OFFICE OF ALUMNI RELATIONS Heffner Alumni House 1301 Peoples Avenue Troy, NY 12180-3500

(518) 276-6205 redandwhite.alumni.rpi.edu

redandwhite@rpi.edu

RED & WHITE STUDENT ORGANIZATION

OFFICER HANDBOOK

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CONTENTS Contents .............................................................................................................................................................. 1 

Section I – Staying Connected ......................................................................................................................... 3 

Emails .............................................................................................................................................................. 3 

Lists ............................................................................................................................................................. 3 

Red & White General Email <redandwhite@rpi.edu> ...................................................................... 3 

Mentor Email <rw-mentors-l@lists.rpi.edu> ...................................................................................... 3 

Proofing ...................................................................................................................................................... 4 

Email Format............................................................................................................................................. 4 

Email Program .......................................................................................................................................... 5 

Social Media ................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Facebook .................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Twitter......................................................................................................................................................... 5 

LinkedIn ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 

Network Drive ............................................................................................................................................... 5 

Connecting to the Network Drive.......................................................................................................... 6 

Google Account ............................................................................................................................................ 6 

Google Calendar ....................................................................................................................................... 6 

Google Docs .............................................................................................................................................. 6 

Event Signup Form .................................................................................................................................. 7 

Section II – Structure ........................................................................................................................................ 9 

Elected Officer Position Descriptions ..................................................................................................... 10 

President .............................................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Vice President for Alumni Relations ............................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Vice President for Membership ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Vice President for Marketing ........................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Vice President for Recruitment ....................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Appointed Officer Position Descriptions ........................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Executive Director – Campus Relations ........................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Executive Director – Alum101 ........................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Executive Director – Traditions ...................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Tour Coordinator ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Web Coordinator ............................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

Information Coordinator .................................................................. Error! Bookmark not defined. 

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Mentor Coordinator .......................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. 

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SECTION I – STAYING CONNECTED Congratulations on becoming an officer for the Red & White Student Organization! You are in charge of one of the best organizations on campus. Red & White is comprised of the best of the best and as an officer, we depend on you to keep in that way. The organization has grown tremendously in the past few years. In order to keep things running as efficiently as possible, this document details some of the ins and outs of being an officer, as well as some guidelines to maintain the high standard that the Rensselaer community has come to expect of Red & White.

EMAILS As Red & White is a well-connected and modern organization, most information is communicated to the general body by email. To contact everyone, there are six different email lists. Geoff and Mike are on all of these lists so they do not need to be copied on any list emails.

LISTS

PRESIDENT AND VICE PRESIDENT LIST <RW-VPS-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> Only the President and VPs are on this list. This is a way for the Executive Board to communicate with each other.

OFFICER LIST <RW-OFFICERS-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> All of the officers, VPs, Executive Directors, and the President are on this list. This is a way to communicate with the entire group of officers.

MEMBER LIST <REDANDWHITE-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> All members are on this list. Though we don’t always encourage members to send to this list, all members are allowed to send to this list.

TRADITIONS COMMITTEE LIST <RW-TRADITIONS-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> All Traditions committee members are on this list, as well as the Executive Director, President, and VP for Marketing and Outreach Programs.

ALUM 101 COMMITTEE LIST <RW-ALUM101-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> All Alum101 committee members are on this list, as well as the Executive Director, President, and VP for Marketing and Outreach Programs.

CAMPUS RELATIONS LIST <RW-CAMPUSRELATIONS-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> All Campus Relations committee members are on this list, as well as the Executive Director, President, and VP for Marketing and Outreach Programs.

CASE ASAP LIST <RW-CASEASAP-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> To be used for the CASE ASAP Conference Committee

RED & WHITE GENERAL EMAIL <REDANDWHITE@RPI.EDU> Red & White is always written with an ampersand (&) unless the character is not available (such as in usernames).

MENTOR EMAIL <RW-MENTORS-L@LISTS.RPI.EDU> Used to communicate with all mentors.

