Strategies for Increasing Membership and ... - ACS Publications

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Chapter 5

Strategies for Increasing Membership and Volunteerism within ACS Student Member Chapters Stephanie Brouet Saginaw Valley State University, University Center, Michigan 48768 E-mail: [email protected]

As of 2015/2016, the student chapter at Saginaw Valley State University is very active and quite large considering our campus population of chemistry majors. What is the secret? Our best advice is shared from both the advisor and student viewpoint. This chapter will emphasize recruitment and membership building strategies that create a healthy chemistry club with a significant amount of regular member volunteerism. Roles of leadership selection, advisor responsibilities, student member awards, club funded group trips and recruitment speeches are some topics discussed.

Introduction The Chemistry Club at SVSU in 2010 had less than 15 members and relatively few events throughout the year. The events were generally supported by 25% of the members -- a majority of which were officers. By 2015, there were regularly 40 members attending meetings and the level of support and volunteerism rose significantly among students that remained members without officer roles. We try to maintain a balance of social events, professional events and volunteer events, so many other events could be leveraged in the way described with these examples. The focus of the detailed events and strategies are those that have been observed to have an impact on membership & recruiting, along with increased volunteerism © 2016 American Chemical Society

Mio and Benvenuto; Building and Maintaining Award-Winning ACS Student Member Chapters Volume 2: Specific Program Areas ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016.

within current student members. Overall, accountability and defined expectations are key aspects of a majority of the incentives used to promote a strong student club.


Leadership The most important aspect to the success of our chapter at SVSU is the emphasis upon the student-driven nature of the group. In some ways, the best thing an advisor can do is “get out of the way” of a strong student group. We should advise, not choke the organization by being controlling or imply by our actions that the students need our approval for every detail of their activities. Students must own the organization and the activities with a sense of control over the group. As an advisor, I provided my students with as much autonomy and decision-making powers as were possible. I maintained regular meetings with the president and discussed opinions on group decisions, but allowed all my communications to be relayed by the president to the rest of the group. This instills respect for the leadership of the group among members and also demonstrates the importance of student decision making within the group. One key is making sure the leadership of the group is motivated and directed. This begins with selection of the president and other officers. Students elect their officers, however, it appears that good student candidates don’t generally recognize themselves as future officers unless the potential is pointed out by the advisor. Typically, research students tend to be involved in the department in research prior to their involvement in Chemistry Club. For SVSU, this student population has been a fertile source of excellent officers. The proactive advisor should be planning two years out for the officer pool. It is best if the president serves in another officer position one year prior to their term as president. This encourages continuity and helps the group build on the work of the previous year. In fact, a hierarchy within the students has formed in the SVSU chapter where it is effectively an expectation that the president has served as an officer for at least one year prior to their term. While the advisor may suggest certain persons for these roles or discuss the option with a student, it is entirely the choice of the group who becomes an officer. A majority of students who have an interest in the officer positions have long term plans for graduate school or professional school. It is important that the officers be recognized as valuable members of the department. Faculty are encouraged at SVSU to participate in the activities of the student group, and express gratitude for their supportive activities. Leaders in the group are treated as student leaders in the department. This status also encourages motivated students to value the position of officer and makes it a sought-after experience. At SVSU, lower level officer positions have been created to help spread responsibilities to more group members. There is an officer in charge of social media and officers that coordinate volunteerism or run specific larger activities (like our spring 5K). These officer positions help to develop future leaders within the group and also provide more roles for student members. The students who hold these positions then have an official “line” for their resume to communicate their roles in the group in a more concrete fashion. This stream 44 Mio and Benvenuto; Building and Maintaining Award-Winning ACS Student Member Chapters Volume 2: Specific Program Areas ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016.

of opportunities for student members helps to sustain membership and fosters individual responsibility.


