The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State APRIL 2020 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 Emily Caparelli Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: Monday, 10 am-5 pm Tuesday & Thursday, 11 am-1:30 pm Wednesday, 10 am-2 pm Friday, 1-5:30 pm Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents Steve Brennan David Krug Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Eileen Brennan Steven Brenner Nancy Eriksson RAPS Sheet Editor Doug Swanson Website Editor Larry Sawyer RAPS Representative to Regional & National Retirement Associations Larry Sawyer Committees Awards Steve Brennan, Chair History Preservation Eileen Brennan, Chair Membership/Program Dawn White, Chair Scholarships Joan Shireman, Chair Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair Coronavirus halts RAPS activities THE 40TH ANNUAL President’s Luncheon for Retired Faculty and Staff, scheduled for April 15, is canceled—as are all RAPS events and activities through spring and summer. The RAPS Board of Directors made the decision to cancel the President’s Luncheon when it met on March 12. On March 22, Co-Presidents Dave Krug and Steve Brennan announced the decision to cancel all other RAPS activities. “Based on current conditions and long-term projections from PSU President Percy, (Portland) Mayor Wheeler, and Governor Brown, we have made the decision to cancel all RAPS events and activities through this spring and summer,” Krug and Brennan wrote in an email. “This includes in-person board meetings, committee meetings, monthly events, and the summer picnic in August.” The President’s Luncheon features a keynote address from the Portland State president, as well as the presentation of awards for professional accomplishments during retirement as well as service to RAPS, the University, and the community. The summer picnic is RAPS’ kickoff event for the academic year. The co-presidents’ email acknowledged that if state and local governments, as well as Portland State, move to allow gatherings prior to September, “we can quickly regroup and plan as circumstances allow.” ATTENDANCE MIGHT have been down, but the Farmers Market at PSU was very much in business on March 21. Because such markets are part of the food distribution network, they are exempt from Governor Kate Brown’s March 23 executive order. To discourage people from congregating at farmers markets, chairs, tables, kids’ activities, and live music are out, and hand-washing stations and booths spaced farther apart are in. See related stories on page 4.
2 The RAPS Sheet April 2020 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Kudos to Emily for doing a vital job exceptionally well A YEARLY SPRING RITUAL for the RAPS Board involves going through the process of hiring a replacement office manager for the upcoming summer and academic year. The position is incredibly vital to the smooth operation of the RAPS organization. The office manager reports to the co-presidents, provides direct service to the RAPS Board of Directors, and responds to inquiries and requests from our membership. The office manager is also challenged with working in an isolated setting, with minimal supervision. So it has been very important that new hires are able to begin their tenure with developed skills in computer use, personal relations, and organizational and time management skills. Our past several hires have been able to be full-time students and have put in a 20-hour work week for RAPS. Our current office manager, Emily Caparelli, has more than fulfilled our expectations. Emily has taken the initiative on many projects, such as updating our phone directory, developing a Facebook presence for RAPS, and organizing RAPS files and archives to make the association run smoothly. It was a brave move for Emily to move to Portland and Portland State, as she knew no one who lived or had lived here. Because of her father’s employment Emily moved to several states as she was growing up, but she spent the majority of her adolescence in a small town in Illinois. At PSU Emily has majored in health sciences/pre-nursing and will graduate this June. She has taken on the monumental task of full-time student while also working three jobs, which has kept her extremely busy. During her time at PSU Emily has developed a close circle of friends, a love for hiking, and all the good food and tall trees that were lacking in the Midwest. Following graduation Emily plans to gain employ- ment in the healthcare sector and begin applying to nursing/nurse practitioner programs and hopes to have a career in dermatology. Emily’s time with RAPS has been very productive for our organization, and we wish her the very best in the years to come. —Dave Krug RAPS working to add presence on Facebook platform COMING SOON to a computer screen near you: RAPS’s