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PROOFING There is a rule in Red & White that all emails must be checked by another officer before they are sent out to the general body or any of the committees. There are several reasons for this. The first reason is simply to check for spelling or grammatical errors. We all make mistakes, and it is helpful to have someone else double-check the emails. Additionally, it is a good idea for a member of the Executive Board to verify that the information is correct and consistent with the goals of the organization. We try to avoid spamming the general body. Because of this, we like to make sure the emails say what we want the first time so we don’t have to send them out again.

Members of the Executive Board should send their proof emails to the VP list with PROOF in the subject title. Any VP can approve the message, but if time allows, sufficient time should be given for the President to give any thoughts on the email before it is sent out. Situations where emails need to be sent out in a timely fashion require only the approval of one VP.

Officers and Executive Directors should send their proof emails to the officer list with PROOF in the subject title. Any officer can approve the message, but if time allows, sufficient time should be given for the appropriate VP to give any thoughts on the email before it is sent out. For example, the VP for Alumni Relations should approve emails from the Tour Coordinator whenever possible.

To let the other officers know that an email has been approved, all approval emails should be sent to the same list that the original proof email was sent to. This is most easily done by using “reply all”.

One exception to this rule is for Executive Directors sending emails about upcoming meetings to their committees. For these emails, they should make sure that spelling and grammar are correct before sending their message.

EMAIL FORMAT To ensure that all R&W emails have a consistent and professional look, there are certain guidelines that should be followed. These guidelines are applicable whenever emails are sent to the general body or to people outside of the organization. Emails do not have to follow this format for messages sent between officers.

1. The subject of each email should start with [R&W] so that people can use a filter to sort their emails. This should be done for all emails, including messages between officers.

2. The font should be Arial size 12. This includes email signatures. 3. The color should be black and only black. 4. For emphasis, bold should be used, not italics. 5. The small R&W logo (or appropriate committee logo) should be centered at the top with three

blank lines below it. The R&W logo can be found on the R&W network drive in the Logos folder. It is called logo-png-email.png.

6. You should not have more than one space between paragraphs. 7. Paragraphs should not be indented. 8. Try to keep short, one-sentence paragraphs to a minimum. Combine paragraphs when

appropriate. 9. Web links should use a friendly name. After copying the web address, right click on the (blue)

link and select edit hyperlink. At the top where it says “text to display,” change this to something more friendly (link, website, etc.).

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10. A recap section should be included towards the end of the email. All text should be bolded. The word “recap” should not be included. Information to include, when appropriate, is Event, Location, Date, Time, Dress, and RSVP date (with link to the Event Signup Form).

EMAIL PROGRAM To ensure that these email guidelines are met, we are requiring that all emails sent to the R&W lists be sent from your RPI email account from within Outlook. For those of you who do not currently use Outlook, follow the instructions found at the RPI helpdesk website exactly how to set up Outlook with your RPI webmail. In case you are unfamiliar with what will happen:

1) If you have your RPI webmail set to forward to a personal account (Hotmail, Gmail, etc…), all incoming RPI email will continue to forward.

2) If you do not forward your RPI email, all of your messages will sync with Outlook. However, they will still be accessible online if you chose to continue using webmail.

3) Your personal account can continue to be used to send email as you choose. 4) Outlook must be used to send R&W emails so that formatting will be correct.

SOCIAL MEDIA In addition to email, R&W uses other forms of social media to stay connected with our members and with the Rensselaer community. Officers are encouraged to post regularly.

FACEBOOK As an officer, you should join our Member Group on Facebook (for members and alumni of R&W only) and become a fan of our R&W fan page. Access to both is available from the members section of the Red & White website.

TWITTER There are two Red & White Twitter Accounts. We encourage you to join Twitter and follow the following accounts:

RWMembers – Account for members only. This account is utilized to interact as a membership on a regular basis. It is a great place to get updated news, insider information, and reminders. Be sure to use #rwrpi when you tweet something about R&W so it shows up in our scroll.