Advisor Strategies To Foster Strong Membership For a healthy membership, it is important to encourage students to join chemistry club as members early during their time on campus. Typically, end of freshman year or sophomore year is a great time for a student to join so that they spend enough time in the group to eventually rise to the rank of officer or president. The following details strategize to encourage membership and high levels of activity among members after joining. Recruitment from Lower Level/High Enrollment Courses Faculty should discuss and encourage students to join the group in their lower level courses (General Chemistry and Organic Chemistry). It is helpful if the advisor teaches at least one of these courses, from a recruitment standpoint, since the advisor has a great deal of enthusiasm and knowledge about the activities of the group. A strong “recruitment” speech, prepared in advance, is very helpful to making an influential case to the potential student members. One should point out:

1. Types of Activities (specific examples from the previous year) Past group activities can be a fantastic way to draw students to join the group. The advisor should encourage the group to strategically diversify their activities so that some fulfill service, professional and/or recreational goals. A diversified set of activities will appeal to the broadest group of students depending on their career objectives and interests. During the recruitment presentation the faculty member should highlight activities that fall into each of these categories as examples. Don’t just point out “fun” activities. The types of students that are motivated to become officers are looking for volunteer activities and other valuable service opportunities. Research students are seeking opportunities that support their career goals. Be sure to mention anything special or high profile that gives students experience in planning events. Also, highlight the fact that student members can create their own opportunities by exciting the group and making a strong case for their pet cause.

2. Officer Positions and Path to Officer Students who are officers have important evidence of their leadership abilities, but also gain real skills in leadership. Mention that the usual progression to officer is: Student Member → Officer → President or Vice President. Generally, a student 45 Mio and Benvenuto; Building and Maintaining Award-Winning ACS Student Member Chapters Volume 2: Specific Program Areas ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016.


needs to be a member for a few years to make it to the top of leadership. Provide the take home message to the students: get involved early! Pre-medical students tend to populate Organic Chemistry courses and are often looking for these types of opportunities. It is good to emphasize that real participation in the group is expected and that Chemistry Club will benefit the student most if it is seen as more than a line on a resume or application. I often point out that: due to the fact that it is a smaller club on campus, a motivated student has an excellent chance of distinguishing themselves within the group and making a lasting impact on campus. This can attract the pre-medical students that are interested in leadership opportunities to join the group.

3. Research/Service Opportunities & Letters of Recommendation At SVSU, research students often become officers and shape the priorities of the group. But conversely, officers and student members tend to be thought about more frequently by faculty when opportunities arise (such as research positions or co-op postings). Faculty often know the Chemistry Club members. If one is asking for a letter of recommendation, and I know them as a student, a research assistant and a Chemistry Club member/officer, I can write an extremely powerful letter of recommendation (assuming the impression left was positive). If a student struggled a bit in class, but distinguished themselves in service to the department, it could turn a mediocre letter into a strong one. I often point out that Chemistry Club fundraises for research presentation at national meetings supporting student travel, and this is an excellent way to produce evidence of research. I generally note that any student interested in research should be a Chemistry Club member because of the support offered by the group for their activities. Student officers should also visit courses to encourage membership. A very similar strategy should be employed. It is worth the time of the officers to visit faculty and adjunct faculty that teach introductory courses to familiarize them with specific group activities and other aspects of the club. A proactive group may even prepare a recruitment flyer for students with talking points for faculty in another document.

Role of Independent Research in Membership and Recruitment Research students are a fertile source of members for the Chemistry Club. At SVSU, nearly all research students ultimately become members. This is because Chemistry Club is the primary mechanism to support student travel to conferences at our institution. As an advisor, it is best to encourage research students to join as early as possible and the possibility of support is usually more than enough motivation at the beginning. We have found that research students, even if funding for travel was a primary reason for initial membership, are usually the most active and reliable members for the group. Additionally, funding to travel to conferences is reserved first for research students. We suggest to firmly associate funding support for travel to academic conferences to membership and active participation 46



in Chemistry Club. Non-research student members are supported for travel in part, typically lodging and registration, but in most cases these students need to fund at least part of their travel. If a student who is not conducting research with a faculty member would like to attend and have their travel entirely supported, they must be very active in fundraising and supporting the group in other ways. The casual member who only occasionally attends meeting or events should enjoy less advantages when compared to regularly active members. Placing value on the rewards of active group membership is a great method to create a healthy and strong organization.