very own Facebook page. In January the RAPS Board approved the creation of a Facebook page as a way to make information about RAPS available to a broader audience. Construction is underway. Facebook, the social media platform giant with more than 2.5 billion active users worldwide, was created in 2004 to “give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together,” according to its mission statement. The RAPS Facebook page will feature photos and posts that reflect the variety of activities RAPS members engage in: monthly meetings with guest speakers; RAPS club pursuits such as hiking, reading, and playing bridge; social events like potlucks and picnics, and RAPS-sponsored travel around the world, to name a few. Although these activities are currently on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they represent the ways that retired faculty and staff continue to connect with each other after their working days at the University have ended. Information on upcoming events will be easily accessible on the RAPS Facebook page, as well as highlights of recent past events. Also planned are posts that reflect PSU’s growth, from its humble beginnings in 1946 as Vanport Extension Center to its position today as the largest public university in Oregon. Once the RAPS Facebook page is “live,” posts will automatically show up in the feeds of RAPS members who are active Facebook users. Those who are not Facebook users will still be able to access the RAPS Facebook page. And for those who do not use computers or do not wish to look at Facebook at all, two reliable sources of information about RAPS activities and events remain: the RAPS Sheet, published 10 times a year and available in print and online, and the RAPS website: https://www.pdx.edu/raps.
3 The RAPS Sheet April 2020 RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE BOOK GROUP did not meet this month, one of many cancellations. We hope to meet next month, on April 21, at the home of Nancy Chapman, 4214 NE Hazelfern Place, Portland. If we cannot meet in person, we are going to try a telephone discussion. We will talk about Educated: A Memoir, by Tara Westover, the story of a young woman who was, as a child, kept isolated from the world in a survivalist family. The decision to move away from that world, the difficulties encountered in entering the wider world, and the conflict evoked by leaving family are the subject of the memoir. The book has received considerable notice and we are looking forward to discussing it. In May we are planning to discuss Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind, by Yuval Noah Harari, either at the home of Brian Lewis or by telephone, depending. The group also wants to note with regret the passing of Mary Brannan on March 18. She was active in the Book Group for many years, keeping records and keeping us organized. She dropped out of the group a few years ago due to illness and we have missed her greatly. We are also going to miss Leif Terdal, an active member of the group who died suddenly on March 8. Leif told wonderful stories and recommended some excellent books. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE BRIDGE GROUP, in normal times, meets in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. We begin play at 12:15 p.m. and try to finish by 4 p.m. We meet in Smith Memorial Student Union. We have had some new and returning members join us for our last few meetings. Please feel free to be another one of our new members for bridge (we really would welcome more new members). Our next scheduled meeting was planned for the afternoon of Tuesday, April 7, in SMSU. We will not be playing that day. April Bridge is canceled due to social distancing in light of coronavirus caution. Look for further information in the next RAPS Sheet. If you wish to join us for post-virus bridge, please contact Steve Brennan, 503-646-6297. My email address is: the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. —Steve Brennan Hiking Group IN LIGHT OF THE coronavirus pandemic and Governor Brown’s executive order of March 23, all RAPS hikes are canceled. Hikers are advised to check the hikers’ page on the RAPS website to get the latest updates: https://www.pdx.edu/raps/RAPS-Hikers. In memoriam: James L. Breedlove, 1931-2020 JAMES L. BREEDLOVE, who served Portland State University for nearly 30 years as a professor of social work, died February 22 at age 89. Professor Breedlove was born in Kansas City, Missouri, on February 17, 1931, to Inez Donaldson and Jack Breedlove. He attended Park University, Parkville, Missouri, before graduating with a bachelor’s degree from Central Missouri State College in 1951. In 1954 he received a Master of Social Work from the University of Kansas, and in 1962 completed a Doctorate of Social Work at Case Western Reserve University. Professor