RPIRedandWhite – Account is used to promote upcoming events and activities. Mostly run by the VP for Marketing and Outreach Programs.

LINKEDIN We encourage you to join LinkedIn, a professional online networking tool. Join the Rensselaer Alumni Association and the Red & White subgroups. The Red & White subgroup is for alumni and current members of Red & White.

NETWORK DRIVE The R&W network drive is where useful files are stored for easy access for all officers. Please use the network drive to store information instead of your own personal hard drive; this makes it easier for all officers to access information. There are two important folders on the T-drive, the general Red & White folder and the committees folder. All R&W members have access to the committees folder, which is used to store files for the various committees. In the general R&W folder is where the rest of the files are stored. In the general R&W folder, each officer has a folder that can be used to store

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files. Each officer can utilize any of the files on the network drive, but should not delete anything other than what is in their own folder.

CONNECTING TO THE NETWORK DRIVE If you are connecting from off campus, you will need to use the external VPN before you connect.

WINDOWS USERS 1. Right click on the desktop 2. Click on New → Shortcut 3. Copy the following address and then click next

\\iacsdept.win.rpi.edu\InstAdv\Department\Alumni\RedandWhite 4. You will then need your RCS ID and password (username should be WIN\RCS ID) 5. Name the folder and then click finish 6. This shortcut can be moved to any location that you wish

MAC USERS 1. Open Finder 2. Go to “Go” tab 3. Select “Connect to Server” 4. Type in Server Address – smb://iacsdept.win.rpi.edu/instadv/department/alumni/redandwhite 5. Hit “+” sign to add it to favorites 6. Hit Connect 7. Type in RCS Username and Password

GOOGLE ACCOUNT Red & White has its own Google account. Please use this account (and not your own personal account) for all R&W related activities. The username is redandwhite@rpi.edu. The password is xxxxxx

GOOGLE CALENDAR The calendar of events on the website is linked to our Google account. Officers can update the calendar with the events that they are in charge of. Please keep the calendar up-to-date so that members feel that it is a reliable source. Any changes made to the Google Calendar will be updated immediately on the R&W site.

HOW TO ADD AN EVENT 1. Go to Google Calendar at calendar.google.com 2. Make sure that you are logged in as redandwhite@rpi.edu 3. Click on "Create Event" in the upper left hand corner of the screen 4. Fill out all of the information about the event. The event description can simply be the same

information that would be sent out in an email to everyone 5. Do NOT change anything under "Options" or "Guests" 6. Click "Save"

GOOGLE DOCS All of the forms on the website are created with Google Docs. Any officer can create a new form with Google Docs to gather information from R&W members or any other group of people. Once a form is created, please email the Web Coordinator so that the form can be added to the website. Once the form is added, any changes will be reflected on the R&W site immediately.

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HOW TO CREATE A NEW FORM 1. Go to Google Docs at docs.google.com 2. Make sure that you are logged in as redandwhite@rpi.edu 3. Click on "Create new" 4. Click on "Form" 5. Give the form an appropriate title 6. Add questions to the form 7. Do NOT change the theme of the form 8. Click on "Save" in the upper right hand corner

HOW TO EDIT A FORM 1. Go to Google Docs at docs.google.com 2. Make sure that you are logged in as redandwhite@rpi.edu 3. Click on form in the spreadsheets list 4. Click on the "Form" menu 5. Click on "Edit form" 6. Edit the form as necessary 7. Click on "Save" in the upper right hand corner 8. Changes will be reflected on the website immediately

EVENT SIGNUP FORM To streamline the event signup process, there is a single Google form for all events. The purpose of this is so that events can be added to the website easily with Google Docs without the need of the Web Coordinator’s intervention. All officers can add events to the Event Signup form. Officers are only responsible for editing the Event Signup Form, the Information Coordinator will revise the Event Wrap-Up Form once the email has been sent to the group.

