Business Meeting Minutes
November 3, 2001


National Association of Industrial Technology
2001 Annual Business Meeting Minutes
Saturday, November 3, 2001

Hyatt Regency Hotel
Dearborn, Michigan

  1. Call to Order and Opening Remarks: Dr. Art Rosser, NAIT Executive Board Chair, welcomed the members. He reminded those in attendance that their convention folders contained the 2002 Call for Presentations and reviewed the deadlines.
  2. Review and Approval of Minutes of the November 4, 2000 Annual Business Meeting: Marlow Marchant moved, seconded by Ivan Mosley, Sr., to approve the minutes as presented. The motion was approved on a voice vote.
  3. Executive Board Report: Rosser reviewed Executive Board activity, noting that the strategic plan was being reviewed by the Board, that the membership election resulted in approval of a bylaws change for minimum required membership of special divisions, that the Board had directed the NAIT Office to proceed with site selection for the 2003 and 2004 conventions. He noted that the consensus of the Board was that most strategic plan goals are being met, though the Outstanding Industrial Technologist Award program does not have adequate continued funding as of yet.
  4. National Office Report: Executive Director Dr. Alvin Rudisill reported.
    1. Primary Programs: Rudisill reviewed primary programs and activities of NAIT.
    2. Major Accomplishments for 2000-2001: Continued increase in new accreditation activity, certification program participation has stabilized, foundation began planning activities to finish initial capital campaigns, Convention Proceedings and Selected Papers programs used Board approved review process, JIT and IT Insider publications continued, NAIT Website content continues to grow, Student Chapter Award was reinstituted, Baccalaureate Program Directory will be published again in the winter and an Associate Program Directory is to be produced using web-based data collection.
    3. Finances: Rudisill noted that stable financing has been a concern for many years but that year-end balances have grown since a low of $5000 in 1979 to a current 2000-2001 year-end balance of approximately $100,000. He noted that there is no current financial crisis but that the recommended year-end balance for an association such as NAIT is an amount equal to the annual expenses of the organization, which would be about $350,000.
    4. Membership: Rudisill noted that membership retention and recruitment is always a high priority for NAIT. He noted the large increase in membership in 1993 when the new certification program recruitment campaign occurred and that the highest membership number was reached in 2000, when there were 2177 members as of June 30. As of June 30, 2001, there were 1932 NAIT members, comprised of 59 Accredited members, 25 organizational members, 1238 professional members and 638 student members. He also noted: the increase, after a two year decline, in professional memberships; that the Industry Division had become the largest professional division; that Special Division membership stood at 42 in the Graphic Communications Division, 147 in the Manufacturing Systems Division, 73 in the Research Division and 29 in the Safety Division.
    5. Certification: Rudisill noted the large number of certified members in the first years of the program followed by a decline and eventual stability in the last few years with about 500 certified members. He noted that the increase in Industry Division membership is related to the higher percentage of members in that division who seek and maintain certification.
    6. Accreditation: Rudisill noted that the Accreditation program continues to grow, from 59 institutions in the fall of 2000 to 63 as of the accreditation hearings this year. Six new institutions had programs accredited at this year’s hearings, while one institution’s program was discontinued and another institution chose to drop its accreditation while upgrading its program.
    7. Publications: Rudisill noted the success of the online Journal of Industrial Technology and that the IT Insider member newsletter is now going into its fourth year of publication.
    8. Website: Rudisill noted the great investment of staff time needed to keep the NAIT Website, www.nait.org, up-to-date, that more customized links to divisional areas could be added, that listservs were added for the special divisions, and that redesign has allowed the office to keep personnel data updated more easily.
    9. Strategic Plan: Rudisill noted that the NAIT Strategic plan was developed by the Board in 1999 and is reviewed and updated annually; it includes membership, certification, accreditation and financial goals, a goal of increasing CCTI and Industry Division involvement in the annual convention and a goal of leadership development.
  5. Special Committee and Board Reports:
    1. Board of Accreditation: Dr. Jerry Parish, the incoming Board Chair, reported on behalf of Board Chair Dr. Everett Israel: At the 2001 Board of Accreditation hearings, five community colleges with 27 IT programs received initial accreditations, one university with a AAS program received accreditation, and several programs received reaccreditations or had their progress reports reviewed. One institution withdrew their program as it is being closed and another institution’s program received nonaccreditation due to failure to submit a status report. Dr. Parish also noted activities at the Board of Accreditation Business meeting, such as approval of new visiting team members and the need for more training of team members, and that the Standards and Accreditation Committee review of proposed changes to policies, procedures and standards were reported to the Business Meeting. Parish also noted that there would be a team training workshop this afternoon, November 3 and further team training at the SME workshop in January. Dr. Russell Johnson, of Colorado State University, reporting from the floor, indicated that the withdrawal of CSU’s Manufacturing program from NAIT Accreditation was related to internal issues and did not have to do with NAIT Accreditation.
