THE RAPS SHEET JANUARY 2014 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: Check the answering machine at (503) 725-3447. Winter Term hours will be listed in next month’s RAPS Sheet Office Manager Alle Powers Officers Susan Poulsen President Priscilla Blumel President-elect / Program Chair David Krug Past President / Elections Chair Robert Lockerby Secretary Susan Jackson Treasurer Mary Ricks RAPS Sheet Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations, Website Editor Board Members-at-Large Nancy Chapman Chik Erzurumlu Brian Lewis Committees Steve Brannan and Mary Gordon Brannan History Preservation and Pictorial History Book Co-Chairs Beryl and Vic Dahl Social/Friendship Committee Co-Chairs Brian Lewis Awards Committee Chair Membership Chair Priscilla Blumel and Nancy Chapman Scholarship Co-Chairs Tom Potiowsky To Speak at January Meeting om Potiowsky, Chair of the Department of Economics at PSU and Director of the Northwest Economic Research Center, will be the featured speaker at the January 16, 2014 RAPS meeting. He will discuss the current state of the Oregon economy and prospects for Oregon’s economic future. Professor Potiowsky received his Ph. D. from the University of Colorado in 1981, and has been a faculty member in PSU’s Department of Economics since 1982. He was appointed Oregon State Economist in 1999 and served in that capacity until 2006. In 2008 he was reappointed and served as State Economist from 2008 to 2011. He has been uniquely positioned to analyze Oregon’s economic situation from both academic and public service viewpoints. The meeting will be held in Room 333 Smith Memorial Student Union. This is a change from the room we met in during Fall Term. A light buffet lunch will be available at noon, and Dr. Potiowsky will speak at 1:00 pm. T
President’s Message The upcoming months will be busy ones for this organization. My thanks to David Krug for continuing his effort to get the staff emeritus proposal he crafted last year before the Faculty Senate. We hope its review will take place Winter Term. This is a significant effort by RAPS to recognize all PSU retirees for their contributions to the University. If you have questions or comments about the proposal, please pass them on to Dave and to me. Thanks to Priscilla Blumel, we have excellent speakers lined up for the January, February, and March meetings. Note that the meeting room will change to 333 Smith Memorial Student Union for these monthly events. Larry Sawyer will now be the RAPS representative to regional and national retirement associations. He will also serve as our website editor. We are pleased and lucky that Larry agreed to assume these two important board functions. Lastly, don’t forget that the book group, the hiking group, and the bridge group are alive and well and always welcome new members. --Susan Poulsen Shakespeare: On the Road! ongratulations to those of you who have made a deposit to insure a space in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival Program Oct.20-26! Even though it is some distance in the future, it is NOT too early to make a deposit of $100 to make sure you have one of the 24 spaces. We will be attending one of eight programs offered by OSF. This means it is open to other attendees besides RAPS members and even though it is fun to meet new people, we want to make sure RAPS members sign up before the 24 spaces are taken. As noted in last month’s RAPS Sheet, we will be seeing The Comedy of Errors, The Great Society, The Tempest and The Cocoanuts. The program also includes three play readings, housing on the Southern Oregon University campus, transportation to and from the theater, most meals and lectures and discussions led by theater professionals. Although some members are planning to drive their own vehicles to Ashland, there is high interest in hiring a bus and driver. The size of bus and cost cannot be determined until we have a more accurate count of the number wishing to go----dare I say---on the “party bus!” Don’t miss out! Sign up on-line (www.siskiyoucenter.com) or make a hard copy of the registration form and mail to: Siskiyou Center, 418 Lit Way, Ashland, OR 97520. --Maxine Thomas Scholarship Contributions Susan Poulsen 2 C
