UMW Affinity Groups Volunteer Handbook
Office of Alumni Relations 1119 Hanover Street, Fredericksburg, VA 22401 Phone: 540-654-2063 or Email: alumni@umw.edu https://alumni.umw.edu
Constitution Example: UMW Honor Council Affinity Group Constitution Article 1. NAME UMW Honor Council Affinity Group Constitution Article II. PURPOSE The UMW Honor Council Alumni Affinity Group exists for the purpose of recognizing and upholding the value of our long standing tradition, the Honor System, which is the very foundation of our University. Our goal is to promote lasting connections among Honor Council Member alumni, students, staff, and faculty. We value a sense of shared community and giving back to the world by affecting the future. Our Goals: (Must have at least three goals listed for your affinity group)
A. Develop strong relationships with UMW Honor alumni and students. B. Provide opportunities and resources for engagement, networking, and maintaining a relationship and involvement with the UMW community. C. Promote leadership, and mentoring opportunities with current students and alumni. Article III. Membership Membership in the Honor Council Affinity Group is open to the UMW community (alumni and student), who have served on the Honor Council. General membership shall be defined as all individuals interested in developing and maintaining connections within the Honor Council alumni and students at the University of Mary Washington. Article VI. Executive Leadership Structure (Each position description should be tailored to each affinity group’s needs)
Executive Leadership
The Executive Committee shall be comprised of the Chair, Vice Chair, Marketing/Communications Chair, and Events Chair. The Honor Council Alumni Affinity Group will also have a current student representative to assist in bridging the gap between the student and alumni population. The current student representative has been selected by the Office of Alumni Relations. A new student will be selected annually for the group, and this student will most likely be the current Honor Council President.
All Executive leaders will serve one two-year term. After their two-year term, leaders can opt to run for election for a second and final two-year term. Chair The duties of the Chair shall include: ∙ ∙ ∙ ∙
Presiding over executive board and general meetings Serving as primary liaison to the Office of Alumni Relations Maintaining and encouraging memberships and fulfillment of group’s goals Upholding group’s constitution
Vice-Chair The duties of the Vice-Chair shall include: ∙ Assuming rights and responsibilities of Chair should they be unavailable ∙ Acting as primary contact to the Steering Committee ∙ Assigning and following up on projects assigned to other chairs Marketing/Communications Chair The duties of the Marketing/Communications Chair shall include: ∙ Creating media (video, pictures, etc.) and maintaining upkeep of alumni website. ∙
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Maintaining social sites, including but not limited to, Facebook, Twitter, etc. o Advertising events using these sites (create event pages, post statuses, etc.)
Working with the Office of Alumni Relations to develop newsletter and announcement communications Maintaining the club’s visibility to alumni and on UMW’s campus
Events Chair The duties of the Events Chair shall include: ∙ Assisting with scheduling events and securing venues ∙ Submitting event requests forms to the Office of Alumni Relations for approval and for advertising of the event ∙ Reporting back to the Office of Alumni Relations regarding event success, and opportunities for improvement Student Representative The duties of the Student Representative shall include: ∙ Serving as the link between the students and alumni.
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Establishing and maintaining contacts with various University departments and student organizations. ∙ Advertising events to fellow students and throughout campus, posting events on Orgsync. Elections
As leaders complete their two-year terms, the opportunity to apply for an executive leadership role will become available and advertised to the general members of the affinity group. Members will be required to submit their resumes and optional documents stating why they are interested in becoming executive leaders. The current executive leadership will compile and discuss the submissions and select the new leaders. Article VI. MEETINGS Section 1. (Determine how often you would like the Executive Committee to meet) The Executive Leadership shall meet every other month. A listing of meeting dates shall be established and shared by the Chair. Section 2. (Determine how many times you would like to gather with the entire group) General meetings will happen once every quarter at various locations/online. Section 3. (Determine how many and what type of events you will be hosting throughout the year) We will be hosting Honor Council Alumni Affinity Happy Hours in various locations, a networking reception on UMW’s campus, and participation in both Honor Awareness Week and Honor Convocation. Article VIII. Amendments and Ratification 1. Amendments to the Constitution may be offered at any time by any active member of the Honor CouncilAlumni Affinity Group. For an amendment to be considered, two members of the executive leaders must vote to consider it. The suggested change then must be submitted to the Office of Alumni Relations. 2. The Office of Alumni Relations will review and discuss the impact of the change and will decide if it is appropriate for the group. The Office of Alumni Relations will be in contact with the Executive Leadership with the decision.