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SIS Alumni Society: Report on Accomplishments SY2011-2012
The newly constituted UTK SIS Alumni Society has had a busy year since the October 2011 elections placed the first officers and members-at-large in their positions.
The SIS Alumni Society Executive Board held its first annual board meeting in conjunction with the Tennessee Library Association in Knoxville in March 2012, after having held nearly monthly phone conversations and more frequent email exchanges to move board business. Orders of business have included assisting SIS with the review of nominations for the 2012 SIS Alumni Awards (winners to be announced soon) and setting up procedures and processes for the nomination of new officers and members-at-large. Stay tuned for more details on how to become involved with the SIS Alumni Society Executive Board.
Members of the Executive Board also worked to develop a new SIS Alumni Society brochure; download the brochure at http://www.sis.utk.edu/files/AStriFold2.pdf. The Alumni Society Executive Board applied for status as a Tennessee Library Association affiliate and was accepted. Expanding the SIS network is an ongoing aspiration. To that end, the current Executive Board members seek alumni input on additional ways to entice SIS alums to increase alumni participation in the life of SIS and participating in – and initiating – additional programs. Current student and recent graduate mentoring is a hot topic and certainly under discussion. The Executive Board is also discussing means of helping SIS with fundraising efforts, particularly in recognition of the 40th anniversary of SIS as an accredited program.
The Executive Board has directly supported SIS in various ways, including staffing a booth at the Virginia Library Association conference in October and supporting the SIS Alumni Brunch in November. The Alumni Society Executive Board was also well represented at the recent SIS reception at the Tennessee Library Association conference in Knoxville. The Executive Board will also be represented at the upcoming joint Maryland/Delaware Library Association conference and the Virginia Library Association’s Paraprofessional Forum, both in May 2012. In each of these cases, the Alumni Society was working alongside current students, staff, and faculty.
Stimulated by the new Alumni Society efforts, D.C.-area alums hosted a reception for local alums and students and visiting SIS faculty in February 2012. D.C.-area alums are also working on a service project related to early onset dementia. Nashville-area alums can look forward to an upcoming social event. Details on both of these efforts will be available soon. Members of the Alumni Society Executive Board are available to help with planning alumni events in your area. We look forward to feedback on previous efforts and input on future ones.