The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State JANUARY 2019 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 David Bangsberg examines public health on January 17 DAVID BANGSBERG, FOUNDING DEAN of the OHSU-PSU School of Public Health, speaks to RAPS Thursday, January 17, on “Why Public Health Matters: Reflections on HIV to Homelessness.” Before joining the PSU faculty in 2016, Bangsberg was a professor at Harvard School of Medicine and School of Public Health as well as a visiting professor at Mbarara University of Science and Technology in Uganda and Vellore Institute of Technology in India. A native Oregonian, he earned a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from the University of Rochester, a master’s degree in history and philosophy of science from Kings College London, and a medical degree from Johns Hopkins. His early research and advocacy focused on mitigating the harms caused by poverty, mental illness, substance use, and HIV. Bangsberg completed his medical residency at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital in north Harlem caring for patients afflicted by urban poverty, violence, and HIV. Upon completing fellowships at UC San Francisco in infectious disease and AIDS prevention and a master’s degree in public health from UC Berkeley, he became the leading expert in HIV and homelessness. As former director of Massachusetts General Hospital Global Health, he brought together the expertise of Harvard and MIT to improve physical, mental, social, and economic health to the poorest regions of the world in several signature areas, including HIV care, disaster response, cancer care, and medical technology innovation. The January 17 meeting starts with a light lunch at noon in 333 SMSU. Dean Bangsberg starts speaking at 12:45 pm. — David Bangsberg, dean of the OHSUPSU School of Public Health, speaks at the January 17 member meeting in 333 Smith Memorial Student Union.
Co-President’s Message Wine drawings may return! 2 THOSE OF YOUwho have attended RAPS-sponsored monthly events know that over the past two years the “Vogie wine drawing” has been absent. Typically two or three donated bottles of wine were raffled off to members who had the option of purchasing an unlimited number of tickets. The raffle was a significant fundraiser for the RAPS scholarship, raising on average between $500 and $1,000 annually over the 10-plus years that RAPS conducted the associated with higher education), and second, RAPS was distributing alcohol without a license. Joan Shireman, RAPS’ current Scholarship Committee co-chair, has been in negotiation with the PSU Foundation Finance and Accounting Office, and together they have come up with the idea of offering door prizes. The door prize procedure entails offering every event attendant a free ticket. Each individual then has the option of making a donation. The RAPS Board will be reviewing and making a determination of whether and how to move forward with a RAPSdoor prize. Stay tuned! —Dave Krug — monthly raffle. About a year ago the PSU Foundation determined that our raffle was violating two state rules. First, a raffle of any sort is considered gaming (not allowed for any organization Upcoming member events FEBRUARY (Thursday, February 21) Melody Valdini, associate professor of political science, speaks on “The Decline of Democracy in Governments Across the World: A Temporary Shift or a New World Order?” MARCH (Thursday, March 21) Annual spring potluck and presentation by Christine Meadows, director of PSU’s Opera Program. Opera students will perform excerpts from the 2019 spring opera, Mozart’s La Finta Giardiniera (The Pretend Gardener). APRIL (Thursday, April 18) Annual ice cream social and presentation by Thomas B. Cox, chief governance officer at StrongBlock, who will speak on “BlockChain Changes How We Trust: What You Need to Know about Bitcoin and Other Cryptocurrencies.” RAPS GOES TO Eastern Canada! SEPTEMBER 3-10, 2019 Montreal Québec City Ottawa Rockport Toronto Niagara Falls 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! $3,199 per 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 Québec City and St. Lawrence River
Retirement Association of Portland State 2019 Outstanding Portland State Retiree Award 2019 Special Recognition Award ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Each spring at the President’s Luncheon RAPS gives an Outstanding Retiree Awardto one or more PSU retirees. Nominees need not be RAPS members. The awards are in recognition of outstanding accomplishments post retirement in two or more of the following areas: 1) service to the community, 2) service to the University, 3) professional or career achievements, 4) service to RAPS. A Special Recognitionaward may be given to a non-retiree who has aided the University and RAPS. This award has sometimes gone to current PSU employees but could be to anyone (PSU personnel or community member). We always give at least one outstanding RAPS member award but don’t always give a Special Recognition award. Any RAPS member may submit nominations. Please take a few minutes to think about your RAPS colleagues and others who are deserving of recognition, and make one or more nominations. Members of the current RAPS Board are ineligible for nomination. For your convenience, a nomination form is included on the reverse side of this page in this issue of the RAPS Sheet. It will also be available online at https://www.pdx.edu/raps/calendar-events. —Steve Brennan, Chair, Awards Committee Please send nominations by U.S. mail to RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207, or by email (you don’t have to use the form) to Ilana Tarasyuk, RAPS office manager, at rapsmail@pdx.edu. Deadline for receipt of nominations is Friday, March 29, 2019. Questions? Please contact Steve Brennan, chair of the Awards Committee, at the.steve.brennan@gmail.com or 503-646-6297. 3
2019 AWARD NOMINATION FORM Each spring at the President’s Luncheon RAPS gives an Outstanding Retiree Award to one or more PSU retirees. The awards are in recognition of outstanding accomplishments post retirement in two or more of these four areas: 1) service to the community, 2) service to the University, 3) professional or career achievements, and 4) service to RAPS. A Special Recognition award can go to anyone who has aided both RAPS and the University. Nominee____________________________________________________________________________ Nominee’s position(s) at PSU____________________________________________________________ Please outline in the space below the accomplishments of the person you are nominating. Attach an additional page if needed: Nominator___________________________________________________________________________ Contact information (phone and email)_____________________________________________________ Please send nominations by U.S. mail to RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207, or by email (you don’t have to use the form) to Ilana Tarasyuk, RAPS office manager, at rapsmail@pdx.edu. Deadline for receipt of nominations is Friday, March 29, 2019. Questions? Please contact Steve Brennan, chair of the Awards Committee, at the.steve.brennan@gmail.com or 503-646-6297. 4
RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE RAPS BOOK GROUP met on December 18 at the home of Joan Shireman and discussed The Atomic Weight of Love, a novel by Elizabeth J. Church. Set in Los Alamos in the 1940s and the subsequent decades, it is the story of a woman who subverts her career aspirations to those of her husband. Her husband, working on the atomic bomb project, cannot share any of his work with her. She, while trapped in the customs of her era, nevertheless creates a rich, independent life for herself. Our discussion was thoughtful, with many of us finding parallels between the heroine’s life and our mothers’ lives. We were interested in exploring how expectations and opportunities had expanded by the time we ourselves were developing careers. Our next meeting is on Tuesday, January 15, at 1:30 pm, at Nancy Chapman’s home. We will discuss Between the World and Me by Ta-Nehisi Coates. It is an acclaimed book, winner of many awards, and offers a framework for understanding the racial history of America and its current tensions. Nancy’s home is at 4214 NE Hazelfern Place, Portland. Call Nancy at 503-234-0162 or email her at chapmannj@ comcast.net to let her know whether you will be able to be there. In February we will read Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys, a story of refugees fleeing the advancing Soviet army in 1945, and of the sinking of the MV Wilhelm Gustloff in the Baltic Sea, a major maritime tragedy that is not well known. The book group meets at 1:30 pm on the third Tuesday of every month. New members are always welcome. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUPmembers are very friendly and are always looking for new players. We meet 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. In the current academic year we are meeting in 258 Smith Memorial Student Union, on the second floor. Please mark your calendars for the following winter meetings: January 8 (note second Tuesday due to the holiday), February 5, and March 5, all in 258 SMSU. I will send out the reminder email notice about one week prior to each date we play. 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 Group THE RAPS HIKING GROUP met on Monday, December 17, at the home of Larry and Diane Sawyer to share a potluck lunch and plan for the 2019 hikes. Our first hike of 2019 will explore part of the Tualatin River Greenway on January 22. We will meet at 9:30 am at the parking lot of Tualatin Public Library at 18878 SW Martinazzi Ave., Tualatin. The hike is an out-and-back, mostly along the Tualatin River Greenway, that will be roughly 3.5 miles in length along wide, paved trails and sidewalks. We will begin the hike with a visit to the library’s display of a mastodon skeleton and other artifacts discovered in nearby wetlands. Next we will hike on trails that follow the Tualatin River and feature interpretive signs that present information ranging from geological timelines to local participation in the development of plank roads, some of the first transportation projects in the Pacific Northwest. Upon our return, hikers can enjoy lunch at a local restaurant. For more information regarding the full Tualatin River Greenway trail please see the Oregon Hikers.org website: https://www.oregonhikers.org/field_guide/Tualatin_River_ Greenway_Loop_Hike If you plan to hike in January, please contact Larry Sawyer at 503-771-1616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. For more details about this hike or future hiking plans in 2019, please consult the RAPS hikers’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPSHikers —Larry Sawyer 5 —Photograph by Larry Sawyer RAPS members enjoy the annual Holiday Brunch at Nordia House on a sunny December day.
Past Tense—Remembering PSU’s first gym, the former Lincoln High basement WHEN RAPS MEMBERS TOURED the newly renovated Peter W. Stott Center last September, they were mightily impressed with the scope and quality of the $52-million project. The facility bears little resemblance to the Health and Physical Education Building constructed on that spot in the 1960s. The centerpiece of the renovation is the new Viking Pavilion, a 3,000-seat arena where the Vikings play basketball and volleyball and where graduation ceremonies, concerts, and other public events are held. It’s a far cry from the original gym Portland State acquired in 1952 when it moved into the former Lincoln High School on the corner of SW Broadway and Main. Known first as Old Main and now as Lincoln Hall, the building housed the entire operation of Portland State. Located in the southeast corner of the basement, the gym was dubbed “the Black Hole of Calcutta” because of its darkness, low ceiling, and lack of fresh air. The low ceiling was especially problematic for basketball games, giving new meaning to the term “low overhead.” An arcing long shot launched by a player was more likely than not to hit a light fixture. Charlie White, professor emeritus of history, recalls a game in the old gym in the early to mid-1950s that pitted faculty against students. (Remember, this was a time when the faculty were not much older than the students.) The game was a fundraiser for United Way. Rather than charging admission, the organizers simply stopped the game a couple of times to pass the hat for donations. Sharkey Nelson was one of the coaches for the faculty. Although Charlie played basketball in high school, he was too short to be a serious contender but he could run fast. Mindful of Charlie’s abilities, Sharkey advised him to slow the progress of the students as they ran down the court by grabbing the waistbands of their gym shorts from behind. Today the space in Lincoln Hall where the gym used to be is part of the Music Recital Hall for the School of the Arts. The late Gordon Solie, emeritus professor of music, wrote about that remarkable transformation in a Past Tense article appearing in the RAPS Sheet in May 2011. —Dawn White On left, original PSU gymnasium at Old Main from Portland State, a History in Pictures;on right, current PSU Viking Pavilion from the PSU Athletic Department website. —Photomontage by Dawn White Past Tense features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. 6
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