May 6, 2006

Attendance: Ms. Rachel Brackley, Dr. Robert M. Cole, III, Dr. Krista M. Davis-Anderson, Dr. Burton Eisenberg, Dr. Harry Kaplan, Dr. Thomas L. Lewis, Dr. John T. Ochsenreither, Dr. Robert A. Rosenberg, Dr. Robert Spivack, Dr. Harold Wiener, Dr. Karen Wrigley, Ms. Lynne C. Corboy, and Ms. Ellen J. Mueller.

The meeting was called to order at 1:05 p.m. The minutes, presented by Dr. Rosenberg, were approved with no corrections or additions. Dr. John Ochsenreither presented the treasurer’s report.

Treasurer Report

The balance as of January 31, 2006 $101,191.00
Income
Interest & Dividend $273.00
Gains (losses) 3,697.00
Total Income $ 3,970.00
Expenses
None 0.00
Balance as of March 31, 2006 $105,161.00

Dr. Rosenberg presented the Reunion/Special Events Committee Report. The College will host a booth and alumni reception at the AOA Congress coming up June 21-24, 2006. He thanked everyone who gave time and energy to the 2006 Alumni Reunion. Next year’s Reunion Weekend will be held in the new Hafter Student Community Center. A new location will give us the opportunity to change the format of the entire weekend. If anyone is interested in being on the 2007 Reunion planning committee, please contact the Alumni Office.

Dr. Wrigley presented the Student Relations Committee Report. She welcomed the student council member present at the meeting. Some of the student council officers will be attending the Reunion dinner as guests of the Association.

The Alumni Association is sponsoring a Commencement Award for the graduating student with the highest grade point average. The Alumni Association is giving pens and brochures about the Association to welcome the Class of 2006 as the newest alumni at the Bennett Center program before Commencement. The annual “get acquainted” reception will be during orientation again in August to welcome the incoming class. We help sponsor this event and all the board members are encouraged to attend.

Dr. Wrigley presented Dr. Rosenberg with a certificate of appreciation for his term as Secretary and Dr. Cole with a certificate of appreciation for his term as President of the Alumni Association.

Dr. Cole introduced Dr. Lewis to give an overview of the College. The Hafter Student Community Center is about 90% complete. The total cost will be $6.3 million. A very successful capital campaign raised over $3 million, with $1.7 million being donated by alumni.

The College is considering adding a Physicians Assistant (PA) program. Candidates are being interviewed for a Director position for this program. The earliest start for students to be enrolled in a PA program would be Fall 2007.

PCO is filing an application with the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Education for university status. The application process can take up to nine months to complete. On completion, the Department of Education will confirm or deny the application. If PCO is allowed to proceed with university status, we will consider adopting a new university name while maintaining the current name of the optometry program.

The Eye Institute is going to be renovated. An architect has been hired to redesign the facility. The College will not have another capital campaign but will use a mixture of internal funding and will seek government dollars to pay for the renovation. The most challenging part of renovating TEI will be keeping patient care and clinical education going while the changes are being made.

Dr. Cole presented the ballot for the 2006-2007 Alumni Association. The slate included:

Karen M. Wrigley, OD ’83, President
Thomas J. Landry, OD ’87, President Elect
John T. Ochsenreither, OD ’88, Vice President
Richard D. Lappen, OD ’80, Secretary
Robert N. Spivack, OD ’85, Treasurer
Tomi Browne, AuD ’04, Elected Director
Mark E. Clement, OD ’98 , Elected Director
William F. Johnston, Jr, OD ’81 , Elected Director
Harry Kaplan, OD ’49 , Elected Director
Alan Ostroff, OD ’71 , Elected Director
Robert A. Rosenberg, OD ’61 , Elected Director
Felicia A. Whitney, MS ’93 , Elected Director

The 2006-2007 Board was elected unanimously with a motion by Dr. Wiener and seconded by Dr. Wrigley, with no nominations from the floor.

Ellen Mueller reported that the first Alumni Association Continuing Education breakfast held in Pittsburgh, Pa. on April 2, 2006 raised $1,495 for the Alumni Association with an attendance of 85 alumni.

Dr. Ochsenreither proposed that the Alumni Association’s Commencement Award be raised to ensure that it is the highest monetary award given at Commencement. If the increase is 35% above last year’s amount, the new amount must be approved by the Association’s Executive Committee. The proposal was accepted with a motion by Dr. Johnston and seconded by Dr. Wiener.

Dr. Cole thanked everyone for their attendance and adjourned the meeting at 1:51 p.m.