NAFSA Rainbow Special Interest Group
Annual Business Meeting Minutes
NAFSA Annual Conference
Salt Lake City, Utah
Wednesday, May 28, 2003

I) Welcome

Jacqueline Bedard and Kevin Morrison opened the meeting and welcomed all to the 10th Anniversary Annual Business Meeting. This was followed by introductions of the SIG leadership (co-chairs, advisory board, and officers). New members were invited to stand and were welcomed with applause.

II) A motion to approve the minutes of the 2002 annual meeting was made and seconded. The minutes were approved.

III) Leadership Reports

A) Website Manager Kathy Sideli updated on the SIG website. She reported that the materials section has been updated, but there is still a large need for more resources on International Students coming to the U.S. She also reminded us that website is very reliant on volunteers. She explained that the website has three entry points for differing interests (Students, GLBT Professionals, Advisors), and that it has become the “main” site for resources. In addition, she stressed the following:
• The student section needs more development.
• There is a need for a catalog of the newsletters.
• IU is the current host of the website.

B) Susan Carty speaking for Listserve Manager Daniel Soto reported on the list-serve. Currently it is also hosted by Indiana University. There are 84 members currently on the list-serve

C) Membership Coordinator Susan Carty offered an update on SIG membership and reported that we have 119 members. After this she passed around the membership form for new members to sign-up and old members to renew. She reminded us that the mailing list is used for 2 or 3 newsletters per year and one or two other mailings (i.e. Invitations), and that the member list is kept confidential.

D) Rick Russo gave the treasurer’s report. Rick noted that the fundraising campaign for the 10th anniversary reception was very successful and approximately $4,000 was raised. He reminded us that all contributions are tax-deductible.

E) Eero Jesurun, Newsletter Editor, reported on the SIG Newsletter. There are two newsletters published each year. Eero asked for new articles/topics for articles, and updates on regional conferences. This will be announced via email. Jacqueline reported that articles from the foreign perspective are valued and provide interesting variations on the U.S. content.

IV) Elections

There were no officer elections, as it was noted that all of the two-year positions, other than the one co-chair position, had had people elected into them last year. Elections will take place again next year. Terry Crouch from IES was nominated and seconded as the new Co-Chair. This was approved.

Jacqueline thanked Kevin Morrison for his hard work and leadership.

V) New Business

A) A new means of selecting officers was discussed (there are 7 posts). Changes to this will be recommended and sent to the list-serve for discussion

B) Kevin Morrison spoke about the SIG and the coming 10 years.

• "Where do we want to go?"
• Further development of resources.
• New Sessions and groups with which we can collaborate.
• What we can do in the next 5 years.

• Group 1: Increase overseas membership and advisory board. More collaboration with NAFSA. No conferences in places with discriminatory laws. How to maintain identity in NAFSA while creating community.
• Group 2: Incorporate more sessions into NAFSA conferences
• Group 3: Identify a regional contact person, particularly in regions with underrepresented membership. Create a vanity address website (still hosted by IU) to make it easier to remember (i.e. www.rainbowsig.org).
• Group 4: Put more info concerning laws abroad affecting GLBT persons on website. New membership: Have a SIG rep at NAFSA first timers meeting.
• Group 6: Need for additional resources. Creating and producing NAFSA publications. Being included in NAFSA best practices
• Group 7: Make sure we have a SIG rep at each regional meeting. Ensure a SIG member on all local arrangement committees

VI) Announcements

A) Jacqueline announced the reception at the Peery Hotel.

B) SIG related/diversity related sessions were announced

C) Queens University in Canada is trying to become more inclusive. The university has made a recent campaign to make the community aware of transgendered issues. Posters are available and can be purchased.

D) The Local Arrangements rep spoke on Baltimore

• Proposals have a Aug 1st deadline.
• We should use ideas from this meeting and make sessions cross-sectional.
• Use regionals for practice.
• Fill out conference evaluations!

Jacqueline once again thanked Kevin for his leadership.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned.

Respectfully submitted,
Terry Crouch