Alumni Association Board of Directors

What the board does

Every Porter graduate belongs to the UW–Porter Falls Alumni Association automatically. There are no dues and no paid tier. The association is governed by a board of 18 elected directors, all volunteers, plus a few ex officio members from the university. The board:

• advises the Office of Alumni Relations on its annual plan and Millrace Week programming;
• charters, and in rare cases closes, regional chapters;
• appoints the committee that selects the Distinguished Alumni Awards;
• awards the Alumni Association scholarship, about $18,000 a year, paid for by royalties from the alumni insurance program;
• brings alumni concerns to the chancellor’s cabinet through the vice chancellor for university advancement.

The board does not control Foundation money, set tuition or have a say in admissions decisions. People ask every year.

Officers, 2026–27

Ostby, a general contractor, is the first board president to have run a crew on a Porter building: she was a site superintendent on the 2019 Welcome Center renovation and says she still knows where the original depot floor is under the new one.

Directors

Ex officio, non-voting: Hollis Vang, vice chancellor for university advancement, and Gretchen Aune, director of alumni relations, who staffs the board. Sorum and Pike are co-chairs of this year’s 50th and 25th reunions.

Meetings and minutes

Meetings are open to any alum except for closed sessions on award selections. The first 15 minutes are set aside for anyone who has signed up to speak. Minutes are posted in the alumni section of MyPorter within 30 days.

How to nominate someone

Six seats open each year. Nominations for terms starting July 1, 2027, are accepted January 15 through March 1, 2027.

1. Anyone may nominate, including themselves. Self-nominations are welcome here, unlike the Distinguished Alumni Awards.
2. Send a short statement, 300 words or fewer, on why the nominee wants to serve and what they would work on, plus the nominee’s class year, program and city. Email it to Alumni Relations.
3. The nominating committee of three directors and one staff member interviews finalists in March, by video, for about 20 minutes each.
4. The board elects the new class at its April meeting.

Terms are three years, with a limit of two in a row. The board keeps at least three seats for graduates of the last ten years and at least two for alumni living more than 150 miles from Porter Falls. Directors attend four meetings a year, serve on one committee and pay their own travel; the office will connect anyone remote. Directors are asked to make a gift of any size each year, and the board’s own rule says $5 counts. If a full term is too much, the Young Alumni Council and the roles on alumni volunteer opportunities are good places to start.