THE RAPS SHEET November 2015 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University Post Office Box 751--RAPS Portland OR 97207-0751 Koinonia House, second floor SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Carissa Ponting (503)725-3447, raps@pdx.edu Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Fall Term Office Hours: Monday and Thursday 9am to 5pm, Friday 9am to noon. Officers Eileen Brennan President Barbara Alberty Interim President-Elect Priscilla Blumel Past President Brian Lewis Secretary Nancy Benson Treasurer Mary Ricks RAPS Sheet Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations, Website Editor Board Members-at-Large Nancy Chapman Ansel Johnson Bob Tufts Committees Dave Krug History Preservation and Pictorial History Book Chair Terril Doherty Social Committee Chair John Cooper Friendship Chair Bob Tufts Membership Chair Nancy Chapman Scholarship Chair Ansel Johnson Awards Chair Dr. Claire Wheeler To Speak November 19 n Thursday, November 29, Dr. Claire Wheeler will speak at the RAPS monthly meeting about the benefits of understanding the mind-body connection. Dr. Wheeler is a Senior Instructor at Portland State University’s School of Community Health and core course instructor for the Oregon Masters of Public Health program, administered jointly with Oregon Health and Science University. A clinical psychologist and former ER physician, Dr. Wheeler has been working with the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington D.C. for almost 20 years, teaching health professionals from all over the world the science and art of mind-body medicine for personal wellbeing and clinical practice. Understanding the connections between thoughts, feelings, behaviors, and health is empowering and helps individuals, communities, and organizations create healthier lives and environments. In this talk, Dr. Wheeler will show how some of these connections affect us in our daily lives, and how a few simple new skills can greatly enhance your immune, digestive, and cardiovascular health while also enhancing positive emotional states and vitality. Dr. Wheeler is the author of two books, 10 Simple Solutions to Stress (New Harbinger, 2007) and The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Belly Fat Weight Loss (Penguin, 2013.) The meeting will be in Room 333 Smith Memorial Student Union. A light lunch will be available at noon. Dr. Wheeler will speak at 1:00pm. Please plan to join us. O
President’s Message The Retirement Association of Portland State has among its objectives promoting the welfare of retired personnel, conferring with PSU administrators on matters of mutual interest, and providing educational and cultural programs of interest to its members. My thanks go to Bill Lemman, who served both as a PSU administrator and as an officer of the Oregon State System of Higher Education. Bill represents PSU on the current board of the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE.) He has written an article in this issue encouraging RAPS to make use of the resources of this national organization to enrich the retirement experience of our members. I would also like to thank Provost Sona Andrews for her continuing support of our organization and her engaging presentation at our October meeting, which highlighted initiatives that are drawing national attention to PSU for its innovations. She urges RAPS members to contact her office with ideas and feedback. Our November meeting features an educational program with a presentation by Dr. Claire Wheeler on holistic wellness and stress reduction. This framework moves beyond traditional medicine to look at the intersection of mind/body/health. Please join us for what promises to be an exciting meeting on November 19. Finally, I would like to urge you to consider a donation to our RAPS Scholarship Fund this year. We are very close to reaching the $25,000 required to endow our scholarship, ensuring that we will be able to help students on an ongoing basis. A letter on page 5 of this newsletter describes our scholarship program and the ways you can contribute to support PSU students who plan to work with older adults. --Eileen Brennan Bylaws Change Approved by Members hanks go to the 70 members who reviewed the proposed revisions of the Retirement Association of Portland State Bylaws and voted. Ballots received at member meetings, through the mail, and by online voting unanimously supported the change of the Bylaws that will go into effect with the Spring 2016 elections when members vote for new officers. Instead of a three-year stream of President Elect, President, and Past President, there will be a two-year Co-Presidency of two officers. The terms of the two Co-Presidents will be staggered to allow the experienced officer and the new officer to serve together. This also makes it possible for Co-Presidents to work together so that when one is traveling or otherwise occupied, the other will be present. --Eileen Brennan Scholarship Contributions cholarship contributions were received by the PSU Foundation from the from the following individuals as of September 30, 2015: Barbara Alberty Eileen Brennan Carol Gerity Hedi Hugon Tony Leineweber Robert Lockerby Jean Morrison Dennis West Marie Williams and from the Robert W. Vogelsang Memorial Wine Raffle. 2 T S