Awards and Incentives Incentives such as pizza at meetings are often employed to encourage attendance at meetings. Our officers have placed great value upon the activity level of members and tried to encourage those to join to main active participation throughout the year on various events. Officers can quickly become overwhelmed between event planning and their responsibilities outside of the club, so reliable member volunteerism is at a premium within the group. To address this challenge, a recent president of the Chemistry Club incentivized members to increase their activity level of members to support group events. She began a “Member of the Semester” award where especially active members are recognized for their work when it goes above and beyond the average level of support. The honored member receives a certificate and a gift card. The member can highlight the recognition on their resume or on applications to professional schools. The member award is selected by group vote. The activity level is monitored by the group using social media and all members can access the tracking of their activity level during the semester. An informal competition has even formed where certain members actively campaign to achieve “Member of the Semester” status. “Members of the Semester” also have a stronger case for funding support from the club to attend academic conferences and the end of the year group trips (Cedar Point and Chicago for example-see next section). From our experience, this award incentive has significantly increased regularity of member participation and degree of volunteerism since its inception.

End of Year Group Trips SVSU’s Chemistry Club organizes multiple group trips and tours throughout the year. Another recent addition, however, is an end of the year trip that is subsidized by the group for students that have been active regular volunteers throughout the previous school year. Generally, it is a trip to a regional amusement park or large city, such as Chicago. This year’s trip is to Niagara Falls. Students are only eligible to go on the trip (announced at the first meeting) if they attend and volunteer at a least three events during the year, one of which must be a service event. This encourages the members to fulfill these precise requirements to go on the trip. The students generally needs to pay for a portion of the trip, but 47



the club pays for transportation or lodging. It is a greatly anticipated event and keeps students engaged through the winter semester. The requirement standard is helpful for student members to gage the appropriate level of participation. We often assume that students “know” how much participation is important to be considered a productive member of a group. In fact, as young people, this may be one of their first experiences in adult life in an organization without clearly defined participation expectations. When these young adults participated in sports in high school, there generally was a defined attendance requirement to play in games. We see this trip as a mechanism to communicate minimum expectations of productive group membership. These expectations have been very helpful for student members and we have observed a noticeable increase in reliable student member volunteers. The trip has helped in other ways as well. It has been observed that fall activities and meetings often outnumber winter activities and meetings in participation levels. Over the course of the year, fatigue can often set into active students. As a result, an end of the year trip with incentives built in regarding volunteerism can really help get the students through the last few months of the year and continue to plan exciting and important events. While the trips are often unrelated to chemistry explicitly, team building activities are important to networking and forming strong social bonds. These types of bonds are critical to a healthy group cohesion.

Formal Dance Event Mixer for Graduates and Current Members Another very unique event that SVSU Chemistry Club has held for the last few years is a mixer/formal dinner. The event occurs toward the end of the year is a formal dance event that invites graduated members to a dinner and dance, much like a high school prom. Members greatly anticipate this event as they will see old friends. It is also a chance to see outcomes of former members in their careers, graduate school and professional school. The attendance of the event is quite strong. Former members are usually associated with the group’s Facebook page, however, updates about their activities are rare. This event has enticed some of them back and encourages our younger members to continue in their own education and continue membership in the Chemistry Club. Advisors and faculty members are invited as well. The event is funded by ticket sales and serves as a fundraiser for the group.

Group Causes An annual 5K has been sponsored by the Chemistry Club (called “Geeks in Sneaks”) for since 2012. The proceeds from the event support children in STEM courses in a developing country and a local underprivileged elementary school to purchase school supplies and other necessary items. The cause that the Chemistry Club is supported gives the group a significant amount of pride in their impacts. Group cohesion is reinforced with the collective cause supported by the 48 Mio and Benvenuto; Building and Maintaining Award-Winning ACS Student Member Chapters Volume 2: Specific Program Areas ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016.


event. The event requires significant planning which also reinforces leadership skills and negotiation skills (with the campus police for example). It is also a visible event that takes place over a large area of campus. It is advertised several months in advance, increasing awareness on campus about the club. Notably, this increase in visibility has attracted several student members to the group, even some non-chemistry majors. T-shirts are sold as a part of registration and awards are distributed at the event. This also increases campus awareness since the shirts are worn around campus by some race registrants that are not Chemistry Club members, who socialize in different circles than our regular members (this is in addition to our regular yearly T-shirt fundraiser -- a majority of which are sold to members). Members who participate in the race also ask for sponsorship from local business and community organizations -- including the local section. This helps members gain experience in business environments and helps them learn about the challenges facing charity organizations. The group needs to justify the cause and ensure to the donors that the funds will be spent appropriately. Sponsorship was sought by officers and members alike and resulted in significant donations in many cases. The group was able to present checks in the amount of thousands of dollars to the recipients. In the end, the check is presented to the schools in a formal and public manner offering a chance for celebration and a sense of accomplishment for the group organizers and the club as a whole.

