THE RAPS SHEET March 2017 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University Post Office Box 751--RAPS Portland OR 97207-0751 Campus Public Safety Building, second floor, SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Adam Jones (503)725-3447, rapsmail@pdx.edu Office Hours: Weds., 12-3; Thurs. & Fri., 9-3. Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Officers Susan Poulsen Co-President Dawn White Co-President Brian Lewis Secretary Ansel Johnson Treasurer Eileen Brennan RAPS Sheet Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations, Website Editor Board Members-at-Large Steven Brenner Nancy Eriksson Charlie White Committees Dave Krug History Preservation and Pictorial History Book Chair Nancy Eriksson Social Committee Chair Doug Swanson Friendship Chair Priscilla Blumel Membership Chair Nancy Chapman Scholarship Chair Charlie White Awards Chair Christine Meadows Previews PSU’s Spring Opera Production at March 16 Member Meeting “O mio babbino caro, mi piace, é bello, bello . . .” So begins one of the most beloved arias in all of opera, from the comic one-act opera Gianni Schicchi by Giacomo Puccini. Gianni Schicchi is paired with another one-act opera by Puccini, the tragic Suor Angelica, in the PSU Opera’s upcoming spring production. At the Thursday, March 16 RAPS meeting, PSU Opera Program Director Christine Meadows will talk about the productions in a presentation titled Comedy and Tragedy! PSU Opera Presents Puccini. Students performing in the operas will sing excerpts. A mezzo-soprano, Christine Meadows is known for her inspiring work with students of opera, teaching them not just how to sing but how to move, act, and even dance. Year after year the PSU Opera productions draw capacity crowds, many of which feature award-winning performances. Professor Meadows received her undergraduate training at Portland State and earned an M.M. in Vocal Performance from Indiana University. She went on to pursue a successful career as a concert and opera soloist, singing with New York City Opera, the Dallas Lyric Opera, the Houston Opera, and the Portland Opera. The March meeting begins at 12:00 noon with a potluck lunch in 238 SMSU (please see the last page of this month’s issue for more information). At approximately 12:45 pm the group will move to 326 Lincoln Hall, where Christine will speak and the PSU students will perform beginning at 1:00 pm.
Co-President’s Message I’d like to begin by thanking Dawn White for her incisive discussion in our last issue about the status of our student scholarship situation. It’s important to appreciate how many students we’ve supported as well as understand the financial environment we operate in. Please do not hesitate to contact either of us if you have questions or thoughts. We also work for our RAPS members but realize we’d be in a better position to do this with additional information from you. To this end we are seeking information about your post-retirement contributions to PSU. Yes, many of you contribute to the scholarship fund, and we are aware of what those retirees nominated for RAPS awards have done post-retirement, but what about the rest of you? We realize we don’t really know all the ways you have likely contributed, and I suspect contributions by our membership are grossly underrepresented. We need to change this. See our request below for more information about your post-retirement activities, and thanks in advance for your response to this request. Finally, I know it’s early, but I want to remind you that the annual President’s Gathering for Retired Faculty and Staff which we co-host with the President’s Office will be held on May 18 this year, not in April as it usually is. Recall, this will be the Wim Wiewel’s last appearance as PSU’s current president. The planning team will soon meet and we’re looking to do several special things this year. I’d welcome your ideas and suggestions. Also, don’t forget to nominate someone for the outstanding retiree or special recognition award. We all know folks who have made a difference -- let’s honor them at this major gathering. Contact Charlie White about awards at 503-232-3089 or chaswhite@comcast.net . --Susan Poulsen Please Contact Us about Your Post-Retirement Service It has become very clear that we, the board, do not have a very complete picture of the many ways our faculty and staff members have contributed to this university post-retirement. Personally, I am aware of specific activities over time of a rather small number but certainly could not speak intelligently about the membership as a whole. I think our collective contributions are sorely underrepresented, and to that end we ask that each of you take time to respond to the list of items below. Is the list exhaustive? No, so please add items we have forgotten. Send your list to Adam Jones, our Office Manager, at rapsmail@pdx.edu. We are in much better shape to speak on behalf of our members if we are better informed. Thanks in advance for taking the time for this. Again, if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact Dawn White, Eileen Brennan, or me. --Susan Poulsen Potential Areas of Contribution Reviewing new hire employee files; participating in new hire orientation; participating in unit/department special events; filling in for faculty on leave; filling in for staff on leave; volunteering for committee assignment (ad hoc or regular ones); participating on dissertations or master’s theses/projects; teaching classes at reduced rates or gratis; guest lecturing; grant writing (grants brought in); attending development events; participating in community outreach and activities; presenting at conferences (local, regional, national, international); mentoring faculty; entoring students; mentoring staff; serving as outside reviewer for tenure files; serving on search committees for department/unit, for dept. chairs, deans; serving on university administrative boards; participating in retirement enrichment (classes, RAPS, etc). Note: the foregoing may be paid or unpaid; also indicate the year or years performed if you recall. 2