RAPS Group Reports The RAPS Book Group met on October 20 at the home of Brian Lewis and discussed The Round House by Louise Erdrich. Set on the Ojibwe Reservation in North Dakota, it won the National Book Award for fiction. The book has many interesting perspectives. The book group discussion tended to center on the Native American folklore and on the close family and reservation life that was described. The group has chosen David McCullough’s The Path Between the Seas: The Creation of the Panama Canal, 1870-1914 to read next. Described on Amazon’s website as “a must-read for anyone interested in American history, the history of technology, international intrigue, and human drama,” it has won many awards. A long book, it is divided into three sections, which the author labels “books.” When we realized at the October meeting how long the book was, and thought about the demands of the holiday season, we decided to read Books One and Two for November and Book Three for December. The November meeting will be at the home of Phyllis Leonard, at Vista St. Clair, 1000 SW Vista Ave, Portland. Let her know at 503-930-5672 or leonardpj@gmail.com if you would like to join the discussion. Our December meeting will be at Maxine Thomas’ new home at Rose Villa. The Book Group meets at 1:30 on the third Tuesday of every month. New members are always welcome. –Joan Shireman The RAPS Bridge Group will meet (or already has met) on Tuesday, November 3, 2015. We meet regularly on the first Tuesday of each month. Given the timing of the monthly RAPS Sheet, let me inform you of a couple of upcoming bridge sessions: December 1, 2015 and January 5, 2016. On November 3, we will gather in Cascade Room (aka, Room 236) of Smith Center at PSU. Playing begins at 1 pm and continues to about 4:30 pm. Going forward from November, we are trying out Smith Center as a centrally located place to play bridge. The RAPS board has kindly offered to pay the room rent for our Bridge Group. We will see how the room fits our needs during this trial period. The RAPS bridge group is friendly and is always looking for new players. If you wish to join us, please contact Steve Brennan, 503-646-6297. My email address is the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. --Steve Brennan The RAPS Hiking Group held our October hike at the Cooper Mountain Nature Park. It was a series of short loops, and we took most of them. They were all paved, and had very little elevation change. Deve Swaim and a friend hiked it about an hour before us, but there were still eight in the main group including a friend of Patty Sluys. We again just avoided the rain. After a lunch at Buddie’s Sports Bar at 185th and Farmington, five of us went back up the hill to the Cooper Mountain Winery where we tasted a sample of the wines. Marge Terdal will lead our last hike of 2015. It will be on Friday, November 13. Marge is planning the details, but it will start at Terwilliger Plaza, go up Marquam Hill, down the tram, over the new Max bridge, and back to Terwilliger Plaza by one of the waterfront trails. Lunch will be at a restaurant to be decided. Meet at 9:30am at Terwilliger Plaza. RSVP to Marge by November 12 at dbmt@pdx.edu or 503-808-7438. Diane and I will again host the December hike planning potluck at our house. Diane will find several days that work for us, and I will put them up for a vote. We have had more luck with dates earlier in December than close to the holidays. I will post the 2016 hike schedule on the RAPS website. It will remain there all year. --Larry Sawyer 3
Reserve Your Place at the RAPS Holiday Party Sunday, December 13 RAPS Members Scott Burns, Donna Koch, and Roy Koch at the 2014 Holiday Party (Photo by Larry Sawyer) lease contact our RAPS Office Manager, Carissa Ponting, no later than Monday, December 7, to reserve your seats for the RAPS Annual Holiday Party. This year the gala holiday brunch will be held on Sunday, December 13, 2015 at the Multnomah Athletic Club. A special menu has been planned by RAPS member Claudine Fisher and MAC Executive Chef Phillippe Boulot, and a cash bar with mimosas and champagne will be available. Socializing starts at 11:30am and brunch begins at 12:30pm. The cost will be $22 per person, including gratuity. The scholarship fundraising event at the holiday party this year will include a sale of items with a theme of “holiday treats.” Treats might include a pretty plate of baked items traditional in your family, a discount from a favorite restaurant, tickets to an event, holiday decoration – anything that might fit into the holiday treat theme – with a maximum value of $50. Please contact Carissa (503-725-3447) if you can donate an item to sell. Of course, Brian Lewis will conduct the annual holiday wine raffle as well. You can pay by check or credit card for the holiday brunch. If paying by check, please make the check payable to the PSU Foundation. If paying by credit card, please call Carissa at 503-725-3447. Please respond by Monday, December 7 by calling Carissa at 503-725-3447, by emailing her at caris2@pdx.edu, or by mailing your check to Carissa Ponting, c/o RAPS, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. 4 P
