NAASC Voting Petition For some time, the National Alumnae Association of Spelman College has been requesting full voting privileges for the elected President of our organization as she participates in proceedings of the Spelman College Board of Trustees. This request has consistently been denied. As a concerned Spelman alumna, NAASC requests your support of this position, indicated by your signature on the following petition to The Board to secure full voting rights and related privileges for the elected NAASC president as the official elected alumna representative to the Board of Trustees. Thank you for taking the time to read and sign this important document. Sign the Petition (You will be prompted to login.)

The letter reads as follows: To: Spelman College Board of Trustees The National Alumnae Association and the Board of Trustees are bound together by our love, service and support for Spelman College. As stakeholders, each body encourages its members to support efforts that help increase Spelman College’s record in excellence. As we pursue the continued success and growth of Spelman College, we recognize that we all must emphasize and seek to increase alumnae participatory support/giving. The NAASC continues to promote alumnae giving and, because of efforts made by our local chapters, NAASC members continue to give consistently to the College. In addition to promoting initiatives that support the College, the NAASC serves as the only official organized voice for alumnae. It is in the spirit of the Spelman sisterhood and commitment to the integrity of NAASC that we write to share with you concerns held by NAASC members and other non-affiliated alumnae. The statements below state, and expound upon, the important issue being directed to you at this time. VOTING PRIVILEGES – NAASC requests full voting rights and related privileges for the NAASC elected President in her role as NAASC representative to the Board of Trustees. Rationale: As the only official Alumnae organization of Spelman College, the NAASC has a vested interest in the future of Spelman College. NAASC’s President regularly meets with alumnae throughout the country and listens to alumnae concerns; however, the NAASC’s leader is excluded from participating in the Board’s voting process. The Spelman College Board of Trustees is the only board in the entire Atlanta University Center that excludes the Alumni Association President from being a voting member of the Board. In fact, a comparison of Spelman’s Board membership with other schools that are used as fundraising benchmarks for the college, determined that Spelman is the only institution where the elected Alumnae Association President is denied voting privileges on the Board. This disenfranchisement of the elected representative of the official representative body of alumnae suggests to many alumnae that the only interest that the college has in alumnae rests in their ability to provide financial support. The Board, as the governance body of the College, has the right and responsibility to set directions for the institution, and alumnae assert that no other constituent group is more vested in the success of Spelman than “her daughters”. Alumnae propose that: 1.) NAASC’s elected President becomes a voting member of the Spelman College Board of Trustees and serves as an Alumna Trustee from the standpoint of an elected alumnae group representative. 2.) NAASC President- Elect becomes the representative member of the Spelman College Board of Trustees until such time as her term begins as the NAASC President. We request your serious consideration of this request, as you engage in board deliberations. Truly, the time has come, and is long-past, when this change needs to be made – for the benefit of The Board and The College.