After roughly four years of groundwork, Dean Bill Shenkir invited a group of alumni to serve on the McIntire Advisory Board, which held its inaugural meeting May 14, 1981.

At the meeting, the University's President addressed the board, and it has been customary at each of the board's semiannual meetings to have a member of the University administration meet with them and give a "State of the University" message.

The objectives of the board as stated at the initial meeting were:

1. To provide a formal link between the School and the business and public communities that it serves

2. To advise the faculty and administration on current and future teaching and research programs

3. To counsel the faculty and administration on ways to serve the dynamic needs of management and organizations

4. To assist the Dean in the development of financial resources and direction of the School

Pictured are the charter members of the Board at the first meeting in 1981. Left to right, front row: John Cragoe, Jim Nay, Anne Stone, Warner Dalhouse, Martin Mand, Thomas Payne. Second row: James Blanks, Robert Freeman, Jack Rader, Richard Fogg, Beirne Carter, Bill Shenkir. Third row: Bernie Morin, Pierce Walmsley, Alan Botsford, William McCarten, Glenn Gettier, Alex Holmes. Back row: Bill Crutchfield, Caleb Stowe. Not pictured: Rufus Barkley, James Baylor, Samuel Derieux, Peter Rawlings, William Leggett.