March 4, 2021 – Held via Zoom

Meeting started at 6:30pm

Margaret Matz opened the meeting.

Shankar Venkataraman (Chair of the Elections Committee) attended.

Anna Brook addressed the issue that the CUAA Zoom account ran out of storage space. Anna Brook suggested paying for increased storage space for the CUAA Gmail account. The storage space will be increased to the next level (100 GB).

Margaret Matz reported on a meeting with Laura Sparks and Malcolm King. She advised them that the MOA Committee was reestablished, and that nominations for the next CUAA election were presented.

There was brief discussion regarding the Cooper Union financial monitors report. It was distributed via email to the Executive Committee, Council members, on Facebook, and is available on the Cooper Union website.

Margaret Matz mentioned that Rob Marano and Brendan Fernes (Chair and Vice Chair of Annual Fund Committee) were not able to attend today’s meeting to provide an update. Lynn Lander requested that they send an email with an update.

Margaret Matz reported that she met with Bernie Codd (Chair of Communications Committee) to get ready for elections-related communications. Susan Shaw prepared graphics for the communications, and Shankar Venkataraman with Barry Drogin’s help will prepare text.

Shankar reported that the election will start on Monday, March 15. He will prepare a draft of the ballot. He mentioned that he will be working on finding a date for Meet the Candidates Night towards the first half of the elections period. Shankar noted that he is nearing the end of his two terms on Council, and it would be good to consider the succession plan for next year’s elections. Carol Wolf noted that the CUAA should check with the school regarding the date for Meet the Candidates Night to avoid scheduling conflicts.

Anna Brook (Chair of MOA Committee) reported that she intends to start a conversation with Laura Sparks and Malcolm King regarding restarting discussions about the MOA. Margaret Matz noted that the next call with Laura and Malcolm is on March 19. Anna Brook suggested that there are projects that could be done in parallel with MOA discussions, such as getting the young alumni contact information from Cooper Union. There is a meeting with OoAA scheduled in the next two weeks and this can be addressed at that time.

Margaret Matz reported that the Constitution was working on language regarding the Communications Chair being part of the Executive Committee and the process of alternates filling vacancies on Council. Any proposals will be presented as part of a comprehensive redline when they are ready and approved by the whole Constitution Committee.

There was discussion regarding scheduling of guest speakers during Council meetings. Anna Brook summarized the discussion from the end of the last Council meeting. Carol Wolf noted that Council meetings should not necessarily be every month, that they can be every quarter and have events instead. Lynn Lander noted that the March Council meeting and Meet the Candidates Night the following week may be too many events. Anna Brook suggested cancelling the March 18 Council meeting and suggesting that everyone attend Meet the Candidates Night. The plan was approved, pending scheduling of Meet the Candidates Night.

Lynn Lander moved to adjourn the meeting. Carol Wolf seconded the motion. The meeting was adjourned at 8:05 pm.