Breedlove married Marian Cronheim in 1963. In 1964 he joined the Portland State social work faculty, from which he retired in 1992. He was also in private practice for many years. An avid reader and book collector, Professor Breedlove’s interests included 19th century fiction, philosophy, gardening, and art. He also developed multifamily and commercial real estate in the Portland area, and during his retirement he enjoyed time with his grandchildren and Scottish Terrier. Professor Breedlove was preceded in death by his wife, Marian, and brother, Jack. He is survived by his sons, Jeremy (Linda) and Jonathan; two grandchildren, Elena and Josh; and his extended family. An informal service was held March 13 at Beth Israel Cemetery. Remembrances may be made to the Nature Conservancy. Obituaries for Mary Gordon-Brannan, Harold Sims, and Leif Terdal will appear in the May RAPS Sheet. PSU Archives Digital Gallery 1964
4 The RAPS Sheet April 2020 ‘Remote instruction’ central to PSU pandemic plans PORTLAND STATE WILL LOOK much different spring term as the coronavirus pandemic rages. RAPS members will forego general meetings, hikes, book club meetings, and bridge (see story on page 1). Students and faculty will be engaged in “remote instruction”—just as universities throughout the country will as the pandemic bears down. And most campus and student support offices are going to “remote delivery.” Stephen Percy, Portland State’s interim president, has sent nearly 20 online messages and videos related to the pandemic—and PSU’s response—to faculty and students since January 29. At press time, the most recent was dated March 20 (read it here: https://www.pdx.edu/coronavirus-response). While acknowledging that “things will not be perfect in the spring term,” Percy wrote that deans, department chairs, and faculty were working to smooth out the shift to remote THE CORONAVIRUS pandemic has thrown the lives— academic and personal—of 21,000 Portland State students into disarray. Suddenly, spring courses will be taught remotely. Some of the support offices that students depend on will move to “remote delivery.” And the campus itself, usually hectic, even frantic, will go quiet. Chalk it up to the costs of fighting a pandemic. One of those PSU students is Emily Caparelli, who manages the RAPS office in the Campus Public Safety building on SW Montgomery Street. “It is what it is,” says Emily. “I’m not too upset about it.” Still, there’s a certain unease. Emily is a senior, scheduled to graduate in June. She’s considering seeking a graduate degree in health sciences. “Online (courses) raise the question about whether they will be accepted by grad schools,” Emily explains. “A lot of grad schools don’t accept online courses—they have to be in-person science classes.” Then there’s everyday life—it’s changed. Emily walked learning, an effort that he described as “unprecedented, demanding, and just plain hard.” In a March 18 message (read it here: https://www.pdx.edu/news/psu-moves-spring-term-allremote-learning), Percy informed students of the move to remote learning for spring term, describing it as a “strategy of moving content designed for face-to-face teaching to digital format.” He said that no extra fees would be charged for remote courses, except for courses that were originally designed to be taught online. Percy also pointed out that Portland State has an Incident Management Team that is trained in planning and response to potential health or safety threats. The team “is leading our efforts to coordinate preparedness, response, communications, and contingencies” in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Emily Caparelli across campus a few days ago and, she says, “I saw about four people.” A Portland State ID is required to get into campus buildings, except for the library. And she’s staying at home a lot. She can work from home “pretty easily,” but she hasn’t been seeing many friends. “I’m being extra cautious,” she explains. Emily’s RAPS job is secure until the end of the academic year, but a second job, at OHSU, is temporarily on hold. “I’m going to wait and see,” she said, adding that her sister’s job at Portland State has been canceled. “A majority of people I know are concerned about the future,” Emily says. “My plan was to get a job after graduation, but with everything that’s going on, that’s up in the air. It’s scary—there are a lot of unanswered questions right now.” Emily’s taking 18 credits spring term, the most she’s ever taken. “Yes, I think I will graduate, and I think the online format will be OK. But I don’t know if it will be an in-person graduation.” According to the Portland State website, the 2020 commencement ceremonies are still on—at least for now. For RAPS manager, pandemic creates ‘unanswered questions’
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