—2— President’s Message Ioften hear retirees comment, “I keep so busy that I wonder how I ever had time to work!” In addition to the many “fun” things I do, including traveling, playing with grandchildren, reading, and walking, I, like many of you, am involved in several volunteer activities. A quick survey of the RAPS Board found that RAPS members give their time generously in a variety of ways. Several contribute their expertise to the University. Steve Brannan and Mary Gordon Brannan have been involved with the history preservation project to help PSU preserve and publicize its history. Bruce Stern is on the board of directors at the PSU Bookstore. Charlene Levesque is a board member of the Walk of the Heroines and serves on the Martin Luther King celebration committee. Others provide services to organizations in their community. Vic and Beryl Dahl are members of the Friends of Lake Oswego Public Library. Bob Tufts belongs to Urban Tour Group, which gives downtown tours to third graders. Dawn White is an avid quilter and has made charity quilts for different groups, including Quilts for Kids and the Women’s Crisis Center. Others volunteer with church- or synagogue-related activities. Bruce Stern holds several leadership positions at his synagogue and volunteers at the Oregon Jewish Museum as well as at the Oregon Food Bank. Larry Sawyer is on the shovel-and-rake gang at his church—a group primarily of men who spend every Thursday morning on yard and other maintenance projects. At my church I chair the committee that plans classes for adults. I also serve as a Stephen Minister, meeting weekly with a person who is experiencing a major crisis and offering support in her time of need. And what kinds of volunteer activities do you find personally rewarding? Let me know and I will write about you in a future President’s Message. I particularly hope that some of you will respond to the “RAPS to the Rescue” item in the November RAPS Sheet. I did, and Pat Wetzel introduced me to a Japanese graduate student, whom I will mentor with her writing. —Marge Terdal James L. “Jim” Savage, retired associate professor of business administration, born Aug. 9, 1931, died on Oct. 15, 2008, at his home in Portland due to congestive heart failure and diabetes. Family and friends congregated at St. Patrick’s Church for a funeral service on Oct. 22. The extensive obituary that appeared inThe Oregonian of October 19 may be consulted in the RAPS office. A lifelong Portlander, Prof. Savage attended local public schools, earned a B.A. (1953) degree at the University of Oregon, and an M.B.A. (1965) at the University of Portland. His association with Portland State began in 1960 when he responded to the young institution’s talent search to mount programs to meet the metropolitan area’s needs for business education. He was one of several teaching faculty members recruited from the business community to staff accounting and auditing courses. Prof. Savage’s service paralleled an organizational gestation wherein the business administration section within an academic division emerged as a freestanding department that evolved into the School of Business Administration. Concurrently with ongoing classroom teaching that attracted heavy student enrollment, Prof. Savage founded a local accounting firm that later merged with a nationwide organization for which he assumed the role of managing partner. In 1976, he co-authoredAuditing in the Public Sector, and as a professor of auditing he played an instrumental role in building professional bridges between PSU and the downtown accounting community. His academic and professional stature enhanced the school’s growing recognition in the accounting arena as he continued to offer auditing courses through the 1980s. The University owes him a debt of gratitude for longtime energetic, dedicated support. He was well known and respected throughout the campus community. Some of us fondly recall that he organized a faculty bowling league and enthusiastically participated on a faculty intramural basketball team. In memoriam: James L. Savage, 1931-2008 continued on page 5
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