Honors Carolina Young Alumni Council
HCYAC Purpose:
- To bridge the age gap between the Advisory Board, department leadership, and students while also incorporating the perspective of young professionals.
- To facilitate continued involvement for Honors Carolina’s most passionate young alumni.
- To build a pipeline of potential future Advisory Board members.
- To expand the alumni network.
- To foster an environment which engages the alumni network with Honors Carolina students.
- To assist in the planning and deployment of leadership team initiatives and pilots.
- To create opportunities for HCYAC members to make new friends, network with successful people, and build lasting connections to Honors Carolina.
HCYAC Structure:
- Member Requirements:
- Graduate Honors Carolina within the last seven years.
- Attend the annual meeting in Chapel Hill.
- Attend two one-hour meetings each month.
- Commit about 10 total hours each month to meetings, projects and events.
- Grant annual minimum gift of $250 to the Friends of the Honors Carolina Fund.
- Participate in the Honors Carolina Mentorship Program.
- Engage with fellow Alumni, having at least one join the Go Anywhere Platform or LinkedIn a month.
- Partner with Aspyn and participate in a coffee talk, dinner or panel
- Attend a regional admitted student event in your area
- Attend a student summer connect event in your area
- Offer to host internships
- Post opportunities in Go Anywhere
- Be a resource for interested students
- HCYAC Composition:
- Five initial members, with a maximum of twelve.
- Each member is installed on a two-year term, with up to three terms permitted.
- When possible, membership age should be diversified. Membership should always include at least one member who graduated in the previous two years.
- When possible, the Council geography should be diversified. Membership should ideally include alumni located in a variety of US metros.
- Three officer roles (responsibilities to be ironed out over time):
- Chair: coordinates with Honors Carolina leadership, runs biweekly meetings.
- Vice Chair: manages HCYAC projects, stand-in for Chair as needed.
- Secretary: maintains HCYAC calendar, monitors HCYAC adherence to bylines.
- HCYAC Member Nomination Process:
- Candidates will catch the attention of Honors Carolina stakeholders through their genuine interest and consistent engagement.
- Each year, members of the faculty or leadership team may submit nominations.
- Advisory Board and HCYAC members may refer a candidate for nomination, but they may not nominate a candidate themselves.
- Nominations should include a short “letter of support”, listing out the reasons for the nominee’s selection.
- The leadership team is expected to review nominations and inform any suitable candidates of their consideration.
- Nominees will be given the chance to decline the opportunity.
- Alternatively, they may want to advocate for their own selection.
- Otherwise, the leadership team is granted discretion in the selection process.
- Nomination pools should be small (ideally five candidates or fewer).
- No more than two selections shall be made each year.
- It is expected that some years will yield zero compelling candidates.
- HCYAC Member Selection and Officer Election Timeline:
- May 1: a new session begins.
- November 15: new member nominations due to Honors Carolina leadership.
- December 15: soft deadline for contacting nominees.
- January 15: hard deadline for finalizing selections.
- At the annual meeting: existing members approve selections via majority vote.
- Selections remain eligible for approval if they are absent.
- At the annual meeting: the next session’s officers are elected.
- Newly approved members cannot run for officer roles.
- Each member is only permitted to run for one position.
- If an officer role has not been filled after elections, any member (including new members) may volunteer.
- April 30: the current session ends, and new officers take over.
For questions or to learn more, please contact:
Jake West
jakewest@unc.edu
919-843-7764