    2. Board of Certification: Dr. Dennis Field reported that the Board of Certification met with more than a quorum and had an active meeting, with much of the discussion centered on the NAIT Certification Examination. He noted that in the past three years their had been 457 examinees with a passing rate of 56%. The Board of Certification made several recommendations pertaining to the exam, including updating of the content, more widespread adoption of the exam, further analysis of the exam’s validity, a larger time bank, development of an exam study guide, and gauging its potential for use as an exit assessment exam. He noted that the Board held an open forum at the 2001 Convention that drew further member input and that the Board will continue to schedule an open forum at future conventions. The Board is also interested in identifying other agencies to offer more specialized technical exams. The Board briefly discussed CCTI student use of the exam and whether they can perform as well, and the issue was tabled for further discussion. Dr. Field also noted the increasing use of the exam as an exit exam; although it wasn’t designed for that purpose, the larger data set available due to increased examination being taken may allow analysis of the exam’s validity and reliability for that purpose.
    3. NAIT Foundation Board: Rudisill reported on behalf of Board Chair, Dr. Dennis Depew. He noted that the Foundation “leadership” dinner was a successful event with over 60 invitees attending and being oriented to the NAIT foundation. He reviewed the current programs of the Foundation: the Charter Institutional Membership campaign, which has a goal of 40 members donating $1000, and which need s12 additional members to meet the goal; the Charles Keith Circle, which has a goal of 40 members donating or pledging a minimum of $10,000, which needs 34 more members to meet its goal; and the Outstanding Industrial Technologist Awards endowment, which has a goal of $50,000. Rudisill recognized American Technical Publishers, Arizona State University – East, and Owens Community College as new Charter Institutional Members; Dr. Clint Bertrand to the President’s Club; and Dr. John Earshen and Dr. Dennis Depew as members of the Charles Keith Circle.
  6. Division Reports:
    1. CCTI Division: Dr. Sid Connor, Division President, reported progress on accreditation of programs with 5 new institutions gaining accreditation and a goal of 6 more in 2002. He reported that identifying programs and data collection are the key issues facing the project and that a “beta” version of the web-based collection system is to be tested in Spring 2002. He noted that the division had a small decline in membership between June 2000 and June 2001, and that the division set a goal of having a display at one professional convention in each NAIT region to promote NAIT. The division would also like to add a NAIT Convention activity for a “social roundtable” for discussion of common concerns. He also reported that Dr. Earl Godt was nominated and agreed to serve as the next CCTI Division President-Elect.
    2. Industry Division: Hank Martin, Division President, reported for the division. He noted that the OITA program continues although nominations are down and there is not yet a long-term funding source. The workshops at the 2001 Convention, in which industry-based partners worked with the Industry and Manufacturing Divisions to present on topics of interest to industry professionals, were considered successful, based on attendance, though a lack of marketing resulted in few non-NAIT member attendees. The workshops will continue next year and will involve preconvention marketing with the assistance of Manufacturing Extension Services in the convention site region. He also noted that although the Industry Division has the largest membership, it has the least participation in leadership positions. Mr. Douglas Gard has agreed to serve as the new Industry Division President.
    3. Student Division: Dr. Lesta Burgess, Division President, reported that Dr. John Wright, Jr. would serve as President-Elect. Burgess noted that the Student Division again saw its membership decline and would like to see the Annual NAIT Convention become more of an attraction for non-members. She reported that one effort would be a new contest involving preparation of a technical project on campus for competition against other NAIT Chapters at the Convention.
    4. University Division: Dr. Mark Estepp, Division President reported that the Division is engaging in several membership promotion efforts; that four Outstanding Industrial Technology Professor Awards were given this year; that there was very high attendance, 42 members, at the division meeting; and that the University Division will plan a NAIT Leadership Development Workshop at the 2002 Convention. He noted that Dr. Niaz Latif will assume the Presidency and that Dr. William Brauer has agreed to serve as President-Elect.
    5. Manufacturing Systems Division: Dr. Ron Meier, Past President, reported that the two industry-partnered workshops were very successful, and that future programs will try to engage a prestigious industry partner from the region in which the NAIT Convention will be held.
    6. Graphic Communications Division: Dr. Marlow Marchant reported that as today’s date the division had met the new 50 member minimum for divisional status. The Convention tour of EAI was a great success and allowed more division members to be signed up.
    7. Research Division: Dr. Charles Patrick, Division President, reported that the division conducted a membership drive, and will continue the effort with President Elect Dr.Tad Foster chairing the effort. The division did fill its seats on the Foundation Board. He noted that the 2001 Convention featured two two-hour special sessions organized by the division, and that the division plans a poster session at the 2002 Convention and that Dr. Paul Brauchle will lead a “best research paper” program. The division also would like to investigate creating a searchable on-line database for the Journal of Industrial Technology to improve its potential as a research tool.
    8. Safety Division: Dr. Earl Hansen, Division President, reported that 15 members attended the Safety Division meeting. More membership promotion, answering the question of “What’s the value of a Safety Division membership to me?” is needed and he supports having a leadership development workshop. Leslie Pagliari will become the Division President at the end of 2002.
  7. Old Business: There was no old business on the agenda.
  8. New Business: No new business was raised.
  9. Report on 2002 Annual Convention: Rudisill noted the 2002 Convention would take place November 6-9, 2002 at the Marriott Bay Point Resort in Panama City Beach, Florida.
  10. Presentation of Service Awards: Rosser presented service awards plaques to the outgoing division presidents: Dr. Ivan Mosley, Sr. (Student Division); Mr. Hank Martin (Industry Division); Dr. Sidney Connor (CCTI Division) and Dr. Mark Estepp (University Division). Dr. Jerry Parish, Chair of the NAIT Board of Accreditation presented the service award plaque to Dr. art Rosser for his service as the Executive Board Chair.
  11. Installation of Officers: Rudisill conducted the installation of new officers.
  12. Closing Remarks: Dr. Art Rosser thanked the members for their participation and adjourned the meeting.