Don’t Miss This Year’s May 3 Wine Tour! cott Burns will lead a wine tour (with his outstanding geological commentary) for RAPS through the Columbia River Gorge to the Hood River area. Proceeds from the tour go into the RAPS scholarship fund. The plan is to visit three wineries -- Cathedral Ridge, Phelps Creek, and Springhill Cellars with the possibility of replacing one of those with either The Pines or Marchesi. Date: Wednesday, May 3, 2017 Time: 9:30am-6:00pm; bus will leave from PSU Bring your own lunch, water, nibbles Tasting fee for these wineries is typically $5 or purchase of one bottle of wine; participants will cover any tasting fees $70 per person (includes the $40 base fee for expenses with the remainder helping to build the scholarship fund). Limit of 26 participants. Sign up now—the tour is already filling. Call Adam at 503-725-3347 to reserve your space(s) and send a check to PSU, PO Box 751—RAPS, Portland OR 97207-0751. You can also pay at a RAPS Program meeting. --Nancy Chapman; photography of 2011 Phelps Creek tour by Larry Sawyer S
RAPS Group Reports The RAPS Book Group. The book group met on February 21 and discussed In the Heart of the Sea: The Tragedy of the Whaleship Essex by Nathaniel Philbrick. The discussion was spirited. The first half of the book was about the whale hunt itself, and the techniques used so that five men in a whaleboat might capture a leviathan. Interesting also was the background of the Nantucket society from which the whalers came. The hunted whale rams the ship, and in the second half of the book man is no longer dominant but struggles to survive, a struggle that gives rise to many ethical issues. In the spirit of Portland State, we discussed supportive societies, insular cultures, recent research on trauma, fair labor practices, and many other things that I am sure the whalers never thought about. The March meeting will be at 1:30pm on March 21. The group will be discussing A Man Called Ove by the Swedish writer Fredrik Backman. The back cover describes it as an “uplifting exploration of the unreliability of first impressions and a gentle reminder that life is sweeter when it is shared with other people.” We will meet at the home of Felicia Wirtz, 16344 NW Avamere Ct., Beaverton, 97229. Contact Felicia at (503) 645-0947 or feliciawirtz@gmail.com to let her know whether you can be there, and for directions. The book selected for discussion in April is The Buried Giant by Kazuo Ishiguro. Set in postArthurian Britain, it is a tale of an elderly couple who set off on a journey to visit their son. The back cover describes it as “a luminous meditation on the art of forgetting, and the power of memory, an extraordinary tale of love, vengeance and war.” The book group meets the third Tuesday of every month at 1:30pm. New members are always welcome. -–Joan Shireman The RAPS Bridge Group. The RAPS bridge group meets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15pm. We try to finish up by 4pm. We meet in Smith Center, usually on the second floor, but sometimes on the third floor. Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming months, bridge dates and times: Tuesday, March 7, 2017; 12:15pm in SMSU 294 Tuesday, April 4, 2017; 12:15pm in SMSU 294 I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. The RAPS Bridge Group members are very friendly and are 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. At our December planning meeting, we changed our hiking day to the 4th Tuesday. On January 24th, 10 hikers, including new hiker Lee Buddress, were led by Steve Brennan. We hiked a new 5.2 mile section of the Westside Regional Trail of the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation from the Nature Park to the Progress Ridge Shopping Center, where we had lunch at La Provence Boulangerie & Patisserie. By the time you read this, we will have held a short bird watching hike in the Steigerwald National Wildlife Refuge outside of Washougal. We will start the hike with a 9am 1 hour guided tour of the Pendleton Woolen Mills in Washougal and end the hike at the quaint “Wildflower Café and Cupcakes” back in Washougal. The March 28th hike will also be an aquatic birding hike in the “Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge.” We will hike the Carty unit as the Kiwa Trail doesn’t open until May 1st. It contains the Cathlapotle Plank House replica. Ken Ames excavated the original site several years ago. Meet at 9am in the Safeway parking lot on the Oregon side of the Interstate Bridge for a short carpool. Extra cars will be parked on the street. Confirm your participation with Larry Sawyer 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. Our complete schedule for 2017 with links to the destinations can be found on the RAPS Web Page quick link to the hikers page. www.pdx.edu/raps . 4 --Larry Sawyer
