The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State OCTOBER 2018 Retirement Association of Portland State Portland State University–RAPS Post Office Box 751 Portland OR 97207-0751 Campus Public Safety Building Second Floor, Room 212 SW Montgomery at Broadway Office Manager Ilana Tarasyuk Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: Tues. & Thurs., 9 am to 5:30 pm; Fri., 1 to 5 pm. Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents David Krug Doug Swanson Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Steven Brenner Nancy Eriksson Charlie White RAPS Sheet Editor Eileen Brennan Website Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations Larry Sawyer Committees Awards Steve Brennan, Chair History Preservation Nancy Koroloff, Chair Membership/Program Dawn White, Chair Scholarships Barbara Alberty & Joan Shireman, Co-chairs Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair Steve Amen considers “40 Years of ‘Real News’” on October 18 STEVE AMEN, RECENTLY RETIRED after more than 25 years as host of Oregon Field Guide on Oregon Public Broadcasting, speaks to RAPS Thursday, October 18, at our program titled “40 Years of ‘Real News’; Behind the Scenes with Journalist Steve Amen.” A graduate of PSU, Amen was with OPB more than 30 years. He helped create, produce, and host Oregon Field Guide. The show remains one of the highest rated local programs in the entire PBS nationwide system. Amen also created and produced Oregon Lens, a summer series on OPB showcasing the work of independent filmmakers in the Northwest. Prior to joining OPB, he spent seven years in commercial news as a producer, executive producer, and news director. Amen is the recipient of one national and 12 regional Emmy Awards as well as awards from the New York Film Festival and the American Film/Video Festival. In 2014 he was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences’ Silver Circle, a society honoring media professionals who have made significant contributions to both the television industry and their communities. Amen has taught video production at PSU and the Northwest Film Center as well as classes at Lewis & Clark College. The program starts with a light lunch at noon in 333 SMSU. Amen begins speaking at 12:45 pm. —-Photograph by Steve Amen
Co-President’s Message Opening my eyes to a changing PSU campus 2 RAPS STARTED THE NEW ACADEMIC YEAR on September 20 with a tour of the newly renovated, expanded, and much-better-than-before Peter W. Stott Center. About a week before the tour, however, I was on campus and couldn’t resist walking up the Park Blocks to get a sneak peek. I was stunned. The dull, oppressive brick wall that faced the Park Blocks for decades was gone, replaced by a sleek glass structure that invited the passerby to see inside to the bright, shiny Viking Pavilion, a 3,000water features, sculptures, and street car and bus stops. In fact, the plaza is one of the busiest public transportation hubs in Portland. It was time for my meeting at the Simon Benson House, itself a wonderful addition to campus. Along the way I took a quick detour to Lincoln Hall, which was renovated in 2011 and had a striking glass tower added on the Broadway side in 2014. I hadn’t been in Lincoln in years, and I discovered that the renovation had opened the building, bringing in light and adding depth. My short walking tour was only a superficial look at how the campus has changed in the past dozen years. If it’s been a few years since you’ve been on campus, drop by to look around. You’ll be surprised—and impressed! —Doug Swanson seat basketball and multi-use arena. What a transformation! Which prompted me to keep walking. How else had the campus changed in the 12 years since I last closed the door to my office in Cramer Hall? Yes, I’m on campus about once or twice a month, but my routine is bleak: park my car, walk quickly to my meeting, walk quickly back to my car, drive away. No sightseeing allowed. This time I strolled instead of marched, and I looked around me, rather than at the sidewalk. Across the Park Blocks was Neuberger, which, like the Stott Center, dates from the 1960s. It was tired and dreary 12 years ago, but it won’t be much longer. A $70-million renovation, due for completion in August, will see to that. Right now Neuberger is down to the four exterior walls and not much else. This is a serious renovation. Good. I turned toward Broadway, then went north and walked past the Karl Miller Center, another striking addition of wood, glass, and steel. I remembered the site from my first months at PSU. A new building was going up then, more utilitarian than attractive, which was named the Professional Schools Building; it became home to the School of Education. A few years later an addition was built and named—surprise!—Professional Schools Building II. Despite the (slightly) different names, it was really one building. Now it’s completely redesigned and renovated as part of the Miller Center. A block east is the Academic and Student Recreation Center, which opened in 2010. It’s built on the site of the unlamented Portland Center for Advanced Technology, a building so ugly that, given an opportunity, I would have happily grabbed a sledge hammer and taken a few swings at it myself. The Recreation Center faces the PSU Urban Plaza, with its Lindsey Webster (left), director of external relations for PSU Athletics, led RAPS members on a tour of the Stott Center on September 20. Please consider email for RAPS Sheet delivery I HOPE YOU ENJOY the RAPS Sheet, but I also hope that you’ll consider receiving it electronically rather than through the U.S. mail. Sending the RAPS Sheet via email doesn’t cost a penny, but sending it via the U.S. Postal Service costs a pretty penny—and it’s a drain on the RAPS budget. Plus, the emailed version is in glorious full color. To switch to email-only delivery, please send an email to our office manager, Ilana Tarasyuk, at rapsmail@pdx.edu. Thanks! —D. S.
RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE BOOK GROUP met on September 18 at the home of Felicia Wirtz and had a spirited discussion of Celeste Ng’s Little Fires Everywhere. We were in agreement that it was a carefully developed plot, with interesting characters, and very well written. In short, an excellent book. However, we found much to discuss in our varied reactions to the characters and their actions. The group next meets on Tuesday, October 16, at the home of Phyllis Leonard. We will be discussing Words Without Music by Philip Glass. The book is a memoir by an accomplished musician, and presents recollections of his career. The back cover describes it as “overflowing with love and enthusiasm for life and art.” Phyllis’s home is at 1061 NE 9th Avenue, Apartment 1623 at the Aster Tower in Portland. The entrance to the building is actually on Hassalo. Max Red, Blue, and Green lines are very close. Please telephone Phyllis at 503930-5672 or e-mail her at leonard.pj@gmail.com and let her know whether you will be there. On Monday, November 12, we will meet at the home of Eileen and Steve Brennan to discuss Leonardo da Vinci by Walter Isaacson. It is a beautiful book, and described as a magnificent biography. Note that this meeting is on a different date than our regular meeting time, due to the proximity of the regular date to Thanksgiving. The book group meets at 1:30 pm on the first Tuesday of every month, with the exception of this November, and new members are always welcome. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUPmeets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 pm. We try to finish up by 4 pm. We meet in Smith Center, on the second floor. Please mark your calendars for the following upcoming fall term meetings: Tuesday, October 2, in SMSU 258 Tuesday, November 6, in SMSU 258 Tuesday, December 4, in SMSU 258 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 Hiking GroupTHE RAPS HIKE on Tuesday, October 23, will be an out-andback in Deschutes River State Park. We will walk along the river, beginning at the river's mouth, for about 2.5 miles before returning on the same trail. Following a gravel railroad grade along the Deschutes River, the trail has a 200-foot grade and leads to views of the canyon and the east end of the gorge. This will be a car pool hike. Meet at 8:30 am at the Gateway Transit Center at the southeast corner of the parking structure. Hikers will eat lunch in The Dalles before returning to Portland. Nine members of the hiking group explored the Jackson Bottom Wetlands Preserve on September 25. We met at the associated Nature Center and traveled along several miles of hiking trails with great observation points of the Tualatin River and wildlife areas. Lunch was at a local Japanese restaurant, Syun Izakaya. If you plan to hike in October, contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. For more details about these hikes or future hiking plans in 2018, please consult the RAPS hikers’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPS-Hikers —Larry Sawyer Helene Meskers (left) and Deve Swaim explore the Ash Arbor section of the Jackson Bottoms Wetlands Preserve in Hillsboro. The RAPS Hiking Group walked the wetland’s trails in September. —-Photograph by Larry Sawyer 3
In memoriam: Nancy Maxwell Porter, 1936-2018 NANCY MAXWELL PORTER, who served Portland State for more than 30 years as a professor of English and was instrumental in founding the university’s Women’s Studies program, died August 17 in Portland. She was 82 years old. Professor Porter was born in Syracuse, New York, on April 30, 1936, to Charles Oran Maxwell and Jean Benson Maxwell. She graduated from Oakwood Friends School, Poughkeepsie, New York, and continued her education at Mount Holyoke College, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in English in 1958. She was awarded a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to attend Yale University, and received a master’s in English in 1960. Professor Porter met her future husband, Roger Porter, at Yale, and they were married in 1961. The couple moved to Portland, where she taught at Lewis & Clark College. The Porters’ marriage ended in 1968, although they remained close friends. In 1966 Professor Porter joined the Portland State faculty. Four years later, she collaborated with an English Department colleague, Nancy Hoffman, and Nona Glazer Malbin of Sociology, to establish a women’s studies program. According to The College that Would Not Die, a history of Portland State written by Professor Gordon Dodds, the effort “prevailed because of imagination, tenacity, and hard work.” The PSU Faculty Senate formally approved the program in November 1974, and the