PAST TENSE Looking Back: Success as a Student, Professional and Alumna anport Extension Center (VEC), Portland State’s founding institution, emerged in 1946 to meet the PostWorld- War- II demand for increased higher education opportunities in the Portland area. The postwar baby boom created a shortage of classroom teachers, so VEC’s emergence helped solve this problem. Women and men students interested in teacher education took beginning course work at VEC, and many continued their studies with the school’s move to the Park Blocks in 1952 and its emergence as Portland State College (PSC) in 1955. During the 1950s, an outstanding student in teacher preparation was Cathy (Bostwick) Williams who studied at both the VEC and PSC campuses. Cathy was a leader who excelled in academics and actively participated in student service organizations. She was a key member of the Vikes (a women’s social service organization), a leader on the Viking’s rally squad and the Portland State Pep Club, and served as society editor and then co-editor of the Viking (PSC’s yearbook). In recognition of her varied achievements, Cathy was honored in the school’s ‘53 Viking as “Outstanding Girl” by the students of Portland State. Cathy worked parttime while attending PSC, earned a B.S. degree in Elementary Education, and was one of 72 students in PSC’s first graduating class of 1956. Cathy’s motivation and enthusiasm as a student carried over to an education career spanning 32 years, which included achieving an M.S. Degree in Counseling and Guidance. She was an accomplished eighth-grade teacher, a noted career education coordinator/consultant in the Portland Public Schools and statewide, a favored PSU instructor in her field, and a major contributor to professional organizations. Following her retirement in 1989, Cathy expanded her community volunteering with a service focus over the years as a Portland State University alumna. She has served on the PSU Alumni Association Board, as a PSU Advocate, as a member of Friends of the Graduate School of Education, and as PSU Ambassador for Central Oregon. Cathy continues to serve, building her legacy as a dedicated student, professional, and alumna. --Steve Brannan 3 V
RAPS Group Reports The RAPS BOOK GROUP is embarking on its 11th year after 10 years of discussions of wonderful, and a few “not so wonderful” books. The next meeting will be held at 1:30 pm on Tuesday, January 21, hosted by Joan Shireman at 13584 SE Snowfire Drive in Happy Valley. Contact her at joanshireman@gmail.com or by phone at (5030 698-9951 to RSVP and for directions. We will discuss Beautiful Ruins by Jess Walter, which is described on the back cover as follows: From the moment it opens – on a rocky patch of Italian coastline, circa 1962, when a daydreaming young innkeeper looks out over the water and spies a mysterious woman approaching him on a boat – Jess Walter’s Beautiful Ruins is a dazzling, yet deeply human, roller coaster of a novel. From the lavish set of Cleopatra to the back lots of contemporary Hollywood, Beautiful Ruins is gloriously inventive and constantly surprising – a story of flawed yet fascinating people, navigating the rocky shores of their lives while clinging to their improbable dreams. In February 2014 we will discuss My Beloved World by Justice Sonia Sotomayor. On a sad note, one of our regulars, Betsey Brown, passed away early in December. We will all miss her. The RAPS BRIDGE GROUP will meet at 12:30 pm (half an hour earlier than our usual start time on Tuesday, January 14 at Friendly House. We will hear about Friendly House’s new Community Concierge program to assist seniors who are still in their own homes but having some difficulties with independent living. Food and refreshments will begin at 12:30. The presentation by Mya Chamberlin will begin at about 12:45 and will be brief. After some time for questions we will begin playing bridge. Friendly House is located at 1727 NW 26th in Portland. If you wish to play, please contact Steve Brennan by e-mail at the.steve.brennan@gmail.com or by phone at (503)646-6297 The RAPS HIKING GROUP held a potluck at the Sawyer’s home and planned hikes for 2014. Our first hike will be on Friday, January 10. Meet at 9:30 am at the intersection of SW Vista Avenue and Spring Street. This is Hike Number 5 in Laura Foster’s Portland Hill Walks. The hike goes through Portland Heights, the Park Blocks and Goose Hollow. It is a short three miles with a 490-foot elevation change. The Laura Foster hikes are well documented. Her description of this hike is 16 pages long. Confirm your attendance with Larry Sawyer by e-mail at larry_sawyer@comcast.net (there’s an underscore between “larry” and “sawyer” in that address) or by phone at (503) 771-1616. Holiday Party Photos Kate Jensen, RAPS Scholarship Recipient Brian and Chris Lewis conducting wine raffle --Photos by Larry Sawyer 4
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