THE RAPS SHEET SEPTEMBER 2013 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University Post Office Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 Koinonia House, second floor SW Montgomery at Broadway Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Office hours: 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays Officers Susan Poulsen President Priscilla Blumel Vice President/Program Chair David Krug Past President / Elections Chair Robert Lockerby Secretary Susan Jackson Treasurer / Website Editor Robert Vogelsang (to 8/18/13) Regional Retirement Association Chair Mary Ricks RAPS Sheet Editor Board Members-at-Large Anne Bender Chik Erzurumlu Brian Lewis Committees Steve Brannan History Preservation Committee Chair Mary Brannan Pictorial History Book Committee Chair Beryl and Vic Dahl Social/Friendship Committee Co-Chairs Brian Lewis Awards Committee Chair Marge Terdal Membership Chair Scholarship Chair Vacant Office Manager Alle Powers 503/725-3447 / raps@pdx.edu President’s Message Welcome, new and continuing RAPS members, to the 2013-14 year. Thanks to Beryl for organizing our recent summer picnic. You rock, girl! I also thank Larry Sawyer for providing needed technology and great photos of the event. Some excellent programs are on tap for this year, including the upcoming Northwest Regional Retirement Association conference being held at PSU September 19-21. Speakers will include the national President of the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education, Sue Barnes; PSU President Wim Wiewel; Dean of the PSU College of the Arts Barbara Sestak, and PSU Emeritus Professor of Anthropology Ken Ames. Look for more information coming to you from Alle Powers, our new student office manager. Activities planned for later in the year include a trip to Ashland for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. I am looking forward this year to meeting more of you, to working with our remarkable board, and to increase the visibility of RAPS at PSU and in the wider community. If you haven’t been engaged with RAPS, I hope you will consider participating in interesting events and activities with interesting people. --Susan Poulsen September Program nstead of our usual Thursday afternoon meeting, RAPS will host the annual conference of the Northwest Regional Retirement Association. It will be held at University Place, 310 SW Lincoln, from September 19th to September 21st. RAPS members are sought to guide attendees to no-host dinners at selected restaurants on Thursday and on Friday evening. If you’d like to volunteer to help at the conference, contact Alle in the RAPS office at 503-725-3447, or email raps@pdx.edu. We are in the process of finalizing our dates and topics for our fall meetings, and will share more information on our future schedule soon. --Priscilla Blumel I
2 At press time, we received word that Robert Vogelsang (Vogie) had passed away. Remembrances of Vogie, and of Dean Robert Dryden and Professor Jack Featheringill will appear in next month’s RAPS Sheet Club Reports Book Club The RAPS Book Club meeting will be held at 1:30pm on Tuesday, September 20th, hosted by Mary Brannan at 6901 SE Oaks Park Way, Slip #13 in Portland. Contact her at brannanmg@comcast.net or 503-239-1077 to RSVP and for directions. We will discuss The Greater Journey: Americans in Paris by David McCullogh which is described on the back cover as follows: “The Greater Journey is the enthralling, inspiring,-- and until now untold -- story of the adventurous American artists, writers, doctors, politicians architects, and others of high aspiration who set off for Paris in the years between 1830 and 1900, ambitious to excel in their work. After risking the hazardous journey across the Atlantic, these Americans embarked on a greater journey in the City of Light. Most had never left home, never experienced a different culture. None had any guarantee of success. That they achieved so much for themselves and their country profoundly altered American History. As McCullogh writes, “Not all pioneers went west…Nearly all of these Americans, whatever their troubles learning French, their spells of homesickness, and their suffering in the raw cold winters by the Seine, spent many of the happiest days and nights of their lives in Paris.” McCullogh tells this sweeping, fascination story with power and intimacy, bringing us into the lives of remarkable men and women who, in Saint-Gaudens’ phrase, longed “to soar into the blue.” The Greater Journey is itself a masterpiece. Happy Reading! --Mary Brannan Bridge Club Our next meeting will be at 1:00pm on Tuesday, September 10th at Friendly House. As usual, if you plan to play, please let Steve Brennan know before noon on Friday, September 6th. Friendly House is located at 1737 NW 26thAvenue in Portland Steve can be contacted by phone at 503-6466297, or by email at the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. --Steve Brennan ____________________________________________ Hiking Group This summer the hikers hiked the Tillamook Bay Ocean Spit in June, the north side of St. Helens in July, and the Wahkeena Trail from Wahkeena Falls to Multnomah Falls in August. On Friday, September 13th, we will hike to Triple Falls, just a few miles beyond the location of the August hike. This will be a 4.5 mile hike with a 600 elevation gain. We will have a sack lunch at Triple Falls. Some books list this hike as the Oneonta Gorge only. We will be taking the one that starts at Horsetail Falls and goes by Ponytail Falls and Oneonta Falls. It is described in Sullivan’s 100 hikes 3rd edition as Hike #44. We won’t be taking the wade-up-the-creek option. If you are interested in hiking with us, contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616, or by email at larry_sawyer@comcast.net. --Larry Sawyer
