October 6, 2017 – Executive Committee

Minutes of the October 6, 2017 Meeting of the Retired Faculty Association Executive Committee

Members Present: Jack Censer, Bob Ehrlich, Joan Isenberg, Veronique Klimonda, Julie Mahler, Jim Sanford (presiding).

  1. The meeting commenced at 10:40.
  2. Minutes of the April 12, 2017 meeting were not available.
  3. Bob and Jim briefly discussed September’s trip to Mason’s environmental station in the Piedmont. Only five people attended (one left early), but those who went thought it was an excellent program. The program emphasized different aspects of the preserve than what was discussed at the first program. We concluded that it would be helpful and perhaps attract more people if the major topic(s) to be discussed and explored were announced ahead of time.
  4. Executive Committee members briefly discussed membership. Veronique announced that there was a program on November 8 for faculty and staff who are preparing to retire. She will check to be sure the letter we drafted and approved last spring would be included in the packet distributed to faculty and staff at that meeting. She will contact Jim if there are any problems. Veronique also noted that many faculty leave the area after retiring.
  5. Joan discussed the Film Interest Groups first and upcoming meetings. The group normally meets on the fourth Wednesday of each month. (November’s meeting will be postponed until the fifth Wednesday in order to avoid the Thanksgiving holiday.) Sixteen RFA members have expressed interest in the group, and five attended the first film discussion in September. October’s film is The Lives of Others, and November’s is Woman in Gold. Joan and Jack will ask Marion Deshmukh to join the discussion of the latter film, as she has expertise in the subject matter. The Executive Committee also discussed changing the format once per year to bring everyone together for film viewing.
  6. Executive Committee members briefly discussed activities of the Book Club. The September choice was Hidden Figures, and October’s is Being Mortal.
  7. Julie said that the House and Garden Tour Group had not been successful because the specific time(s) and date(s) that tours are available are not sufficiently flexible. She will concentrate instead on developing a Museum and Lunch Group. Jack said that Robinson Professor Spencer Crew may be able to secure some tickets to the Museum of African American History and Culture, and Bob will follow up on this matter. It was pointed out that two museum tours are already scheduled for early next year (The National Firearms Museum in January and the Holocaust Museum in February), and the Museum of African American History and Culture should not be scheduled for the near future.
  8. The schedule of activities for the remainder of the academic year (posted on the RFA website was discussed.
  9. The meeting ended at 11:50.

James F. Sanford (substituting for Janice Sutera Wolfe)