2026-05-21 Board Meeting Agenda & Minutes

Attendees

@Aaron Collier - will miss first half

@Juliet Hardesty

@Michael B. Klein - regrets

@Annamarie Klose

@Kirsten Leonard

@Kate Lynch - regrets

@Jessica McMillen

@Christine Peterson - regrets

@Paul Walk

Ex-officio:

@Heather Greer Klein

Agenda

• Changes to the agenda?
  
  

• Rob’s draft for Hyrax/Hyku upgrade planning service for Partners as a benefit of Partnership

  • Upgrade and migration pathway consultation

  • Provides a bespoke plan but also helps build a more generalized plan for the community

  • Could add a zip file review option for nonpublic databases; but could bring a challenge without access to the full content

  • Taking analysis work burden off of the institution; also someone who can identify customizations that are no longer needed

  • Enthusiastic support for the idea, and for waiting to do at least two before promoting it out to Partners and potential Partners. Those Partners could help with the promotion.

  • Want to make sure managing expectations is happening as imagined

  • Suggestion: Have admins look to see if this is something they would see as a benefit as written. West Virginia will look at it to see if it speaks to the budget mindset

    • Jessica will bring this to WVU for review
      
      

• Policy conversation for coding agents and contribution (human-in-the-loop policies)

  • What are the next steps? Do we want to have a set group select a recommended policy, and discuss it at tech calls?

  • https://github.com/melissawm/open-source-ai-contribution-policies

  • Open EdX policy has a good breakdown of what is an is not the right use of these tools in their repo

  • A complex problem, growing in complexity. two main issues: quality of our shared code, and responsibility/accountability to a human author. Especially with CLAs coming soon, per Apereo requirements. Want to make sure we are helping developers with capacity and using tools, but ensuring transparency.

  • In large communities there is also a review process crisis, bottleneck is 10X worse than usual in those communities. Also there is potential for problems down the line if there is not sufficient review; we want to be thoughtful about technical debt, and knowing why given code works to solve a given problem.

  • Also need to work on our existing framework for code review in Hyrax. Paul has talked about this with Hyrax leadership this week. Want to make it clearer what and how to contribute; review why there are the number of open PRs that there are (pre-dating current Notch8 work in Hyrax)

  • Next steps: bring to the tech call to help work out if and how the community is currently being impacted, and reactions to policies in the wider OSS ecosystem. Bring concerns to Rob and POs for review, and consider issues we don’t have now but that other communities are considering or dealing with.

  • Also, side conversation that we want to make sure we talk to those who are PR reviewers in Hyrax to investigate the mismatch what we could do to increase capacity. Add looking at PRs to community sprint.
    
    

• Latest Apereo transition work

  • We are similar not in structure but in community-level, multi-project state to https://www.apereo.org/programs/software/dat-ecosystem

  • Heather working with Apereo team and Cathie at OASIS

  • Apereo Comms team was at Outreach & Engagement call this week
    
    

• Apereo Welcoming Policy

  • “By signing below, the Samvera Project agrees to adopt and abide by the Apereo Welcoming Policy 2.0 as the Code of Conduct governing participation in Samvera community spaces, activities, events, working groups, and other project-affiliated interactions.”

  • Patrick confirmed we can keep our current policies - “please don't think of this as "one or the other," we only ask that all projects agree to the Welcoming Policy, however each project can extend/expand/improve and implement any code of conduct they feel best supports their community, as long as it does not conflict in some way with the Welcoming Policy.”
    
    

• Heather - invited to speak at ETD 2026 https://etd2026.iitd.ac.in

  • Seems possible that hotel and ground transportation and food would be covered, flight would be required (around $1,500).

  • Check around with others in the community to see what they know about the conference
    
    

• Shared staffing cost modeling work

  • Does not include core maintenance, only core staffing plus the current infrastructure

  • The roles we want to fund sustainably ( Community Manager employee .8 FTE, plus contracted Tech Coordinator, Hyrax PO, Hyku PO) plus current infrastructure would need about double current Partnership funds ($300K)

  • have a rough draft of a three year plan to ramp up and meet our goals for shared staffing

  • This is just shared staffing, which increases efficiency for everyone ,and ensures people can enact the strategic and technology stewardship everyone using the software needs

  • Looking for a cost share model with tangible benefits from contribution and the more institutions are contributing, the more we can offer from these roles

  • This is just the beginning of the conversation
    
    

• Next outreach message (from last call) - hold until we have Rob’s plan tested with OSU?

  • Possible next focus to longtime implementers who are not Partners

  • Direct emails this time

  • Share Partnership review, fiscal sponsor change, shared staffing plans, virtual Connect

  • Ask for donation to support shared staffing, invite to participate in or share feedback on partnership review work

  • Could we do both? reach out to those who did not go to virtual connect last year, and then after connect to those who did attend.

  • Focus on specific items of interest to them. Asking them to give what they can, and talk about partnership review and shared staffing impact so far, potential impact.
    
    

• Agenda items for next month’s call: continuation of all these topics
  
  

• Date of next Board meeting: June 18th