November 10, 2016 – Officers Meeting

George Mason University

Minutes of the Retired Faculty Association – Officers Meeting

November 10, 2016, 12:15 PM – 1:30 PM mtg.

Merton Hall 1402

Present:  Bob Ehrlich, Joseph Lieb, Julie Mahler, Jim Sanford, Janice Sutera, Veronique Klimonda.

I. The meeting began at 12:15 PM. Jim Sanford presided. Minutes of October 13, 2013 meeting were approved.

II.  Membership and Organization:

A. Update on Next Steps: Plan for Your Retirement Seminar day (Janice S.) – for Mason faculty and staff, Friday, November 18, 2016. Jim S. and Janice will attend the luncheon.  Over 40 future retirees are expected. Jim Sanford will introduce himself and Janice. Janice will give a 10-minute overview of RFA and showcase the website.

B. Welcome Message to new retirees and Annual Email to RFA membership: (Jim Sanford)

  1. Discussed draft of welcome letter for new retirees to be inserted in HR packets distributed to faculty when they actually retire.
  2. Discussed draft of an annual membership email to be sent late summer/early fall to all RFA members in the database.

Action: Jim will revise letter and annual email.  Will connect with Veronique and Bob on logistics for distribution.

C. People Finder, rfa@gmu.edu email address, and Mason Club update:

Action: Veronique will follow up and report at our next meeting – 1) changing the RFA physical address to the HR address within People Finder, 2) identifying through ITS the “owners” of record for the RFA email address, and 3) finding out the status of the Mason Club.

D. Faculty-Staff Retiree Organizations (Veronique)

Actions:

  1. Veronique will share the # of Mason retired staff with executive committee at next meeting.
  2. Veronique will send association website addresses e.g., Kent State, Rutgers, UT at Austin, Virginia Tech, Penn State, Cal Poly, WVU to executive committee.
  3. Veronique will collect contact info Nov. 18 on staff retirees interested in a retiree association.

 

III. Nominations for Membership Coordinator Position (Jim Sanford)

Several nominees were discussed. Julie Mahler was appointed to the position.  Other nominees will be offered opportunities for increasing their involvement in the organization.

IV. Programming/Events (Jim Sanford)

       A.   Event Review and Marketing: Tom Davis event

  1. Johnson Center room location worked well for size of group (n=29).
  2. Marketing: Listed in E-files/Around Mason (weekly faculty-staff email) on the Monday immediately prior to the event. Email also sent to all RFA members.
  3. Photos were taken and will be posted on website.

B.   Fall 2016 Event attendance:

  1. Talk by Tom Davis, current BOV Rector, former Congressman, former Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. His ‘take’ on the 2016 election results. Nov 10, 10:30 AM, JC rm C. Attended: 29.
  2. Pohick Bay Regional Park Guided boat tour of the river ecology with Chris Jones. Oct 12, 10:30 AM.  Attended: 5 + 7 = 12
  3. Tour of Gunston Hall – with docent and Mason retiree, Libby Hall. Sept 14, 2016. Attended = 16 for tour and box lunch.

     C. Future event ideas (Bob Ehrlich)

Several event ideas for 2017-18 were suggested, e.g., tour of new National Museum of African American History and Culture, tour of Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, attending a play downtown or one of the CFA or the Hylton Performing Arts Center events, talk on “Memory” by Jim Sanford.  Bob will explore the ideas further.  Suggestion was made to rotate event days to allow for attendance by those who have standing commitments on our standard programming days.

D. Next Fall 2016 Event: See website for updates: https://rfa.gmu.edu/activities/featured-events/

Dec 7, 10:30 AM – Guided tour of Luray Caverns with Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Doug Mose, $26/person

E.  Spring 2017 Event Plans

  1. Jan 12, 10:30 AM – noon — Guided tour of National Cryptological Museum (on NSA grounds), followed by lunch at the Rams Head Tavern
  2. Feb 8, 10:30 AM — Guided tour of Mason’s Rooftop Greenhouse (Exploratory Hall), by Monica Marcelli, Greenhouse manager
  3. March 22, 1130 AM — Talk by Patrice Winter, Assistant Professor, Global and Community Health, on Aging in Place: Do not blame the house.
  4. April 12, 10:30 — Talk by Marion Deshmukh, Robert T. Hawkes Emeritus Professor of History, about German Art and Politics based on her recent book.
  5. May 10,1030 AM– Talk by Evans Mandes, Professor of Psychology Emeritus, talk on Interpreting Visual Art based on his recent book

 

V.   2016-17 Executive Committee Meetings

  1. Tentative meeting W Jan. 11, 2017 in Merton Hall
  2. Feb. 8, 2017 after the Mason Greenhouse tour about noon in Merton Hall

 VI  Adjournment: About 1:30 AM

 

Respectfully submitted,

Janice Sutera Wolfe, Ph.D.

2012 Retiree