Update on Faculty Club Lee Glenn Faculty Senate

Update on Faculty Club Lee Glenn Faculty Senate February 23 rd, 2009

History n n n In Spring/Summer 2007, ETSU central admin and Faculty Senate officers discuss taking a look at this. In Fall 2007, Fred Alsop and Exec Committee charges Bylaws Committee to work on Faculty Club. In Fall 2007/Spring 2008, Bylaws Committee work with restaurateurs, ETSU dining service administrators, Carnegie Hotel managers, ETSU legal counsel, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Retirees Association, and other groups. In late Spring 2008, voting by above ETSU groups to narrow shape and direction of club. Staff and faculty surveyed by Chris Dula. Faculty Club Steering Committee formed from volunteers (Lee Glenn, Bill Fisher, Tony Warner [Asst VP Univ Ctr]. In Summer 2008, everything in place to launch founding membership drive. In Fall 2009, temporary hold in order to focus attention on budget shortfalls. Furlough/layoff atmosphere may not mesh well with a fundraising driving.

Directions By Votes Club characteristics: n For faculty, staff, and administrators n Private, independent, off ETSU n ETSU only at first n Within walking distance (parking concerns) n Serve food, alcohol, artistic entertainment n Low start-up costs; easy to close down n Carnegie Hotel voted as first site to consider. n Member of ACUC for assistance/reciprocity.

Possible Names n n n n n No ETSU or Buccaneer words in name Faculty Club Faculty-Staff Club Blue & Yellow or Blue & Gold Club University Club State of Franklin Higher Ed Club Academia Club or Club Academia Hot Air Hideout Academia Recovery Club Others

Milestones n n n n Draft bylaws for club written and OK’d Status settled as unincorporated business league/trade association Level of interest determined to be medium Senior staff OK’d the plan Carnegie Hotel is willing and able. Flexible plan for space, services, and amenities is in place. Letter & brochure for Call for Founding Members drafted & OK’d by Faculty Senate ACUC stands ready to help Club steering committee in place

Level of Interest Survey By Chris Dula 330 Staff and 285 Faculty

Staff andand Faculty Combined

Staff Only Faculty Only

Low Level of Interest by Staff “Staff (M = 1. 94, SD = 1. 23) were significantly less likely to anticipate paying one year’s dues to become a founding member than were Faculty (M = 2. 76, SD = --Chris Dula 1. 44), where t = -7. 50, p <. 001. “ The percentage of extremely interested faculty was three times that of the staff. About a third of faculty responded as compared to about a twentieth of staff. By combining these two numbers, a rough estimate is that the staff interest level is about one-tenth to one-twentieth of the faculty interest level.

Worst Case Scenario If we assume that the number who will be members are: n 0 % of non responders & “Not at All” n 5% of barely interested n 20% of moderately interested n 50% of fairly interested n 100% of extremely interested Then n The club will have 166 founding members and $3, 320 per month to work with.

If you do the same analysis with the “Likely to Pay? ” item, Then the club will have 124 members and $2480 per month to work with. Conclusion: This is a worst case scenario, but the numbers are still on the low side. This would be adequate for a small club. Little is lost by making this a faculty-only club due to low interest level of staff.

Carnegie Hotel Stands Ready n n Space, personnel, and services are more than enough for the club. They state that they can take anything we throw at them. The structure was established to be an ETSU partner. Mutual financial benefit and convenience. They will bend over backwards to help, but q Cannot lose money or other business on the deal. q Are not very interested in using students or ETSU personnel to deliver any services, due the need to maintain control to achieve high standards of service. The managers view is that they want to develop more business connections with ETSU. The club this hits this desire dead center, making this attractive to them.

Ideas By Carnegie Hotel n n n Key cards to enter the club Parking Discounted food, drinks, services, and shopping Discounted room rentals for members Use of pool and exercise room VIP treatment

What Is Next? Just pull the trigger.

n n n Consider making this a faculty/admin only club. Executive Committee briefs ETSU President and VPs on this and get feedback. Finalize letter and brochure and send offers of founding membership to all staff/faculty/admin. Accept checks only initially. August is best. If enough checks come in, activate the club, finalize bylaws, file with IRS, and elect board. Negotiate 12 month contract with the Carnegie Hotel or other. q The space, amenities, breadth and depth of services hinges on number of founding memberships. q If there are 100 members, the club will have one set of features suitable for a small, part-time club. If there are 2, 000 members it will be a large full-time club.