: the candidate who receives the most votes will be President-Elect and serve the full three year term, the candidate who receives second highest vote total will be President and serve two years, and the candidate who receives third highest vote total will be Past President and serve one year.

Item 10.  
The initial members of the Board of Directors will be determined as follows: the three candidates who receive the most votes will serve a five year term, the three candidates who receive next highest vote totals will serve four years, and the three candidates who receive the next highest vote total will serve three years. After this initial board, three directors will be elected each year to serve three-year terms.

Item 11.  
Candidates will be notified of the results of this election by August 24, 2009; the membership will be notified of the results by September 4, 2009, at which time those elected shall take their offices and the interim board of directors will dissolve.