By Bailey Morrison
The Alumni Association discussed scholarship funding, the arts and humanities department and the Warren Conference Center and Inn at its meeting on March 23, 2017.
Steven Whittemore, alumni relations officer, said the Alumni Association has exceeded its Campaign Fundraising goal of $11.6 million.
Mark Cote, dean of the Arts and Humanities department, presented to the alumni association as part of their Meet the Dean series. According to Cote, the department is looking for two new professors to teach sculpture and art history.
Cote said FSU is one out of 300 schools to receive the National Association of Schools of Art and Design accreditation for apparel design.
Cote also said senior Brittany Cormier has been selected for the “29 Who Shine Award” for her involvement as a peer mentor and graphic designer at The Gatepost.
Additionally, a new four-year American Sign Language program has been created. The major will either be concentrated in interpretation or deaf studies, said Cote.
He added Framingham State will now coordinate with Fitchburg State to virtually stream language classes that are not offered at the University. Fitchburg will be streaming Arabic to FSU next semester and FSU will be streaming a Chinese class to Fitchburg.
The Arts and Humanities department is looking to put on a Campus Creative event in the fall to invite “the campus and community to view and participate in a variety of visual and performing arts happening at FSU,” Cote said.
During his “University Greetings,” President F. Javier Cevallos said the FSU T.V. commercial has been “successful” at bringing attention to the University. He also said the University is in a “good financial place,” with a steady cap of 5 percent debt.
Cevallos said FSU has been ranked 15th in “College Choice” for Massachusetts colleges.
He updated the Alumni Association about the progress of the Warren Conference Center and Inn. He said the University is working with local restaurants and hotels to create a hospitality major. While the development of academic programs is “slow,” it will impact “a lot of students.”
Jeff Ritter, president of the Alumni Association, said the emergency grant funding program is “going well.” The goal is to raise $10,000 for the emergency grand fund and $5,000 for the scholarship fund, neither of which have been met yet.
According to Claire Ramsbottom, Alumni Association board member, Richard Logan, class of 1970, Mary Logan, class of 1971, and Kevin Gosnell, class of 1990, have been nominated for the Distinguished Alumni Award.
Andy Chaves, class of 1987, and Gary Niland, class of 1983, have been nominated for the Leadership and Service Award. Mary Penny, class of 1961, has been nominated for the Alumni Educator Award, she said.
Katherine Moran, class of 2012, has been nominated for the Young Alumnus Award. Raymond
Boulanger has been nominated for the Honorary Alumni Award because he is “very active on campus and ... adopted Framingham State,” Ramsbottom added.
Pam Edrehi, Alumni Association representative, updated the Board about the commencement speaker. She said the board reached out to two possible candidates who declined. The committee is now reaching out to a third possible candidate.
In other news:
Steven Whittemore, ’10 resigned as Alumni Relations Officer.
Sophomore Adam Scanlon and Junior Tonya Polanco received the Alumni Association Leadership Scholarship.