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
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NTc4NTAz