MINUTES
MESA Executive Council meeting
May 5, 2002
In attendance:
Not in attendance:
3:15-4:00
Lisa Sheehy, Summer Brown, Brian Lawler, Carol Sikes, Amy
Hackenberg,
Jake Klerlein, Nancy Williams, Raj Patel,
1. When is 2002-2003 budget request due? (Lisa reports on 4/16 in a COE Student Activity
Meeting report):
a. Budget request information and packets will be distributed by COE Student Services
during the 2nd full week of fall semester each year. COE Student Activity budget
requests will be due by the 2nd Monday in September. Lisa recommends in addition to
the new president attending this meeting, at least one other person on the council from the
previous year should attend for the sake of helping the new president get a sense of what
has been done in the past.
b. Other than that - it was just a wrap up type meeting
2. Book Sales – (Jake reports on 5/3)
a. Final report on Dec. ’01 book sale
i. We are in good standing with both NCTM and LEA. We made x dollars, $415 < x <
$470. (I’m at home getting ready to leave and can’t see the exact figure.)
ii. The NCTM materials from the Fall 01 sale that had to be ordered have all been sent
from NCTM and delivered. The NCTM materials from the Spring 01 sale are being
sent with the materials from the Spring 02 catalog sale. I have gathered receipts from
the Spring 01 purchasers that I am aware of having not received the books they
ordered. If any more people present themselves, I have developed the relationship
with the individual at NCTM who can assist me in retrieving these materials.
iii. Books from LEA have been sent and delivered to correct non-delivery from the
Spring 01 sale. I received a message from the rep. at LEA yesterday to the fact that
the five books from the fall 01 sale that had to be ordered have now been sent, and the
tardiness was actually their fault. I will pause while you all past out and recover,
lateness not due to Jake, shocking.
b. Spring ’02 sale: Weak turn out. My experiment has not proven to be effective. As stated
above Serkan and I have brainstormed ways to improve. The future will surely be better.
I would like to mention that the only real money that MESA will make is thanks to Dr.
Findell and Dennis Hembree ordering a large quantity of material for the PRIME Project.
I am curious if other projects have given this support of MESA in the past. It is most
appreciated and I think it would be appropriate to take time to share our feelings with
these two members of our department. I have emailed my thoughts along with the
correspondence I provided for them, but it should not go overlooked.
3. Status of letting go of writing the RESA exam? – (Jake reports on 5/3)
a. I have begun communication with Kathy Miller along these lines. I chose to cc P. Wilson
on the email I drafted to Kathy and she was appreciative of having the opportunity to stay
in the loop. Her feelings are the test is a valuable opportunity, and she is open to new
ways of coordinating the event. As a sidenote, Dr. Wilson should be on our lists
executive council. She is the faculty advisor and needs information about what we are
doing. Not that she could possibly attend every meeting, but she should be involved in
the email conversations.
b. I offered several suggestions to Kathy that came up in our council’s discussions:
i. Purchasing a test that we administer
ii. Contracting our students for the writing of the exam and we will also administer the
test
iii. Some sort of collaboration with the Mathematics Dept’s HS exam
iv. (I really don’t know that the ‘right’ answer is amongst these few choices)
c. Kathy agrees that it is a shame that so few students participate and is in the process of
contacting the high schools served by the Northeast Georgia RESA to learn what can be
done towards improving participation. The decision is nowhere near made, but we will
all talk it out and come to a prudent choice I feel certain., Carol has the lead on this issue
has the VP, correct. I am happy to function as a go-between in the meantime.
d. Carol indicates, as new VP, she is eager to continue the RESA work and to write the
exam. She has also been in contact with Cathy Miller. She brought up the idea of doing
the testing on Friday instead of Saturday to increase participation.
e. Brian expresses that the original concerns regarding MESA’s support of the RESA exam
were less so issues of intensity of the effort on our part but issues of equity, including
those associated with access to, participation in the testing. Does MESA wish to support
something that may be enacted in a non-equitable manner? Further, is this the place
MESA wants to extend its community outreach/service efforts? Is supporting contests
and competitions in mathematics what MESA wants to be known for?
4. Cancellation of General Membership Meeting 4/29
a. (Jake reports on 5/3): I see it as close to wise not to have held a general meeting. I think it
would have seemed thrown together at the last minute; with what exactly to talk about? I
believe it is important that the elected leaders prepare a solid, focused meeting before
calling everyone to a general meeting. Our membership was not what it could have been
last year, and I hope that we will improve on that in the 02/03 academic year. In my mind
this is a portion of the focus of a general meeting.
b. Brian notes that we conceived of the general membership meeting as (1) to introduce the
new officers, (2) report out on the year’s activities, (3) solicit ideas for the next year’s
activities, and (4) to have a social event.
5. Jake, acting as new president, invites Andy Norton to fill the appointed MESA Executive
Council position called “Ex-officio.” No indication yet if Andy has accepted.
6. We will meet with new officers on our own to introduce them to the job expectations and
give ideas. Note, each officer is to write up a statement reflecting their duties and these tips,
then email it to Brian. Brian reminds everyone that their duties are in the constitution.