Events with Local Chemistry Clubs and the Local ACS Section SVSU often has events co-sponsored with Central Michigan University (1). The advisors of both groups organize a majority of these events since it is logistically difficult for students to do so. It is a great way to share ideas and network for the students. It also gives advisors a chance to brainstorm unique ideas and foster ties between the institutions. We have found that tours at companies are often easier to organize when an organization feels that it is exposing two groups of students in one tour. In some cases the tours were organized as a two day trip which increased interest in participation. While a majority of events should be organized by the students, especially on campus events, these types of events are best organized by the advisor due to their professional connections and credibility. Professional exposure is critical to increase value of membership with the club for the students. Their time spent in the club, much like their time spent in classes, ultimately should lead to an enhancement for their future career. Activities, such as the tours, have led to internships and employment for some of our members. We have toured Dow, Dow Corning, BASF and Michigan Sugar in recent years, with CMU. Students often highlight these trips to classes during recruitment talks, which shows the value and importance that students lend to these types of events. If a group is having trouble getting access to these organizations, an event planned with two or three local institutions at once may be more appealing to a company than just one. Access can be a real barrier because of increases in security at chemical and food companies. It is important to tour “fun” places like breweries, but touring a large company can be a life changing experience for a student. Planning this event requires significant connections to 49



facilitate its success and a faculty advisor is more likely to have developed these connections compared to the student members. The local section is great source for these connections, but often includes professionals from the local companies. Our local section is out of Midland (2), Michigan and the membership includes many current and former Dow and Dow Corning professionals. This is an excellent resource for our students at SVSU and the members are a great inspiration for their own work and future careers. The local professionals have the potential to serve as mentors and facilitators for the student members. It has been found that expectations of both students and local members for interaction can be very different so it is important for the faculty advisor to serve as the ambassador between the two groups. The advisor understands both student pressures due to their academic obligations and the expectations of professionals for reliability in volunteerism. Membership in the local section generally involves a stable group of people who are tied to the local community for many years. Student members typically spend 1-3 years in our group and the faces and talents are always changing. This can give the impression to the local section that the group is not reliable, and must be reminded of the dynamic nature of the student group. The faculty advisor must build bridges between the members of the local section and the student group so that a strong relationship with mutual understanding can develop. Giving students opportunities to interact with local professionals could be the key to future employment or serve as inspiration for graduate school. I have not always succeeded in this goal myself, but recognition must be given by faculty advisors that the students are not in a good position to foster strong relationships with the local sections.

Conclusion The real glue that holds together a student group is the passion that students have for the organization, their peers, the department, the field of chemistry and their advisor. The advisor is a core component to a strong group, but the students need to own the group and have freedom to explore activities and events that interest them. We are inspiring students to become the leaders of the future in the field of chemistry, which means that we need to let them lead….fail…and succeed with the ownership of their accomplishments. Much like a parent who hates to see their children falter, advisors like to shield the group from missteps or potential risk. The advisor does need to serve in this role and is an important protector for the group, but also needs to remember that the students are adults (at least at colleges and universities) that are learning in the club just like they are learning in class. We are advisors, but we are still teachers as well. With strong leadership, appropriate incentives and impactful activities, students will find greater value in their time spent in Chemistry Club. Even more importantly, the student members will form strong social bonds with faculty and other student members as a result of their participation. In this case, ACS student Chemistry Clubs at academic institutions could have lasting impact on the future careers of our members and the field as a whole. 50


References 1.


2.

https://www.cmich.edu/colleges/cst/chemistry/Pages/StudentOrganizations.aspx (accessed September 1, 2016). http://www.midlandacs.org/ (accessed September 1, 2016).

51 Mio and Benvenuto; Building and Maintaining Award-Winning ACS Student Member Chapters Volume 2: Specific Program Areas ACS Symposium Series; American Chemical Society: Washington, DC, 2016.

Strategies for Increasing Membership and ... - ACS Publications

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