Page 32 - April JSF Report

GRANT PROGRAM COMMITTEE MINUTES (DRAFT) (8)
University of Florida. A question was raised about whether other institutions in the SUNY system have shown interest. To date none have bought in. In reality, SUNY Ulster is in competition with its sister schools in the system as well as other institutions.
b. Existing and potential grantees
A list of Disadvantaged grantees and potential grantees had been circulated. Dalhousie University has expressed interest in replicating its JSF-funded health science programs for Indigenous and African Nova Scotian students, this time in the Faculty of Engineering. A question was raised about whether Dalhousie is still engaged in the fractious identity politics evident during the 2016 Board visit. David noted that while Dalhousie was at the forefront of some of those discussions, it does not appear that has affected the quality of the school. It does seem, however, that the Dalhousie representatives who spoke with JSF via Zoom about their proposal seemed to lack awareness of other existing programs that could benefit its Indigenous and African Nova Scotian engineering students. Sherry recently sent the Dalhousie people some information about a Canadian outreach that AISES has started.
13. Continuing Education
A discussion took place about the possibility of holding 2 Continuing Education sessions this summer on JSF’s organization and grantmaking history. The sessions would benefit both current and incoming staff members and Directors. The proposed dates are June 20th and July 11th, both at 11 a.m. EDT. The sessions will be recorded for the benefit of Committee members who cannot attend.
14. Communications and Social Media
Hannah’s resume and a social media report had been circulated. Lady commented that because of changes at Facebook, the number of page followers is being reported rather than the number of page likes. Hannah explained that Facebook began rolling out what it calls its new Pages experience in 2021; now every business Page has the new user interface. Facebook has increased its focus on engagement, which places less emphasis on likes and more on how the user engages with content. There are more metrics around different types of engagement, such as video views and shares, and different engagement types “weigh more” in terms of value. Going forward, JSF will look to measure engagement more regularly.
15. Upcoming meetings
For the September meeting, Chicago is being recommended instead of Spokane. The Board met on the West Coast last September, and it would be more economical to be closer to the East Coast this year. Also, it would seem that a site visit to Gonzaga would be more productive 1-2 years down the road after the new leadership of the MBA-AIE program has settled in. Additionally, the Board has not visited Providence St. Mel as a group, and now is a good time as JSF is in the midst of a current grant with PSM. Lastly, the Indigenous Peoples Convening is currently slated for Spokane this October. The Committee decided to hold the September 2023 meetings in Chicago.
Fall 2023 – Sunday, September 10th – Chicago, Illinois Winter 2023 – Saturday, December 2nd – Palm Beach, Florida Spring 2024 – Sunday, March 17th – To be determined
There being no other business, the meeting adjourned at 1:36 p.m. Respectfully submitted this 11th day of April 2023.
R. Malcolm Macleod Committee Chair
Lady Hereford Program Specialist
Page 30 April Report