7. We need to hunt up a copy of the ratified constitution. Brian will ask Andy & John if they
have a copy. Lisa notes that we want to make another minor alteration to more greatly
emphasize the booksale(s) income is the only source of funding for the NCTM
Representative to travel to the NCTM meeting.
8. Treasurer’s report (Lisa in lieu of Nancy)
a. MESA checking will be just about $0, and the goal will be to get COE account to $0.
b. Any lingering $ requests for this year must be in by May 15.
9. Set goals for MESA during the summer.
a. Jake (via email 5/3): My big goal is greater participation. I want every graduate student
in our department to be a member. I want the undergraduates to feel like this an
organization worth getting involved in.
b. Brian: a faculty vs. student softball game and BBQ?
c. Brian: plan some summer colloquium. There may be visiting professors.
d. Carol: morning coffee at Jittery Joe’s prior to 9:00 am Problem Solving course.
e. Brian suggests continuing BEGLES on a biweekly schedule. He will identify dates and
arrange with the Wilsons.
f. Someone suggested plans for welcoming the new graduate students, such as welcome
kits. We recalled what it felt like to be deer with the headlights in our eyes. JW should
have email addresses of those coming.
g. Amy: Tied with the above, we could do an afternoon tubing. Carol offers her parents
cabin near Delonaga (sp?). This may be a good just-before- (or just-after-) the-start-ofthe-year activity.
10. Brainstorm goals for Officers 2002-2003
a. "fix" MESA website and upgrade aspects (such as "Events")
i. Jake (via email 5/3): I see this necessity as a fantastic way to increase participation. I
joint committee of grad’s & u.grad’s could turn this mutha out, and make the website
a resource with value for more members of the organization.
b. Revisit colloquium goals, maintain abstracts & video (CD or DVD) library
i. Jake (via email 5/3): Angel Abney, Holly Anthony and Dennis Hembree have agreed
to work as the colloquium committee. They see the need for undergrad. involvement
and will work to include undergrad’s in the planning process.
c. Continue to improve/increase involvement
d. Very early in the fall term, have a kick-off (slash membership drive) for students,
undergrad and grad. See idea to go tubing in Summer Goals.
e. Colloquium – continue to work at “improving” them. The idea about what it means to
improve them seems to be to make them more useful, applicable, and thought-provoking
to the MESA membership.
11. Brian suggests beginning a year-end tradition of MESA donating a book to the BEGLE
library. The idea is supported and voted that the book is to be picked and presented by the
outgoing President every May. Lisa will identify and make the purchase.
12. TME
a. TME needs to submit a funding request to MESA for printing and mailing costs
associated with Vol. 12 No. 1 by May 15. The amounts to not need to be exact.
b. We looked at changes to TME purpose statement, considered Jake’s suggestions
regarding the “should wording.” Amy’s goal with the change is to capture the idea of the
previous wording “moving the field forward” but to maintain focus on the revamped
TME purpose. After some minor modifications, the changes were approved. Look for the
purpose statement in reviewer’s packets and posted to the TME website in the near
future.
c. Related to the change in the purpose statement, Amy wonders if we should reconsider the
goal to publish TME twice per year. On the downside include issues such as quantity and
quality of work being received as well as difficulty identifying strong themes for issues.
On the upside is that maybe revamping goals and efforts that are going into the journal
will alleviate these issues, primarily by attracting many more students to submit. Also,
the biannual schedule meets students semester-oriented timeframes well. It is suggested
that (1) need to research backwards into the decision to publish biannually, (2) we should
think carefully about this over a period of time, and (3) we should (identify and) consult
with the TME faculty advisor.
d. Transcriber request
i. Jake reports: My search for and talking about transcribers did not include the digital
medium. I think that would be a wonderful tool, but cannot comment on the
worthiness to price ratio at this time. There are certainly transcriber available for less
than $200. Can we exceed this amount based on our account availability and needs
for other funds.
ii. Amy’s research has found the same price range.
iii. This request still has support, however our end-of-year funds may not allow for such
a purchase.
TO DO’s
LISA
- Prepare short written summary to introduce the new president (and ex-officio?)to the
position, including expectations, and tips. Email to Brian.
- Identify a (NCTM) book to be donated in the name of MESA to the BEGLE library.
JAKE
- Prepare short written summary to introduce the new NCTM rep. to the position,
including expectations, and tips. Email to Brian.
- Has Andy accepted position?
- Ask colloquium committee to plan summer colloquium. Find out about people
visiting the department.
- Announce date for June MESA meeting. Develop an agenda.
SUMMER
- Prepare short written summary to introduce the new Vice-Pres. to the position,
including expectations, and tips. Email to Brian.
NANCY
- Prepare short written summary to introduce the new Treasurer. to the position,
including expectations, and tips. Email to Brian.
- Develop an End-of-Budget-Year treasurer’s report.
BRIAN
- email year-end MESA activity summary for review and feedback
RAJ
- Prepare short written summary to introduce the new Undergrad rep. to the position,
including expectations, and tips. Email to Brian.
Next Agenda
• no items identified
Next Meeting
June 7 ??? , 2002 at ??? o’clock at ??? location