George Mason University
Minutes of the Retired Faculty Association – Officers Meeting and March event
March 9, 2016, 10:05-10:35 AM mtg. 10:35-10:50 AM social; 10:50 AM-11:45 presentation followed by lunch Aa’bee Persian & Mediterranean Fusion Restaurant, Fairfax, VA
Present: Don Boileau, Bob Ehrlich, Esther Elstun, Joseph Lieb, Julianne Mahler, Jim Sanford, Janice Sutera,
I. The meeting began at 10:00 AM.
- Minutes of Feb. 10 approved with note to fix a typo.
- New “cover” or luncheon charges instituted with the restaurant. Joe Lieb, RFA Treasurer, collected funds from attendees and paid the restaurant bill.
II. Succession Planning and Membership (Bob Ehrlich)
- Nominations: Bob reported on the upcoming election for the President and VP position. He will continue to approach nominees in turn as needed.
- Elections: Bob will handle logistics of election: sending notice of election/candidates, receiving votes, comparing votes to active membership list, tallying and reporting results.
III. Programming (Bob Ehrlich, Julie Mahler)
- Spring 2016 Event attendance:
- March 9 event: Rebecca Goldin, Professor, Mathematics, Statistical slips in the media: How numbers make the news. Attendance = 16
- February 10 event: Lecture by Michael Summers, professor of Physics, The ‘New Horizons’ mission to Pluto: What have we learned? See link: https://cos.gmu.edu/blog/2015/07/keep-watch-pluto-bound-spacecraft-flies-by-the-icy-planet-on-tuesday/ Attendance = 10
- January 13 event: S. Botanic Garden (next to U.S. Capitol.) Guided tour lasting about an hour. Lunch afterwards for 9 folks at the American Indian Museum. Attendance = 9
- Upcoming events: See website for updates: https://rfa.gmu.edu/activities/featured-events/
- Wed, April 13, 10:30 AM presentation and discussion. Lunch and socializing to follow. David Keegan, State Department Foreign Service Institute, The Chinese economy: Opportunities and challenges. Aa’bee Persian restaurant, Fairfax, VA
- Wed, May 11, 10:30 AM presentation and discussion. Lunch and socializing to follow. Jack Censer, Professor Emeritus of History, The evolution of revolutionary ideaAa’bee Persian restaurant, Fairfax, VA
- June 2016 – planning a night sky viewing. Will be held 30 minutes on Rt. 66W from Mason. Details to follow as they unfold.
- 2016-17 Event Plans: (Bob Ehrlich)
- Sept 2016 – Chris Jones – Potomac tour – repeat of a popular outing
- Oct 2016 – Tour of Gunston Hall
- Nov 9, 2016 – Tom Davis, current BOV Rector, former Congressman – his ‘take’ on the 2016 election results
- Dec 2016 – Tour of Luray Caverns with Doug Mose
- A tour of Mason’s Rooftop Greenhouse was suggested and will be pursued as an event.
IV. Interests Groups: (Esther Elstun)
- Book Club – suggestion for next fiction, The Passenger. Book list was added to website.
V. Follow up for Next Meeting
- Proposal for Faculty Club – https://rfa.gmu.edu/proposal/ ACTION: Executive Committee will review and discuss at next meeting.
- Human Resources update (Veronique Klimonda)
ACTION: Veronique will assess how Mason’s People Finder lists retired faculty contact info. She will report at our next meeting.
ACTION: Veronique will provide Janice with stats on the number of faculty retirees each calendar year for at least 2015 and 2014 and a few prior years, if available.
VI. 2015-16 Executive Committee Meetings
- ACTION: Don Boileau will identify meeting space for next year’s Officer’s meetings and events in Fairfax County Libraries, preferably Fairfax City branch or Oakton branch.
- Executive Committee Meetings precede monthly programs/events.
- The following represents a list of executive committee meeting dates planned for the remainder of 2015-2016:
April 13, 2016
May 11, 2016
June 1, 2016
VII. Adjournment: About 10:35 AM
Respectfully submitted,
Janice Sutera Wolfe, Ph.D.
2012 Retiree
RFA March 9, 2016 event
10:45 AM lecture; 11:45 AM lunch and socializing
Rebecca Goldin, Professor, Mathematics, Director STATS, a collaboration between the American Statistical Association and Sense about Science, USA
“Statistical slips in the media: How numbers make the news“
See www.stats.org “Sense about Statistics”– The mismeasure of scientific significance. P-dolatory: How science fell for statistical doping and how statisticians want it to stop
Attendees: (n=16)