professionals who are the best and the brightest, and who have unquestionable integrity. The good news is that Rick Mikels and the Board of Regents have maintained those high standards in admitting an outstanding Class 28. The other good news is that the members of the new class are, generally speaking, younger than those in prior classes, meaning that they will have more years to participate in College activities, and, hopefully, in leadership, than past inductees. The bad news is that only six of the 30 admittees are women, and while the College does not and cannot track the ethnicity of the Fellows, it’s clear to me from having looked around the room at the recent luncheon and at other recent College events, that we need to improve our racial makeup as well.
Chris, Rick and I, as well as other members of College leadership, are concerned about the foregoing, and are bound and determined to address it. We have spoken with a number of Fellows about the diversity issue, and have received a number of thoughtful and promising suggestions. Of course, there is no easy or quick fix, and we are exploring various alternatives. One long-term approach on which we will focus is having the members of the Circuit Admissions Councils and the Nominating Committees identify younger bankruptcy professionals prior to their having met the 15-year practice minimum mandated by the bylaws, and then to mentor them by, among other things, encouraging them to participate in Part B activities (i.e., serving on bar association and other panels, publishing articles on bankruptcy topics, participating in community organizations, etc.). Chris, Rick and I will be talking to the Regents about the foregoing; we encourage you to contact us with your ideas about how to reach our goal of greater diversity in the College.
From the Chair
at the College. The Task Force has been asked to recommend policies and procedures for the manner in which those funds are invested and for the circumstances under which current needs may justify the expenditure of principal from those funds. We hope to have a report from the Endowment Task Force for consideration by both the College and Foundations Boards at their March meetings.
In addition, we have also been discussing the possibility of an alternative location for the 2019 Annual Meeting and Induction. In 2019, the NCBJ meeting will be in Washington DC. Rather than holding both our 2019 meetings in the same city, it seems that 2019 would provide us the opportunity to explore holding our induction in a location other than Washington. And given our traditional east coast venue, we thought it would be appropriate to focus on cities in the Midwest or the West. Among the possible locations are Seattle, Austin, Texas and Phoenix. We have begun working with groups of Fellows from each of those cities to identify available conference hotels, as well as sites for related meetings and the Induction. Based on the reports received, the College will determine whether to move the 2019 Induction and to select the city that provides the best resource alternatives. We welcome input and suggestions from all Fellows as to the desirability of an alternative location in 2019.
Finally, as we finish 2016, I want to wish a joyous and blessed holiday season to each of you, your families and friends. To those of you who actively participate in supporting the efforts of the College, thank you for your contributions toward making the College the wonderful organization that it is. And to those who are not yet actively involved, please consider pursuing an opportunity to join one of the College’s committees or to participate in Circuit events or activities. I can assure you that you will find it a fulfilling experience.
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