Parents Council Leadership Team

Meeting Notes

Saturday, April 29, 2017 | 8:30 a.m. | T.J. Day 222

Attending:Sean Kelley, Leslie Kelley, Joe Guttadauro, Karen Pyeatt ’85, Peter Lindburg, Kersti Pettit-Kekel, Nancy Sheld and Jon Grodem

Staff: Susan Hopp, vice president forstudent affairs and athletics; andDebbie Harmon Ferry '90, director of alumni and parent relations.

Welcome and introductions

Sean Kelley invited council members to introduce themselves for the sake of the special guests.

Approval of notes from Feb. 18, 2017

Sean Kelleyasked the group to review the Feb. 18, 2017,minutes for discussion and approval. Pyeatt corrected the portion of the minutes that indicated her daughter received a B+ in her class, but in fact she has not yet received a final grade. The correction was made and the minutes were approved.

“News on the Street”

Items that were brought up during “News on the Street” were:

  • Sheld noted that the new online housing registration system was not without its challenges, but she applauded Jeff Mackay and his team for managing those once they were aware of them.
  • One parent said her student experienced some stress from the housing registration process. Because he was not able to secure his first choice of housing, there was a four- or five-day period where he did not know where he would be living in the fall and that created some anxiety.
  • Jon Grodom mentioned a problem his son experienced over January Term. Per his son, he parked in a spot that was not an actual parking place but because of the unusual amount of snow, he was not able to see the lines. Once the snow melted, CPS handed out a number of parking tickets. They also warned drivers that their cars would be towed if not moved by day’s end. However, since the Grodom son was on a class trip that took him away from campus for a number of days, he did not get the warning. Therefore, his car was towed at his expense. Grodoms recommend that more leeway is given over January Term when many students are away from the physical campus.
  • Following up on this discussion, Kelleys noted that it would make sense if there was better signage on campus about which areas do and do not require a special parking permit.
  • Lindberg mentioned that his daughter, Annika, is a writer for the Linfield Review and therefore, she was in a position to cover the Jordan Peterson situation. Hopp explained the details about the situation. Peterson did come to McMinnville and gave a speech at an off-campus venue. A number of students and staff attended the event.

Student Affairs and Athletics

  • Hopp told the group about the transition taking place in Athletics. As the council knows, Garry Killgore will soon become the athletic director, succeeding Scott Carnahan ’71 who has been in the position for years. Killgore has major plans to enhance the game day experience.
  • Hopp noted that swimming and men’s basketball both had great seasons and that baseball was in the running for the playoffs.
  • Career Development had a great year with their staff getting in front of 400 students this year. More than 80% of Linfield students complete an internship during their college career.
  • Recently Linfield received a grant that will allow Career Development to work with our religion faculty to hire a program assistant and to offer programming to help students identify their calling. Sean Kelley countered by mentioning a book (So Good They Can’t Ignore You) that suggests that skills can trump passion and calling in a person’s quest to find meaningful work.
  • The Alternative Spring Break program had another successful year with a group working in Sitka, Alaska, another working in schools in Oakland, Calif., and a third exploring homelessness in Vancouver, Wash.
  • Student Health, Wellness and Counseling received a grant from an alumnus to help diagnose students who might have learning disabilities. These tests are expensive and receiving a proper diagnosis can allow the college to offer the appropriate accommodations.
  • The counseling appointments are completely booked with students who need help coping with stress and anxiety.
  • Students are thrilled that the student government has been bringing food carts to campus on Fridays and Saturdays.

Linfield Connect

Harmon tried to show the group a new service for alumni and upper class students. The product, called Linfield Connect, is a social media platform that includes a directory and a jobs board. The product, which will launch in May, will allow alumni and students to search for each other by name, by industry, by major or by geographical area. There is also a way for alumni to indicate in which ways they are willing to help. Alumni (or students) can use a pre-existing Facebook or LinkedIn account to login. Harmon hopes this platform will allow Linfield Wildcats to more easily connect with each other. Pettit-Kekel suggested that perhaps it would be wise to include all, or some, parents in the network. She offered to be a resource if Linfield decides to include parents.

Outreach, engagement and communication

Harmon reminded the group that Tuesday, May 2, would be Giving Day. She mentioned the match that some individuals made to help Linfield turn $50,000 into $100,000. She requested that council members with Linfield connections and/or with active social media profiles share the news of Giving Day and encourage others to participate.

Commencement activities will include an awards convocation for seniors on Saturday afternoon. Baccalaureate will take place Saturday at 5 p.m. The Grad Finale, a celebration for seniors, their families and faculty, will be held Saturday at 6:30 p.m. The commencement exercises begin at 10 a.m. on Sunday in the Oak Grove, weather permitting.

Harmon asked council members if they would once again be willing to allow the college to send welcome emails under their names. Harmon will contact each council member to get their approval and work with them to draft their welcome message to incoming parents. As with last year, where possible, she will try to send emails to incoming Seattle parents from council members living in or near Seattle, emails to incoming Bay Area parents from council members living in or near the Bay Area, etc. Council members will be contacted in June and the emails will be sent in July. Most council members concurred that the responses they received last year were only a handful and were not too burdensome.

The next meeting of the Parents Council will be during Fall Family Weekend, Oct. 20-21. Harmon mentioned that finding a date for the Fall Family Weekend was tricky because beginning in 2017-18, the college will reinstate fall break which enables students to return home for a long weekend in October to visit their families and may ultimately affect the Fall Family Weekend attendance.

Outgoing council members and new chair

This was the last meeting for Peter Lindburg, as his daughter Annika graduates this year. The Kriers will also “graduate” off the council. The Kelleys are ready to step down from being chairs and from the council. Leslie said the time has gone very fast and they have enjoyed their involvement with the group and with Linfield. She recommends the council as an easy way to stay involved in your student’s education. So, we will be looking for new members for the fall. Anyone interested in being chair next year should email Debbie Harmon Ferry.

Adjourn

Meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m.

Submitted by Debbie Harmon Ferry ’90, scribe.