Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University Post Office Box 751 Portland, OR 97207-0751 Simon Benson House 1803 SW Park Avenue Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.raps.pdx.edu Office hours: Tuesdays and Thursdays, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Officers Robert Tufts President Marjorie Terdal President-elect / Program Chair Bruce Stern Past President / Membership Chair Robert Vogelsang Treasurer / Regional Retirement Association Ad Hoc Committee Chair Larry Sawyer Secretary Doug Swanson Editor Robert Pearson Webmaster Board Members-at-Large Roger Moseley Jan DeCarrico Charlene Levesque Committees Alumni Association Pat Squire Awards Committee Chair / Pictorial History Book Committee Chair Mary Brannan History Preservation Committee Chair Steve Brannan Membership Bruce Stern Social/Friendship Committee Co-Chairs Beryl and Vic Dahl Office Manager AmyValdez 503-725-3447 / raps@pdx.edu Photos by Larry Sawyer Fall Fest ’07 attracts 10 Northwest schools The Sept. 28 tram hike wasn’t just a walk in the park—after all, it included a ride on the Portland Aerial Tram. But after taking it easy on the tram, it was off to Council Crest and the Oregon Zoo. Our hearty hikers were (left to right) Rudi Nussbaum, Laureen Nussbaum, Mary Brannan, Bob Tufts, and Larry Sawyer. Turn to page 3 for news about upcoming hikes. THE RAPSSHEET NOVEMBER 2007 Portland Tram hikenot just awalk in thepark Representatives from 10 Northwest college and university retirement associations traveled to Portland State in late September to hear speakers, attend a wine tasting, enjoy a banquet, and listen to jazz during Fall Fest ’07. Held at University Place, the meeting was the latest edition of a conference that has taken place annually for more than 20 years. Fall Fest fosters friendship and collegiality among university retirement associations. Although the conference featured entertainment, wine tasting, and speakers, it also included breakout sessions that dealt with the organizations’ fiscal policies, programming, membership development, volunteerism, and lobbying. Former RAPS president Bruce Stern and current president Bob Tufts led the sessions. PSU’s interim president, Michael Reardon, welcomed the group during its opening session, and former Oregon governor Barbara Roberts was the keynote speaker. Roberts spoke of her life as governor and her pioneer heritage— Roberts’ great-grandparents came west on the Oregon Trail. She also read a section from her yet-to-be published autobiography that described her state patrol security staff and the care they took to protect her privacy. Fall Fest ’07 donated $100 in the governor’s name to the Portland State Walk of the Heroines. continued on page 2 Barbara Roberts
Dorothy Sermol, an expert on intercultural communication, was a featured speaker during the conference’s second day. Sermol spoke about the kinds of communication needed to communicate successfully —2— As I prepared to write this copy for an early deadline, I found myself contrasting two recent get-togethers in which I participated. And those experiences emphasized the worth and benefits of membership and participation in retirement and volunteer activities, such as RAPS. The rewards are not just from the formal programs and events, but from the camaraderie and new acquaintances we find where we have a common interest. The Fall Fest ‘07 brought 44 retirement association people from 10 regional universities. Sessions and discussions shared the diverse goals and missions of each group. But common to all groups was the shared purpose of preserving a community of interest for members who, individually, started careers from many different points—but ended up at career’s end in a university community. In our recent RAPS programs, we have heard the life paths of three faculty members that began in the traumas of Europe and World War II. A week ago I attended a reunion of veterans who either didn’t know each other, or hadn’t seen each other, for 35 to 50 years. Our common shared experience was simply having served on the same Korean mountaintop, in the same unit, and with the same mission. It was fascinating to see, from this “community” of youth, where each person’s life path had taken him—as the vagaries of career, fate, and health interplayed. Two orientations: “Looking backward” from our retirement groups, and the ability of “seeing forward” in the reunion of our youthful associations. RAPS (and Robert Vogelsang) received kudos for hosting the regional Fall Fest ‘07 at PSU. Please check your calendars for our fall programs: Nov. 15, Pah Chen on a future alternative “hydrogen economy”; and Dec. 18 for our annual Holiday Dinner. —BobTufts President’s Message Fall Fest ’07 . . . continued from page 1 in other cultures and with various ethnicities. Sermol, a native of Scotland, has lived and taught in Germany, Italy, and Spain. A trio of Professor Darrell Grant’s students provided entertainment at the evening banquet. Sermol, who was trained in opera in Scotland and England, sang several songs to end the evening. The PSU Bookstore, University Place, and RAPS members sponsored door prizes during Fall Fest. The conference featured hosted receptions on Sunday and Monday featuring wine and snacks. Several RAPS board members helped with hosting duties during the conference. This year’s participants were University of British Columbia, Western Washington University, University of Washington, Washington State University, University of Idaho, Central Washington University, Eastern Washington University, Yakima Valley College, Boise State University, Southern Oregon University, and the host institution, Portland State. Boise and Southern attended for the first time. An association president, past president, or board member represented each organization. RAPS mailing seeks info for directory Watch your mailboxes for a RAPS mailing that requests you to update information for our database. The mailing will ask you to check the accuracy of your information, make any needed changes, sign the form, and mail it to the RAPS office. Even if changes arenot necessary, we still need you to sign the form and mail it to the RAPS office. Your signature will allow us to include your information in the upcoming RAPS Membership Directory that will be distributed early in 2008. We need your signed permission to include you in the directory listings. The directory will be distributed only to RAPS members and will not appear on-line. Your prompt return of the form will help us prepare the directory in a timely manner.