3 PAST TENSE We Celebrate A Half Century of RAPS at PSU! t the President’s Luncheon for Retired Faculty and Staff, PSU President Wim Wivel presented RAPS President Dave Krug with a framed document honoring the fiftieth anniversary of RAPS on the PSU Campus. It seems a good time to look at the accomplishments of RAPS History Preservation Committee during our 50th anniversary year. The History Preservation Committee coordinated, edited, and submitted 10 Past Tense articles for publication in the RAPS Sheet. The articles include contributions by Chik Erzurumlu on the early years of Engineering Programs at PSU; Scott Burns on the beginning and growth of PSU’s Geology Program; Charlie White (on the Portland State Study Abroad Program; Steve Brannan, Dave Krug, and Joel Arick on Special Education leadership in autism research; Beryl Dahl on the PSU Women’s Association; Dawn White on PSU’s tradition of holiday giving; and Steve Brannan on Gordon Dodds as the “savior” of PSU’s history. The movement of RAPS’ offices location on campus was traced, and a poem from the 1955 Viking, honored the school’s heritage as integral to its future success. The Provost and the President’s Executive Committee Gave RAPS permission to include a Beginning History section in the PSU Bulletin, along with a legacy statement from RAPS’ new book Creating Portland State 1946-55. Both segments will appear in the 2013-2014 PSU Bulletin. PSU’s Office of Academic Affairs purchased 100 copies of RAPS’ most recent pictorial history book. PSU Bookstore will handle the two books for sale. PSU’s Alumni Association will also promote book sales. The RAPS Board approved creating a Digital Commons module with the Library to provide historical information which will be available to a wide range of users. Under the leadership of Chris Paschild, University Archivist, RAPS members piloted a group oral interview of retired faculty member Victor Dahl, Emeritus Professor of History. The process was deemed a success, and plans are to more fully implement a group interview procedure next year. RAPS initiated planning to create a President’s Photo Gallery on the 8th floor of the Market center Building. The Dean’s photo gallery of the 6th floor of the Graduate School of Education is being used as a model for the proposed President’s Gallery. The RAPS manual and our website were updated and corrected. -- Mary and Steve Brannan PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea) for this column, email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. A
Ashland! Shakespeare! Here We Come! lans continue for RAPS members to attend the 2014 Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland, Oregon. The survey taken at the President’s Luncheon and in the last RAPS newsletter indicated high interest. At the time of this newsletter deadline, the names of the 2014 plays were available, but the schedule was not. We DO know that the program we attend will include lodging, most meals, transportation to and from the theaters, and lectures/discussions with play directors and/or actors. Events to look forward to include: A wine and cheese gathering for RAPS members wishing to join the group An afternoon with John Cooper to discuss the significance of the plays in the context of Shakespeare’s career Date for registering and deposit Another wine and cheese gathering to hear final details such as “Share-a-Ride” Date for final payment Although the plans we are making are for 2014, some RAPS members are interested in attending an OSF program in the fall of 2013. Anyone interested in attending the October 6-11, 2013 program, let Maxine Thomas know by calling 503-291-1279 or emailing her at thomasm@pdx.edu. The cost for food, performances, lectures/discussion and five nights double occupancy at the historic Ashland Springs Hotel is $1285. Stay tuned for updates! --Maxine Thomas Meet Alle, Our New Office Manager lle Powers is the new office manager for RAPS. She began work this summer, and is in the RAPS office on the second floor of Koinonia House (K-house). Her current office hours are 8:00am to noon Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. If her schedule changes for Fall Term – we’ll let you know. 4 P A
In Memoriam: Joan McMahon 1931-2013 5 oan McMahon, Associate Professor Emerita of Communication, was born August 29, 1931 in Waco, Texas, and died July 26, 2013, in Portland. She is survived by her daughter, Sue Hopper (John) Portland; grandson Sean Dasso, of San Diego; and a sister, Virginia (Gingy) Dixon of Albuquerque, New Mexico. She was predeceased by her brother, Burney, and sister, Jean. As an undergraduate, Professor McMahon attended Baylor University, 1948-1954, but withdrew to marry and start a family. She attended Portland State, where she earned a bachelor’s (1969) degree in Elementary Education in Speech and Hearing Sciences (SPHR), and master’s (1970) degree in Speech Pathology and Audiology. She enrolled in the PSU Speech and Hearing Sciences Program’s first class. She later obtained a Certificate of Clinical (CCC) from the American Speech-Language-Hearing association. Prior to joining PSU’s Department of Speech Communication in 1972 as an instructor, Joan accumulated wide-ranging professional experience. She served as a speech clinician in the Division of Continuing Education’s Headstart Program at Bush Elementary School in Salem; held a part-time instructorship at Chemeketa Community College; and concurrently worked as a speech-language pathologist for Portland Public Schools. Joan began her PSU career as an instructor, advanced to assistant professor in 1977, reached the associate level in 1981, and retired as emerita in 1995. A highlight of her innovative PSU career includes establishment coordination, and supervision of SPHR’s “Urban Language Clinic” which provided