College Columns December 2016

In This Issue

2016 Foundation Donors...............................15

2016 Patrons & Sponsors...........................18

2017 Induction Education Sessions............................10

Bankruptcy Now and Future..................................7

Class 28 Induction..........................22

Fellow News..................................12

First Circuit Fellowship..........................5

Foundation Chair's Column...............................4

President's Column...............................2

Senior Fellow Book Review..............................10

Senior Fellows Committee......................14

Upcoming Circuit Events..............................22

From the Chair

other projects that further the College’s mission. We continue to implement recommendations from the two excellent reports delivered in fulfillment of the evaluation performed by our Strategic Planning Committee. And we will start 2017 with plans for several projects intended to further improve the College.

At our Board meeting in San Francisco, we approved amendments to the College Bylaws making some changes in the Emeritus Fellow criteria. Fellows can now request emeritus status if they meet any two of the following three criteria: 75 years of age, cessation of active practice and 15 years as a Fellow. We have also initiated a nominal dues charge of $100 per year for Emeritus Fellows.

The Board also approved a Bylaw amendment that allows the Chair of the International Nominating Committee to broaden the process for soliciting comments on international nominations beyond the International Fellowes Committee. We hope this will allow us to improve the level of input on our international nominations.

Some years ago, the College established an "endowment" fund at the Foundation in the hope that it would provide a stream of continuing revenue to support our pro bono grants. Through the support of our Fellows, that fund has grown to approximately $1.3 million. However, due to the persistence of interest rates at negligible levels, our conservative investment policy has not resulted in a stream of earnings even approaching the amounts needed to meaningfully support our pro bono grants.

In light of increasing pro bono needs and after discussion by both the Foundation Board and the College Board, a Task Force has been established to look into our handling of the Foundation’s endowment fund, as well as the cash reserves held

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Greetings and best holiday wishes to all! As the year winds down, it seems an appropriate time to reflect on some of this year's accomplishments, as well as on plans for the year to come.

The College has had another outstanding year. We will begin 2017 with a healthy financial reserve, which allows us to confidently commit future support for the pro bono efforts, educational programs and

G. Christopher Meyer, Chair

College Columns

December 2016