Board Notes

The spring meeting of the William & Mary Alumni Association Board of Directors was held at the William & Mary Alumni House on Feb 8-9, 2024, during Charter Day Weekend.

Following approval of the consent agenda, the board voted to award honorary alumni status to Raymond Bernard Bowman Sr. (posthumous), James R. “Jim” Golden G ’24, Brigadier General, U.S. Army (Ret.) and Chet M. Thaker P ’17, P ’19. Read more about the awardees.

Matthew L. “Matt” Brandon ’92, chief executive officer, shared his definition of Full Engagement: a relationship between the university and alumni, donors and friends that requires time, talent, treasure, ties, testimony and trust. He urged board members not only to fulfill their fiduciary duties, but also to “own the role of being visionaries, the voice of alumni to the university, thought partners with staff, champions of best practices from industries to which you have visibility, giving and serving as ambassadors extraordinaire.” He called on the board to create the conditions for all alumni to become fully engaged.

He and Kate Redding, chief operations officer, shared the board’s new committee structure. The Executive, Finance & Investment and Board Development committees, outlined in the bylaws, are unchanged. The Communications Committee is now the Recognition & Outreach Committee, with a focus on increasing qualified nominations for the Alumni Association’s awards and liaising with other boards. The ICARE (inclusion, careers and regional engagement) Committee is now the Engagement Strategy Committee and will be a strategic thought partner to the university and engagement staff. These changes were voted on and approved by the board.

The board then heard from Mark Begly, chief development officer, on laying the groundwork for William & Mary’s next comprehensive campaign. Val Cushman, executive director for alumni engagement & inclusion initiatives, and Suzie Armstrong ’93, assistant vice president for development for campus initiatives, led the board in a non-actionable reflection exercise on the following questions: “As I think about the next 5-10 years, William & Mary must …,” “How could a new campaign prepare us for the future?” and “How might we approach alumni engagement work in today’s political landscape, especially around diversity, equity and inclusion?”

The Finance & Investment Committee presented motions on the following items, which were voted on and passed:

• Launching a Request for Proposals for new financial advisors/investment managers.
• Approving IRS Form 990.
• Approving a new policy to accept gifts in the form of cryptocurrency.

The Board Development Committee elected Natasha Moulton-Levy ’95 to fill the remainder of the term left by Umesh Trikha ’03. She will continue as chair of the committee through June 30, 2026. The board voted and approved.

The next regular meeting of the Board of Directors will be June 6-7, 2024, at the W&M Alumni House.