Executive Meeting Minutes Spring 2015

Iowa Section of the MAA
Executive Committee Meeting
Saturday, February 21, 2015
298 Carver Hall, Iowa State University, Ames, IA

Present:
Ruth Berger (Competition Coordinator), Brian Birgen (Chair), Susan Crook (Secretary, remote), Al Hibbard (Governor, remote), Amanda Matson (Vice-Chair, remote), Jonas Meyer (Treasurer, remote), Matt Rissler (Liaison Coordinator), and Jason Smith (Vice-Chair Elect)

Brian Birgen called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m.

1. Treasurer Jonas Meyer reported that he has opened a new bank account for the section through Dupaco Community Credit Union and ordered checks for the account. The account is in the name “Mathematical Association of America Iowa Section” and has nonprofit status with the correct federal tax ID. Jonas is listed as “officer” on the account.
2. Governor Al Hibbard and Information Director Joy Becker (through email) reported on the MAA Section meeting held at the Joint Mathematics Meeting in January. The MAA has requested that each section send certain dashboard numbers to them to monitor for each section. The MAA has also asked each section to submit photos of section activities for a slideshow at the centennial Mathfest. If Iowa section members have photos, they are asked to submit them to Secretary Susan Crook susan.crook@loras.edu to compile and submit to the MAA. Please try to incorporate Iowa, 100, or MAA into these photos if possible.
3. The centennial Mathfest will be held in Washington, DC in August. The Iowa section would like to have a large and enthusiastic representation at the meeting. Matt, Angie, Susan, TJ Hitchman, and Al are planning to attend at this point. Our section banner will be there, so we don’t need to bring ours. There was discussion of a way to celebrate the Iowa section at Mathfest – perhaps with an organized lunch/dinner/social event or by having Iowa stickers for Iowa associated members to put on their nametags.
4. We are selling Iowa section t-shirts in celebration of both the MAA centennial and the Iowa section centennial. T-shirts may be purchased by emailing Brian Birgen brian.birgen@wartburg.edu by noon on Friday, February 27. Short sleeved shirts are $11, long sleeved shirts are $16, and there is an extra $2 charge for sizes XXL-4XL. Brian Birgen moved that the section pay for supplementary t-shirts (3 XL, 6 L, 3 M, 3 S) to be ordered (and sold), and to pay for a t-shirt as a prize for the designer of the shirt. Both motions carried unanimously.
5. There was some brainstorming on how to celebrate the Iowa section centennial in 2016. Suggestions included a formal lunch on Saturday with a speaker. There was discussion that the 2016 section meeting should be held in a central location, perhaps Des Moines for historical issues. The committee will encourage the nominating committee to find Vice-Chair Elect candidates who are at institutions in this area. If this is not possible, then discussion of suspending the tradition of holding the meeting at the Vice-Chair Elect’s institution for a year. It was suggested and generally agreed upon that there should be a committee formed prior to the 2015 meeting to help with planning the 2016 meeting.
6. Vice-Chair Elect Jason Smith stated that the 2015 section meeting will be held October 2 and 3 and the guest speaker will be Francis Su.
7. Governor Al Hibbard announced that there was discussion at the JMM about paring back the number of governors to make the committee more efficient. He stated that there will likely be a proposal of some sort made at Mathfest or the next JMM and asked that there be discussion of what our section prefers as a plan at the next business meeting.

The meeting was adjourned at 2:29 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Susan B. Crook
IA MAA Section Secretary