Book Club: A book about a rash promise The RAPS book group will talk about Three Cups of Tea: One Man’s Mission to Promote Peace . . . One School at a Time, by Greg Mortenson and David O. Relin, on Tuesday, Nov. 20, at the home of Marge Terdal at 997 SW Westwood Drive, Portland. Contact her at terdalm@pdx.edu or at 503-244-5714 to RSVP and for directions. Mortenson is the co-founder (with Dr. Jean Hoerni) and executive director of the nonprofit Central Asia Institute and is also founder of Pennies For Peace. This book is the winner of several state, regional, and national awards. Three Cups of Tea is described on the jacket as follows: The inspiring account of one man’s campaign to build schools in the most dangerous, remote, and anti-American reaches of Asia. In 1993 Greg Mortenson was the exhausted survivor of a failed attempt to ascend K2, an American climbing bum wandering emaciated and lost through Pakistan’s Karakoram Himalaya. After he was taken in and nursed back to health by the people of an impoverished Pakistani village, Mortenson promised to return one day and build them a school. From that rash, earnest promise grew one of the most incredible humanitarian campaigns of our time—Greg Mortenson’s one-man mission to counteract extremism by building schools, especially for girls, throughout the breeding ground of the Taliban. Award-winning journalist David Oliver Relin has collaborated on this spellbinding account of Mortenson’s incredible accomplishments in a region where Americans are often feared and hated. In pursuit of his goal, Mortenson has survived kidnapping, fatwas issued by enraged mullahs, repeated death threats, and wrenching separations from his wife and children. But his success speaks for itself. At last count, his Central Asia Institute had built 55 schools. Three Cups of Teais at once an unforgettable adventure and the inspiring true story of how one man really is changing the world—one school at a time. We will not meet in December due to the holidays, but will start 2008 in January with Ivan Doig’s The Whistling Season. —Mary Brannan — 3 — RAPS club reports Educated at Harvard University, Willard B. Spalding came to the Portland State Extension Center in 1952 to lead Teacher Education after serving as superintendent of Portland Public Schools. By 1955 he was chair of the Education Division, overseeing the Education and Physical Education departments. With campus-wide faculty support, Spalding led the fight at the state level for Portland State to obtain certification and bachelor’s and master’s degree status in teacher education. His efforts opened the doors for parallel degrees in other academic areas at Portland State. Spalding was an outstanding teacher, administrator, and leader. These were Willard Spalding’s special gifts to the School of Education, Portland State University, and Oregon. —Steve Brannan Past Tense features glimpes into Portland State’s past. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. Word count should not exceed 100. PAST TENSE Willard B. Spalding, Ed.D. Willard B. Spalding Bridge Group meets Nov. 13 The next meeting of the RAPS Bridge Group will be at 1:00 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 13, at Willamette View. For details or further information about the group, please call Colin at 503-292-0838 or email colinkeld@gmail.com. If you would like to play, please call or email as soon as you can and no later than Friday, Nov. 9. —Colin Dunkeld Hikers head to Mount St. Helens The November hike will be another section of the Springwater Trail. The footbridge over McLoughlin was completed a few months ago, and we will hike that section beginning at 9:30 a.m. on Friday, Nov. 23. By the RAPS Sheet publication date, Larry will have an up-to-date map of that section of the trail and parking information. The hike will be less than five miles on a fairly level paved trail. Contact Larry at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net for more details. Please confirm your attendance by Thursday evening, Nov. 22. The October hike to Mount St. Helens Ape Caves occurred after the RAPS Sheet deadline. Due to the holidays, there will be no hike in December. —Larry Sawyer
Mark your calendars Thursday, November 15, 1 p.m. Pah Chen, “Hydrogen Economy—Real or Hype?” Tuesday, December 18, 6 to 9 p.m. Holiday dinner at Multnomah Athletic Club Thursday, January 17, 1 to 3 p.m. Judy VanDyck, “International Programs at PSU” Thursday, February 21, 1 to 2:30 p.m. Guided tour of “The Dancer” at Portland Art Museum Professor to talk about possibility of hydrogen economy Heading toward Hydrogen Economy—Real or Hype?” is the topic for the November RAPS meeting, presented by Pah Chen, professor emeritus of mechanical engineering. The program takes place Thursday, Nov. 15, 1:00 to 3:00 p.m., in Room 236 Smith Memorial Union. The driving forces of the visionary hydrogen economy are the quest for clean fuels, peak oil theory, geo-political conflict, and the competition for oil from emerging countries. There are numerous signs indicating that fossil fuels will be replaced: revolutionary car designs for multiple fuels, mushrooming of ethanol plants, and potential initiation of hydrogen highways. Some organizations in industrial nations even go as far as advocating roadmaps to prepare for the advent of hydrogen economy. However, there are also major obstacles, such as the high cost of fuel cell power plants, problems of mass production, and distribution of hydrogen to supply the need of hungry fuel tanks. Can hydrogen be produced economically to provide the demand of the ever-increasing energy consumption? This program is an opportunity for all of us to become better informed about these critical issues involving hydrogen economy. Pah Chen taught in the Department of Mechanical Engineering from 1966 to 2003. From 1977 to 1979 he was a visiting professor at the University of Petroleum and Minerals in Saudi Arabia. In 1984 he worked for PGE Trojan Nuclear Power Plant as an engineering specialist. He is a Fellow of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers. If you missed the October program by Kilong Ung, a survivor of the Khmer Rouge genocide in Cambodia, Kilong suggests that you check his Web site www. kilongung.com. The pictures and graphic descriptions there make his story of survival and escape to a new life in Portland even more vivid.
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