HOW TO EDIT THE EVENT SIGNUP FORM 1. Go to Google Docs at docs.google.com 2. Make sure that you are logged in as redandwhite@rpi.edu 3. Click on Event Signup Form in the spreadsheets list 4. Click on the "Form" menu 5. Click on "Edit form" 6. Add the event to the "Select Event" multiple choice question 7. If any additional information is needed, add questions to the form as necessary 8. Click on "Save" in the upper right hand corner

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SECTION 2 - RESOURCES HEFFNER ALUMNI HOUSE The Heffner Alumni House is the home of Red & White Student Organization. All Red & White meetings, including VP, Office, Committee and general body meetings are held in the building.

RESERVATIONS All meetings must be scheduled through the Heffner Alumni House Manager (Mike O’Neill) by the following process:

1. Please work to know your meeting time at least a week prior. It is helpful that if you are having reoccurring meetings to have a full list of dates.

2. Send an email to heffneralumnihouse@rpi.edu 3. Include the name of the meeting, date, time and how many people you

expect at the meeting. If it is a reoccurring meeting, indicate that in the email.

This process will avoid any double bookings within the Heffner Alumni House.

CARD ACCESS The Heffner Alumni House is on card access and only certain individuals have card access to the building after hours. Only the R&W president has anytime access to the building. It is important that you request the use of the HAH for many reason, but it is most important in order for the card access to stay unlocked until your meeting time is complete.

CANCELLATIONS It is important to notify the Heffner Alumni House Manager immediately if you are planning to cancel a meeting. This will help to avoid the Heffner Alumni House remaining unlocked when no meeting is present.

BUILDING SUPERVISOR There is always a Building Supervisor on duty in the Heffner Alumni House when the building is unlocked. If you have any problems or need any assistance, contact the Building Supervisor located on the upper level of the HAH. If there is an emergency, dial 911 first and then find the Building Supervisor.

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SECTION II – STRUCTURE

President

Courtney Nicholas '13

VP for Alumni Relations

Natalie Maslow '13

Tour Coordinator

Alli Welling '14

VP for Marketing

Anisha Smith '13

Web Coordinator

Jay Cady '14

VP for Recruitment

Cale Kochenour '13 

Mentor Coordinator

Allie Ahn '13

VP for Membership

Charles Carletta '14

Information Coordinator

Megan Smead '14

Advisor

Geoff Seber

Executive Director Traditions Programs

Elise Budd '15

Executive Director Campus Relations

Bobby Langan '14

ChairCASE ASAP D2 Con.

Ben Lewis '13

Advisor

Mike O’Neill '11

Executive Director Alum101

Brendan Howell '14

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ELECTED OFFICER POSITION DESCRIPTIONS These positions are elected by the general body

PRESIDENT Requires a commitment of 12 to 16 hours per week Oversee all Vice President positions to make sure the organization continues to move forward Create overall standards for membership Develop overall strategic plan for the organization Work with advisor every week to move organization forward Meet with Vice Presidents and Executive Directors on a regular basis Communicate with Executive Directors about progress of programs and activities from the

Alum101, Campus Relations, and Traditions Committees Run all general body meetings, including food schedule Notify members of upcoming general body meetings Meet for applicant and member review process Provide members with updated information on current campus stories/issues Attend highest level events with President & President’s Cabinet as requested Oversee yearly election process Serve as a member of the RAA Board of Trustees Serve on the Rensselaer Alumni Hall of Fame Selection Committee (every other year) Make all final decisions on all activities for the organization

VICE PRESIDENT FOR ALUMNI RELATIONS Requires a commitment of 10 to 12 hours per week Second in command for the organization Create the strategic operations plan for Alumni Relations Oversee the Tour Coordinator Work with Alumni Relations to provide Red & White participation at events Select members for events and coordinate with event contact person Coordinate Red & White involvement in Reunion & Homecoming and the Volunteer Summit Meet for applicant and member review process