November 1, 2015 Dear RAPS Member, “Within the next two decades, nearly one in five Americans will be 65 or over. Globally, the older population is expected to double over the next three decades. The impact of these demographic changes on the health, economics, and quality of life of societies worldwide will be unprecedented.” --Margaret Neal, PSU Institute on Aging Our PSU students are aware of the impact of an older generation on society. Many share classrooms and lunches with our Portland senior population living close to the PSU campus. The PSU curriculum offers programs for students whose career goals would improve the lives of older people through their work in many fields ranging from health to housing. RAPS has established a scholarship fund for undergraduate and graduate students in any major, whose career plans are related to gerontology. As we all know, the cost of a college education for both undergraduates and graduates is rising rapidly. At PSU, tuition and fees this year for graduate students average $4700 per year for residents, and $6700 for nonresidents. This does not include the increased cost of living, especially housing. Our recipients often report severe financial issues in supporting themselves (and families) while working toward a degree. The first RAPS scholarship was awarded in 2011-2012. This year, Jillian Szilagyi Kelly, a graduate student in the Master of Social Work program, received the fifth scholarship. While giving one scholarship a year, RAPS has raised over $19,000 toward the $25,000 required to endow our scholarship fund and continue awarding scholarships into the future. Please help us move toward the endowment and ongoing scholarship support. Thank you! Eileen Brennan, RAPS President Nancy Chapman, RAPS Scholarship Committee Chair -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RAPS Scholarship Donation Form: Name: __________________________________________________________________ Address: _________________________________________________________________ City: ________________________________________State: ___________ Zip: _________ Phone: __________________________ Email: __________________________________ Donation Amount: $ _________________________________________ Donation made in memory of _________________________________________________ Donation made to honor ______________________________________________________ Make checks payable to: PSU Foundation and noted for RAPS Scholarship Please mail to: RAPS Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751. Alternatively, to use a credit card, go to https://www.pdx.edu/raps/scholarship-fund 5
Help Is There If You Want It! he Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE) gathers, disseminates, and fosters transformative practices and programs for all stages of faculty and staff retirement. AROHE comprises about 120 member organizations in the US and Canada consisting of some 100,000 individuals who have moved on from academic employment. By pooling the successful experiences of these constituents, AROHE has helped develop a vibrant culture of optimal aging within this critically important cohort of the population. We have become the first stop for college and university administrations, retiree organizations, and individuals seeking to discover and implement effective practices at all stages of faculty and staff retirement. Unique value to the higher education community is provided in three main ways: through research on retirement; through our dissemination of best ideas, practices, and programs; and through our nurturing of innovative academic retirement through consultation and active mentoring. We promote the sharing of innovative and effective practices identified in retirement organizations across the country. One of the most effective times of sharing has been at our biennial conferences. The next, labeled Transforming Retirement: ReWriting Life’s Next Chapter, will take place at the University of Washington, August 14-16, 2016. Our third function is to provide consultation and counseling. We have provided Start-Up Kits for neophyte retirement organizations as well as experienced and expert consultants and mentors to provosts, HR departments, and development offices. Demographics clearly indicate that the numbers of persons retiring in the next decade or so will increase dramatically from recent and current levels. It would appear imperative that universities have well developed and transparent retirement policies and that discussion with employees begin five years or more before prospective retirement, in order to consider and evaluate the psychological as well as the financial transition that is forthcoming for an employee. AROHE has a national board of directors consisting of 13 members, who also are identified with their home institution. It is my privilege to serve as a representative of Portland State University and RAPS. I hope you will call on me to assist both in any way I can. Reach me at wtlem@aol.com or (520) 603-6007. --Bill Lemman 6 T
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