Spring Newsletter, March 20, 2008
President's Letter NEACRAO to Receive Award at AACRAO Greetings Fellow NEACRAOans: A lot has happened on the NEACRAO front since we last spoke in November and most of our news is very exciting! We are very excited to announce that this November’s conference will be held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester, NH. For those of you who have not been to Manchester, it is a charming little city. Our hotel is within walking distance of many shops, restaurants, and pubs, and is also across the street from the Verizon Civic Center. Our program volunteers have been hard at work in creating a comprehensive conference agenda. So please save the dates (November 5-7, 2008)! Our second piece of big news:  NEACRAO has won the Elbert W. Ockerman Award for our own Reverse College Day!  The Ockerman award recognizes outstanding professional activities of the state/regional associations and encourages development and expansion of quality professional activities among state/regional associations.  This is the first time our association has received this annual award, and is the culmination of hard work from all of our past board members involved in RCD.  A special thank you is also owed to Past-Presidents Brian Murphy and Meredith Braz for their work in our successful application for the award.  We will be acknowledged for the award at the AACRAO conference during the Opening Session and Meredith will receive the award at the State/Regional Officers Awards Luncheon on Wednesday.  All are encouraged to attend! We will also be having a rather informal get together in Orlando for those of you attending the AACRAO conference. We will be meeting at the High Velocity sports bar within the World Marriott Center complex between 6 and 8 PM on Wednesday, March 26. Stop by and be social with your NEACRAO colleagues! We hope to see you there! Warm regards, Patrick Sullivan, NEACRAO President	MARK YOUR CALENDARS NOVEMBER 5-7, 2008… NEACRAO IS ON THE MOVE! Building on 60 years of experience as a leader in higher education, our 61^st annual meeting will be held November 5 -7, 2008 in Manchester, New Hampshire. Located in south central New Hampshire along the Merrimack River, Manchester NH is the largest city in northern New England. Manchester contains a rich and diverse history that can still be seen today in the unique architecture, museums, culture, and demographics of the region. Manchester is · twenty miles from the Massachusetts border · fifty-eight miles from Boston and · an hour’s drive of destinations such as the seacoast and the lakes region. Besides a convenient location which is close to shopping, historic attractions, theater, a great variety of restaurants and more, the Radisson Hotel Manchester provides over 65,000 square feet of flexible, well-appointed meeting, banquet and exhibit space. NEACRAO’s local arrangements volunteers tell us that they have been very impressed with the professionalism of the staff at the Radisson Hotel Manchester. The Annual Meeting Program is shaping up to be one of the best in years, an interesting and diverse series of conference sessions, filled with many learning and professional development opportunities. And as always, it will provide a great venue to connect with colleagues. Hopefully there will be just a little bit of down time for you to relax and enjoy the heated indoor swimming pool, whirlpool and fitness center at the hotel. One of the themes that the program committee will be considering is “Building Bridges” in which the many relationships we enjoy and need in the higher education community will be explored. So cross the bridge over the Merrimack and join us in Manchester!
AACRAO in Orlando Especially for fellow NEACRAOans who will be attending AACRAO’s upcoming 94th Annual Meeting in Orlando… · Ockerman Award—NEACRAO will be recognized on Monday, March 24th at 5 pm during the Opening Session and Meredith Braz, NEACRAO Past-President will be accepting the award at the State and Regional Awards Luncheon where she will make a presentation about RCD so that others can use it as a model. · Informal Gathering—an opportunity to connect with other NEACRAO folks at High Velocity, Orlando’s largest sports bar located in the Orlando World Center Marriott Resort, Wednesday, March 26, 2008, 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm	NEACRAO Announces Dues for 2008-2009 Membership: $225 (includes three individual members) Each additional individual member: $15. Bills will be going out in early May to the designated member at your home institution. (To find out who that person is, go to NEACRAO's website. Your email address is your User ID. If you've forgotten your password, click the forgot password link and a new password will be mailed to you. Select "MEMBERS DIRECTORY" and then do an advanced search. Type in your home institution. The person who has a red asterisk after their name will be receiving the bill. (Note: if you have any trouble logging into the site using Internet Explorer, try another browser, i.e. Netscape or Mozilla.) If you think a different person should be receiving the bill, please contact Patti Stimpson, NEACRAO Co-Chair, Registration.
Congratulations to Meredith Braz, Past-President of NEACRAO, for getting elected to AACRAO’s Nominations and Elections Committee!
IN THE NEWS ... On Our Campuses and in Our World of Higher Education It shouldn’t be surprising to any of us that the recent credit and economic crisis is hitting home for many institutions…see related articles in recent issues of The Chronicle of Higher Education: “Education Department Is Ready for Any Loan Crisis, Spellings Tells Congress” March 17 2008 issue “Colleges' Debt Is Fed by Rising Bond Rates” March 14 2008 issue “With the Collapse of Variable-Rate Markets, Some Colleges Face Staggering Debt Cost” March 6 2008 issue	NEACRAO Leadership in 2008-2009 Nominations for 2008-2009 NEACRAO leadership roles are now being accepted: · President-Elect · Vice President, Registrar and Records · Nominations and Elections Committee If you have been an active, involved member of NEACRAO with leadership experience, and have an interest in serving, or know of a colleague who should be considered, please submit a nomination today.
NEACRAO Newsletter, March 2008- Association Editor: Barbara Casey, Williams College, Williamstown, MA 01267 The NEACRAO newsletter is published three times a year, in March, August and October. Contributions from members (articles, editorials, letters, re-prints-with permission-and drawings/cartoons) are welcomed. Please email items for publication to: Barbara Casey.