Meeting date/time: Friday, September 15, 2023 at 3:30pm Eastern
Attendees: Ed Beck, Rachel Cherry, Kiera Howe, Dash Kees, Eric Sembrat
Guests: Kevin Grimley
Invited: L. Danielle Baldwin, Ed Beck, Rachel Cherry, Phil Crumm, Dash Kees, Kiera Howe, Reed Piernock, Eric Sembrat
Goals
- Designate a WPCampus representative for HighEdWeb 2023 in Buffalo.
- Discuss the best method for recording action items, assigning tasks, and setting deadlines.
Agenda
Roll Call
- Note attendees of this meeting (in the Details section above), and list any absences.
Approval of Minutes
- Review, correct, and approve the minutes from the previous meeting.
Old Business
- Finalize tasks before and at HighEdWeb 2023 in Buffalo.
- Discuss unresolved action items from the previous meeting.
Reports or Presentations
- Rachel, Dash, and Reed to present the outcome of the meeting with Pagely, regarding a potential partnership, including hosting options.
- Ed to briefly report on progress from the Site Selection Committee.
New Business
- Determine final action items to approve the Conflict of Interest policy.
- Approve the Code of Conduct.
- Discuss the possibility of a values document, and identify next steps for the Board and/or community involvement.
Private Session
- A private session may be held here if there are matters that only members of the Board of Directors need to discuss at this time.
Action Items
- A list of action items as a result of this meeting
Closing
- Confirm October 20, 2023 for the next meeting.
- Final thoughts, reminders, or general chit-chat.
Minutes
Call to order.
Dash called to order the monthly meeting of the WPCampus Board of Directors at 3:40pm (Eastern) on 15 September 2023, virtually in Zoom.
Dash, Eric, Ed, Kiera, and Rachel were in attendance. Guests included Kevin Grimley.
Rachel removed a Zoom license from Reed, as they were ill and the Board needed the permissions to record the meeting.
Finalize tasks before and at HighEdWeb 2023 in Buffalo.
Rachel created a document along with a Google Form to solicit volunteers. She is working on logistics for connecting attendees to HighEdWeb from the WPCampus community, and asked for ideas on unique swag to give to the volunteers.
Report on the WPCampus 2024 conference location selection committee.
Ed asked the Board to approve a one month extension for the location selection process, to present at the November meeting. The Board expressed concern, due to the end-of-year holidays and uncertainty on whether the Board will meet in December. The Board discussed the extension and concluded that a one-month extension would be fine, but no longer than that. The Board unanimously agreed to the one-month extension.
Ed further asked for approval regarding language on the location selection committee’s processes on the rubric for state selection:
WPCampus is committed to the principles of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. WPCampus will take into consideration whether California prohibits institution-funded travel to your home state under AB 1887. We welcome applicants from all states, but keep in mind that we will give strong preference to states not on this list.
The board approved the clarification.
Report on the meeting with Pagely regarding a potential partnership.
Dash summarized notes from the 11 September 2023 meeting with Pagely. Dash, Reed, and Rachel met with Ty Sprock, Matthew Johnson, and James Howard from Pagely; they provided Pagely with an overview of the organization, its past experiences with hosting partners, its needs and expectations for partnership, and its organizational values. Dash, Reed, and Rachel noted no obvious red flags raised from the conversation, and want to research and meet with other possible partners; a contract with Pagely is not ready. A follow-up meeting for a demo of Pagely’s platform is scheduled for 27 September 2023.
Approve the Code of Conduct.
The Board discussed guidelines on an updated Code of Conduct based on organizations with similar communities and events, and concluded the document in good shape. The Board unanimously approved the existing Code of Conduct. Dash volunteered to update the Code of Conduct page on the website, adding that the Board reviewed and approved at this meeting.
Determine final action items to approve the Conflict of Interest policy.
The Board discussed the Conflict of Interest draft policy. Dash highlighted there is still work to complete on the policy and asked to vote on it at the October meeting. Kiera volunteers to review the existing draft and accept suggestions that seem reasonable. Any decisions deemed “not reasonable” will be submitted to the Board for further discussion. The next draft will be available by 13 October 2023, to allow one week for each member of the Board to review at the 20 October 2023 meeting.
Discuss the possibility of a values document, and identify next steps for the Board and/or community involvement.
The Board agreed the current values listed on the organization’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion statement, and discussed if there are any revisions or additions to the statement. Comments and suggestions were solicited from the community chat during WPCampus 2023, which is available from conference recordings. Scheduling an online chat will provide the community opportunity to define the organization’s values.
Create a plan for board member turnover.
Rachel raised the timeliness of the end of the year in regards to Board member turnover for the end of the year. HighEdWeb would allow promotion of the organization and recruitment of new members. Ed, Kiera, and Phil had previously volunteered to serve one-year terms; Danielle, Dash, Eric, and Reed will serve the full two-year term. Rachel suggested the Board calls for a special meeting to work on the decisions and logistics involved in coordinating Board turnover.
Further discussion included reviewing the bylaws to decide what is working and what is not, and refining them for more clarifying language. One suggestion was for Board approval of overall budgets to limit voting on smaller, more specific transactions. As written, the bylaws also prevent past presidents from voting; this is distinct to Rachel, and future past-presidents may still sit on the Board when their office term is complete.
The Board discussed charters for pending committees, such as the technical committee and the librarians committee; as opposed to project-specific committees, such as conference location selection committees, these will be standing, long-term committees to serve the organization, and whose membership will often shift over time. Including these committees’ chairs on the Board was recommended as a possibility.
Eric raised the idea of creating a document to start listing out desired changes for the bylaws, such as edits adjusting attendance requirements. Dash mentioned changes to async voting, or voting outside the meeting. Eric volunteered to spearhead this task.
Closing.
The Board discussed the reality of our new task management system, and decided that all new tasks need to have an assignee who will be responsible for ensuring the task is completed or addressed. This assignee may delegate tasks to someone else at a later time.
Rachel requested approval to purchase Quickbooks at a discounted $75. There was not a quorum for an official vote; however, the Board decided this transaction did not require a vote and approved the spending.
The Board confirmed Friday 20 October 2023 at 3:30pm (Eastern) as the date and time for the next meeting.
The meeting adjourned at 5:01pm.