April 1, 2015 Officers Meeting

George Mason University

Minutes of the Retired Faculty Association – Officers Meeting

April 1, 2015, 12:30-1:20 PM, 4101 Merten Hall, GMU, Fairfax, VA

 

Present:  Don Boileau, Bob Ehrlich, Esther Elstun, Katherine Haldeman, Jane Razeghi, Janice Sutera

I.  The luncheon meeting began about 12:30 PM; meeting with ACE team 1:30 PM – 4:30 PM

II. Brunch event

  • Sunday, May 17, 2015 at George’s in the Johnson Center
  • Schedule:
    • 11:00 AM Provost Wu for a brief presentation with Q & A
    • 11:30 AM Brunch buffet
    • 12:15 PM Presentation by
      • Gary L. Kreps, Director, Center for Health and Risk Communication. He teaches courses in Communication Research, Health Communication, Organizational Communication, Consumer-Provider Health Communication, Health Communication Campaigns, and E-Health.  Topic of his talk TBD.  ACTION: Don will send committee 3 possible topics for our selection.
    • 1:00 PM RFA Business Meeting and attendee feedback
  • Julie will send invite by email to all of the RFA members.
  • Jane will collect checks of $20 sent by mail. Per person reservation to be deposited into Foundation Account. Checks made out to Foundation and received from attendees by Friday, May 8.
  • Jane will coordinate with catering (“Patriot Breakfast”) to give final number 72 hours before event.
  • Will also advertise at the May 8 HR Pre-retirement Seminar
  • Jane will review and update evaluation form to use at the event. From ACE, may ask retirees who attend about 2nd career, involvement in their community; event ideas for 2015-16.
  • Bob will update website, adding the business meeting to the agenda
  • Janice and Jane will support Julie on day of brunch and as needed beforehand.

III.  Agenda for Annual Meeting during Brunch: (Bob Ehrlich)

  • Elections update: Committee of the whole proposed the slate of Bob Ehrlich for President and Don Boileau for Vice President in the upcoming elections. Slate will be sent to active members inviting other nominations.  Voting will take place in May.
  • Events for 2015-16; summary of current year events (Julie)
  • Interest groups – book club started; next target groups: current events, fitness group, walking group.

IV.   Next Steps: Pre-Retirement Seminar, Friday, May 8, noon, Mason Global Center (formerly the Mason Inn). Kathy invited members of RFA to Luncheon to sit at tables to engage in discussion regarding their transitions to retirement and what they are enjoying about retirement now.  Depending on number of seminar registrants we will need 8 to 10 RFA members–

—Joe Kanyan, Brien Bensen, Esther Elstun, Julie Mahler, Jane Razeghi, and Janice Sutera are planning to attend.   

 

V.   Spring 2015 events:

Thurs, April 9, 2015 Noon, 1204 Merten Hall (old University Hall)

Carla Marcantonio, Assistant Professor, Film and Media  – “Film making or appreciation”

 

Sunday, April 26  2:00 (rain date: Sunday May 3)

Dr. Tom Wood, Associate Professor of Integrative and Interdisciplinary Studies in New Century College and Director of Environmental Studies on the Piedmont, a 1000-acre research station near campus.  Following a brief introduction to the field station, hike to vernal pools to see amphibians and migrating birds.  Or sit on the porch and watch the swans on the lake… Also accompanying us will be his colleague Anaya, a Mescalaro Apache elder.

Optional cookout and pot luck dinner to follow.  Address:  6712 Blantyre Rd, Warrenton, VA.  Google Maps brings you right to the entrance.   Off Blantyre, continue on the gravel driveway about 1/4 mile, between two lakes and up to the farmhouse.

For more info about research station see:http://envstudies.org/directions.html

VI.  Next Meeting Dates:

  • May 17 (Sunday) as part of brunch meeting and event, George’s in Johnson Center
  • June 4

 VII.  Adjournment: About 1:20 PM

 

 

Addendum:

 

ACE site visit, Merten Hall room 4100 – Wed, April 1, 1:30 PM – 4 PM.

Met with Clair Van Ummersen, Senior Advisor and Project Director, Office of Institutional Initiatives for the American Council on Education (ACE) with Jean McLaughlin, Associate Director and Nick Pettet, Associate Program Specialist.  ACE and Sloan Foundation provided grant funding to enhance Mason’s pre-retirement transitions programs for faculty.  Their goal is to provide model program examples so that more retired faculty will continue their connections with their former institutions.

  • Bob, Don, Jane, Esther, Kathy, and Janice attended.
  • Program was started 12 years ago and focused on recruiting new faculty and has since paid more attention to mid- and late career faculty.
  • Claire provided a summary of ACE work to collect info on targeted-funded colleges to identify common faculty retirement themes and issues with the future idea of mounting a conference as a showcase for the outcomes of the research which may lead to “learning communities” and a “conference summary.”
  • Claire shared a copy of Faculty Retirement: Best Practices for Navigating the Future in which Mason is featured. Edited by Claire Van Ummersen, Jean McLaughlin and Lauren Duranleau. Foreword by Lotte Bailyn.
  • Claire noted several programs of note in the publication, e.g., USC Emeriti Center; Xavier University’s “Second Fifty” which focuses on life after age 50 and “Spiritual Companion,” which explores the Jesuit philosophy of cura personalis, or “care of the entire person”; Johns Hopkins’ Academy; Arizona State’s Emeritus College.
  • Discussed ideas for maintaining a viable retired faculty organization at Mason:
    • Financial well-being: Formalize support and funding – e.g., Provost’s support of website, Kathy’s liaison role and support; org #
    • Coordinate with faculty chairs to identify those close to retirement
    • Coordinate with Faculty Senate – Faculty Welfare, Faculty Matters committee (contact Charlene – Nursing)
    • Capture Mason’s “founding faculty” interviews (Fenwick Library project)
    • Connect with other VA retired faculty groups
    • Coordinate programming with campus themes, e.g., Wellbeing
    • Create standards and practices for retirement mentoring
    • Coordinate with Mason Leadership Legacy and Ctr for the Advancement of Well-Being
    • Maintain retired faculty database of retirees since 2002 (HR)
    • Invite spouses to all events

 

 

Respectfully submitted,

Janice Sutera Wolfe, Ph.D.

2012 Retiree