state board followed in September 1975, making the PSU Women’s Studies certificate program the first in Oregon and one of the first in the United States. Her work in women’s studies led to Professor Porter’s long connection with The Feminist Press. Between 1982 and 1992, Professor Porter edited the Women’s Studies Quarterly, published by the Feminist Press, in which scholars debated and reimagined education from women’s perspectives. She also authored numerous articles and papers that contributed to ongoing discussions in the field. Professor Porter retired from Portland State in 2002 and was named professor emerita. She is survived by her long-time parter, Joanne Benton, as well as Ms. Benton’s children, Betsy Stapleton (Michael), of California, and Peter Rudnytsky (Cheryl), of Florida, and their children. Remembrances may be sent to Oakwood Friends School, 22 Spackenhill Road, Poughkeepsie, NY, 12063, or to the Feminist Press, City University of New York, 365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5406, New York, NY, 10016. A tribute page may be found at http://www.anewtradition.com/obituaries/obituary/16308_Nancy_M_Porter. An online guest book is available at www.oregonlive.com/obits. —Doug Swanson —-Photograph by Greg Lawler 4
Recent RAPS Scholarship contributions RAPS GOES TO Eastern Canada! SEPTEMBER 3-10, 2019 Montreal Quebec City Ottawa Rockport Toronto Niagara Falls Quebec City and St. Lawrence River A portion of your fare supports the RAPS Scholarship Program! You’ll discover the best of Eastern Canada with RAPS! Our tour is led by Collette, a travel company with more than 100 years’ experience. Book by March 4, 2019, and save $100 per person! $3,199per person if booked by March 4 BASED ON DOUBLE OCCUPANCY Includes R/T airfare from PDX, Hotels, Hotel Transfers, Air Taxes, Fees/Surcharges To learn more: Contact Larry Sawyer, RAPS 503-771-1616 / larry_sawyer@comcast.net Should RAPS start a travel group? Your opinion needed OUR CURRENT PARTNERSHIP with Colette Travel has provided opportunities for enjoyable tours that also resulted in a portion of the proceeds being donated to the RAPS Scholarship. Recently, the RAPS Scholarship Committee members have wondered whether additional member interest in participating in custom tours might be developed through a RAPS group focused on travel. We envision the travel group meeting quarterly. The program at the meeting would be a presentation by someone who has been on an unusual trip or had interesting experiences abroad. An example of the type of presentation is the RAPS member meeting program last February when Jim and Joan Peck talked about their trip on the Camino de Santiago. The group might meet at PSU as the Bridge Group does, or at various homes as the Book Group does, or at some other venue. Lunch meetings, afternoons, evenings—all are possibilities. Whether greater focus on travel would increase interest in scholarship-supporting trips is unknown, but such a group should be enjoyable in itself. What do you think? Would it fit in well with the overall programming of RAPS? Would it be interesting? Should we go ahead with planning this group? Please email Joan Shireman at joanshireman@gmail.com with your thoughts. RAPS SCHOLARSHIP DONATIONS between March 1 and August 31, 2018 were made by: Priscilla M. Blumel in memory of Professor Maxine Thomas. Bob Lockerby Diane Ness in honor of Ms. Lisa M. Ness Larry and Diane Sawyer Dawn White Raffle participants at the President’s Gathering of Retired Faculty and Staff 5 OCTOBER (Saturday, October 13) PSU Vikings play University of Northern Colorado Bears at Providence Park, 1844 SW Morrison St. Complimentary football tickets are still available through the RAPS office. Please call (503-725-3447) or email (rapsmail@pdx.edu) the RAPS office, leaving your name and contact information. NOVEMBER (Thursday, November 15) “What’s Happening in Afghanistan?” Grant Farr, professor emeritus of sociology and specialist on the Middle East, brings us up to date on the political situation in Afghanistan. 333 SMSU. DECEMBER (Thursday, December 6) Annual RAPS Holiday Brunch, held at Nordia House in southwest Portland. Upcoming fall term member events
RAPS members tour the Viking Pavillion and the newly renovated Peter W. Stott Center Lindsey Webster, director of external relations for PSU Athletics (third from left), points out state-of-the art features of the new 3,000-seat Viking Pavilion. The tour also included visits to classrooms, the OHSU Sports Medicine Center, and the Academic Center. The light-filled training facility was one of the highlights of the September 20 RAPS member tour. —Photographs by Larry Sawyer 6
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