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VICE PRESIDENT FOR MEMBERSHIP Requires a commitment of 10 to 12 hours per week Create the strategic operations plan for membership Oversee the Information Coordinator Keep a diversity record of the organization Provide member activities that increases member development, communication, and interaction Oversee membership development throughout member tenure Provide member reviews once per semester Complete follow-up evaluation for new members Meet for applicant and member review process

VICE PRESIDENT FOR MARKETING Requires a commitment of 8 to 10 hours per week Create the strategic operations plan for the organization’s marketing and communications Oversee the Web Coordinator Work on strategic publicity for the group Maintain style guide and enforce its use Provide a newsletter to members after general body meetings Position the organization through different outlets to build awareness on campus Manage all forms of Social Media used by the organization Maintain and coordinate pictures from members Create new ideas that will help to promote Red & White Coordinate and place new clothing orders Meet for applicant and member review process

VICE PRESIDENT FOR RECRUITMENT Requires a commitment of 10 to 12 hours per week Create strategic operating plan for Recruitment Strategically recruit for the most diversity for the organization Represent Red & White at the Fall Activities Fair Responsible for drafting the application Responsible for creating the Recruitment Timeline Lead Application & Interview Reviews Responsible for drafting the interview standards & training for Interviewers Organize New Member Orientation, Mentor Selection, and the Etiquette Dinner Presiding authority over complete recruitment process and efforts Oversee the position of Mentor Coordinator

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APPOINTED OFFICER POSITION DESCRIPTIONS These positions are appointed by the incoming executive board

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – CAMPUS RELATIONS Requires a commitment of 8 to 10 hours per week Oversee the Campus Relations Committee Oversee a committee of 8-10 members Coordinate Welcome Barbecue, Study Days @ the Heffner Alumni House Arrange an Event for Red & White participation in Reunion & Homecoming Organize Red & White participation in Campus Wide Events (Big Red Freakout, Winter

Carnival, etc.) Create new programs and activities that incorporate into key campus programs Report to Advisor & Update President and VPs on Committee Progress

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – ALUM101 Requires a commitment of 8 to 10 hours per week Oversee the Alum101 Committee Oversee a committee of 8-10 members Organize programming for Alum101, including but not limited to:

Roundtable Interviews Research Jobs/Graduate Schools Culinary Engineering Financial Management for the Future

Create new programs and activities that incorporate into key campus programs Report to Advisor & Update President and VPs on Committee Progress

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR – TRADITIONS Requires a commitment of 8 to 10 hours per week Oversee the Traditions Committee Coordinate NRB Traditions Activity Research RPI Traditions Create and promote Traditions to First-year Students Work and create programs with other student organizations to maintain campus tradition Report to Advisor & Update President and VPs on Committee Progress

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TOUR COORDINATOR Requires a commitment of 1 to 5 hours per week Receive requests for all tours Provide tour information, training, and scheduling to members for tour Send email messages of upcoming tours Select members for tours and coordinate with event contact person Make sure members that are doing tours are updated on any new important campus information Be part of the overall orientation and train members on tour tips/information Report to the Vice President for Alumni Relations

WEB COORDINATOR Requires a commitment of 1 to 5 hours per week Update web pages with membership changes, event text, and photographs Work with new technologies to provide an interactive website Organize Google Documents Work with Information Manager to be sure all information on the website is updated Post all information requested from all officers Report to the Vice President for Marketing

INFORMATION COORDINATOR Requires a commitment of 1 to 5 hours per week Record member responses and attendance for events Gather feedback/success stories with Event Wrap-up Form following events Provide member feedback to Vice President of Membership on member needs Maintain R&W online database by prompting members to keep their information current Add new members to listserv Coordinate and keep track of attendance at meetings Gather and analyze information requested from officers Send out meeting minutes to members Report to the Vice President for Membership

MENTOR COORDINATOR Requires a commitment of 1 to 5 hours per week during recruitment periods Assist in the recruitment process with the Vice President for Recruitment Work with Vice President of Recruitment to match Mentors with New Members Set overall standards and responsibilities for Mentors Provide events for Mentors and New Members to attend together Report to Vice President for Recruitment