three-day-a-week assistance for minority preschool children who exhibited language delay or disorder symptoms. This program afforded specially designed graduate and undergraduate training for clinicians planning to engage in teaching assignments in diverse urban settings. In 1985 she and a colleague submitted a successful Personnel Preparation grant application to the U.S. Office of Education which was subsequently renewed three times for a total of $205,000. The same federal agency approved a similar grant in 1991. Professor McMahon especially dedicated her energies to serving students, and thereby prepared a large number of well-qualified practitioners in speech and hearing careers. She gained recognition as an outstanding advisor for student participants in PSU’s chapter of the National Student Speech, Language and Hearing Association, and initiated the organization’s newsletter. She was an outstanding instructor, supervisor, advisor, and student advocate, and often involved students in professional activities. In 1992 she made a well-received presentation on student supervision at the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics World Congress in Hanover, Germany. She co-authored several articles in state and national publications. Upon her retirement in 1995, the local NSHLA chapter honored her by establishing the Joan McMahon Endowed Scholarship for student Travel to support attendance at conferences. Memorial contributions in her name may be sent to the Portland State University Foundation, P.O. Box 243, Portland OR 97207-0243 or made online Professor McMahon leaves a highly regarded legacy of achievements and accomplishments in the field of speech and hearing sciences. University colleagues with shared interests in remedial education highly respected her productivity and dedication to the institutional mission. The University owes her a lasting debt of gratitude for her selfless contributions. --Victor C. Dahl, Emeritus Professor of History with assistance from Mary Gordon Brannon, Emerita Professor of Speech and Hearing Sciences. J
In Memoriam: Leonard Buell Kimbrell, 1922-2013 meritus Professor Leonard B. Kimbrell, born August 3, 1922, in Archibald, Louisiana, died at his Portland home June 13, 2012 in the presence of Evelyn, his spouse of 70 years, daughters Anna Katherine Kimbrell and Rebecca K. Bogorad, son-in-law Jerry, and granddaughters Anya and Chaya Bogorad. On Sunday afternoon, June 30, 2013, family, friends and colleagues gathered at the Kimbrell home to celebrate Leonard’s notable life. Leonard grew up on a small family farm in Louisiana, and attended Northwest State University, Natchitoches, (1939 to 1942) earning a BA degree in English. There he met and subsequently married Betty Evelyn Davis. A member of the “Greatest Generation,” from 1942 to 1945 Leonard served in the U.S. Army stateside and in Europe. His education qualified him for assignment to the highly selective Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) This program placed him at the University of Oregon in 1942 to study the Portuguese language in preparation for subsequent wartime deployment. In 1946, after discharge from military service, Leonard brought his young family to Oregon . From 1946 to 1956 he taught English and Art at Roseburg and Parkrose high schools. He completed an MS (1950) in Art History at the University of Oregon, and an MFA (1954) degree specializing in Painting. Further graduate studies at the State University of Iowa, Iowa City, culminated in his earning a Ph.D. degree (1961) in Art History. In 1956, Leonard took an appointment as Assistant Professor of Art and Art History at Eastern Oregon College. He energetically met the challenges of the higher education academic environment, while concurrently producing significant art works for exhibitions and professional meetings. In 1962 Dr. Kimbrell joined Portland State’s Department of Art to develop its emerging Art History program. He assumed responsibility for initiating appropriate curricular offerings, gathering instructional materials, acquiring library materials, and recruiting distinguished faculty members. His pioneering efforts resulted in the formation of an imaginative program that has attracted several generations of students who have utilized art studies for supporting their careers in a wide variety of disciplines and subjects. As an inspirational and demanding teacher his classes attracted large enrollments of enthusiastic students. His ongoing intellectual inquisitiveness and professional productivity reinforced his enormously successful classroom presentations. A global perspective reinforced his teaching. During a 1966-1967 sabbatical leave to visit galleries and museums in Europe he carried out a curricular consultation visit at the Oregon State System of Higher Education’s Italian Studies Center at the University of Pavia. The following year at PSU he participated in a U.S. Agency for International Development “Mid-Winter Leadership Training Seminar to acquaint AID participants from developing countries with American social and cultural developments. In 1979 the Federal Republic of Germany invited Professor Kimbrell to join a group of international scholars for a study/tour of that nation’s art centers and museums. Knowing and working with Leonard Kimbrell inevitably afforded an interesting, often exciting, experience. His wit and intelligence, coupled with his scholarly achievements, endeared him to colleagues and have left an indelible impression on this institution. The University community owes him a debt of gratitude for his contribution to its growth and development. The Kimbrells actively participated in our organizations and we shall miss him. --Victor C. Dahl, Emeritus Professor of History 6 E
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