What is your level of interest in RAPS tours sponsored by Collette Travel? Help us by responding to the questions on the back by March 31. Collette Tours is dedicated to offering national and international tours for scholastic and lifelong learning organizations. RAPS will receive 10% of the price you pay with no cost to you, to benefit our scholarship fund. We can reserve seats for RAPS members but Collette will fill any unfilled seats. Members can also sign up on any tour as individuals and RAPS will still receive 10%. Collette provides promotional material and handles bookings. If there is enough interest, we will have Collette speak to the group. For more details, and tour offerings for 2017, see http://www.gocollette.com/en 5
Collette Tours Questionnaire Responses to the following questions will help us decide if we should pursue a relationship with Collette Tours. 1. What is your level of interest in taking a Collette Tour through RAPS? Very interested Not at all interested 5 4 3 2 1 Why or why not: ________________________________________________________ 2. Most tours are the size of the tour bus, but some are small groups (18-24). Is group size important to you in making your decision? Yes No If yes, what do you prefer _________________________________________________ 3. Activity levels vary from 1 (very leisurely pace with minimal physical activity) to 5 (Very active requiring physical fitness). Most tours fall into levels 2 and 3. Is activity level important to you? Yes No If yes, what do you prefer? _______________________________________________ 4. Please rank three example tours to assess interest. Rank from 1 (most preferred) to 3 (least preferred). ___ Shades of Ireland (13 days from $2499) ___ Italy’s Treasures (small group tour, 12 days from $2999) ___ England’s Treasures (12 days from $2899) Mail to: RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207or email to rapsmail@pdx.edu Deadline March 31
In Memoriam: Patricia Backlar, 1932-2017 atricia Backlar, research associate professor of bioethics, Department of Philosophy, died January 28. She was 85 years old. Professor Backlar was born in London on January 20, 1932, to Jane Van Gelder and Stanley Harris. She and her mother left London during the Blitz and settled in Montreal. She studied history at Vassar College and drama and dance at Yale University. Prof. Backlar joined Portland State in 1991. During her career she published three books, 39 articles, and 10 book chapters on bioethical and policy issues relevant to biomedical research, clinical practice, and community psychiatric practice. She also served the University as director of the Biomedical Ethics Certificate program and was assistant director of the Center for Ethics in Health Care at OHSU. In 1994 her book, The Family Face of Schizophrenia, was published. A review in the American Journal of Psychiatry described it as “truly exceptional” work that “should stand for years as a testimonial to the suffering caused by this tragic disease.” In 1996 President Clinton appointed Prof. Backlar to the National Bioethics Advisory Commission, where she helped draft several reports. She said that being on the commission helped her do more for the population she cares about. “This is a precious opportunity to improve the lives of people who may be unable to look after their own interests,” Prof. Backlar said in an article in The First Ten Years, published by the Center for Ethics in Health Care, OHSU, in 1999. She also served on the board of the National Community Mental Health Care Council; the Oregon State Hospital Institutional Review Board; the OHSU Stem Cell Research Oversight Committee; the Oregon Advisory Committee on Genetic Privacy and Research; and the Multnomah County Behavioral Health Advisory Council. Prof. Backlar’s husband, Byron, died in 2010. She is survived by her children, Tibby Rothman, Michael Rothman (Naomi), David Rothman, Roger Backlar (Jacqueline), Fredric Backlar (Nicki), Jennifer Teufel Schoenberger (Max), and Nicholas Rothman (Rebecca); her grandchildren, Christopher Rothman, Jeremy Backlar, Trevor Rothman, Joseph Backlar, Spencer Backlar, Marlena Backlar, Jack Rothman, and Bodhi Teufel. A memorial service was held on February 4 at the Old Church in Portland. The family requested that donations be made to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. RAPS extends sincere condolences to Professor Backlar’s family. --Doug Swanson Thank You to RAPS Scholarship Contributors! e would like to thank those who donated to RAPS scholarships during the month of January, 2017. Recent contributions were received by the PSU Foundation from the following donors between January 1 and January 31, 2017: June Brinkman—In honor of Richard Brinkman Tony Leineweber—In memory of Dan Bernstine Bill and Genna Lemman 7 P W
On Thursday, March 16, please join the RAPS monthly gathering to share a Potluck Lunch and to hear about PSU’s upcoming production of Giacomo Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Gianni Schicchi from Christine Meadows, PSU Opera Program Director, and the talented students in the cast. Please bring a salad or dessert to share. Main dishes and beverages will be provided. The potluck starts at 12:00 noon in 238 Smith Memorial Student Union. After lunch we move to 326 Lincoln Hall, where the program with Christine and the opera students begins at 1 pm. Questions? Please contact Nancy Eriksson email at nan254@hotmail.com or phone at 503-913-7200 or Adam Jones, RAPS Office Manager email at rapsmail@pdx.edu or phone at 503-725-3447
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