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 Eben Yemoh Telephone: 503-725-3447 Email: rapsmail@pdx.edu Office hours: TBA Campus mail: RAPS Web: www.pdx.edu/raps Board Members Co-Presidents Pat Squire Bruce Stern Secretary Brian Lewis Treasurer Ansel Johnson Members-at-Large Nancy Eriksson Cheryl Livneh Michael Taylor 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 Pati Sluys, Chair Program Dawn White, Chair Scholarship Joan Shireman, Chair Social Nancy Eriksson, Chair The RAPS Sheet The newsletter of the Retirement Association of Portland State SEPTEMBER 2021 Fariborz Maseeh Hall— the former Neuberger Hall—is the home of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. RAPS members will tour the museum on September 16. First RAPS event of year September 16 at PSU’s Schnitzer Museum of Art RAPS KICKS OFF the 2021-22 programming year with a guided tour on Thursday, September 16, of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art (JSMA). RAPS members will be among the first visitors to see a new installation featuring the work of FrenchAmerican artist Louise Bourgeois (1911-2010). Although best known for her largescale sculpture and installation art, Bourgeois was also a prolific writer, painter, and printmaker. Titled Louise Bourgeois: What is the Shape of This Problem, the exhibition presents 119 works with a focus on prints, textiles, and a series of eight holograms, ranging in date from the 1940s to the early 2000s. The museum is located on the ground floor of Fariborz Maseeh Hall (formerly Neuberger Hall), 1855 SW Broadway. Please plan to arrive at the main entrance to the museum a few minutes before 1 p.m. We will be greeted by Maryanna Ramirez, director of JSMA. The tour for RAPS members will be led by Anna Kienberger, student museum assistant. Please note the new date of September 16. The tour was originally scheduled for Friday, September 10, but the museum is currently closed on Fridays.
2 The RAPS Sheet September 2021 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Staying connected, getting together WHAT A JOY IT WAS to see so many of you in person at the August 19 picnic at Willamette Park! There were times when we didn’t think this event would come off, but careful planning and consideration made it very successful. We did wear masks while socializing, but of course took them off to enjoy a wonderful variety of healthful and delicious foods brought by members. We owe a special thanks to Nancy Eriksson for organizing the event, providing the accoutrements necessary for a great picnic, and giving us all a friendly greeting. This is what our organization is all about. Staying connected, getting together, sharing interests and stories, learning from fellow members and others through monthly presentations, and supporting one another and Portland State. I feel RAPS truly enriches my life after retirement. We have some upcoming events that should be of interest to many of us. In early September the RAPS Board meets on campus at the Simon Benson House for the first time in a year and a half. RAPS members have an interesting tour of the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art on Thursday, September 16, at 1 p.m. Look for additional details on page 1. Our new office manager, Eben Yemoh, will be in the office starting in September; office hours to be announced. I hope many of you will get to meet him in person. He’s already doing an outstanding job and is very proactive during this time of virtual meetings. With the delta variant surging, we are awaiting new details about the opening of the campus. Stay tuned and we’ll update you as we hear more. Hope to see you soon! —Pat Squire RAPS Summer picnic returns ABOUT 20 RAPS picnic partiers converged on Willamette Park on August 19 to enjoy food, drink, and conversation. All were equipped with masks and used them—except when eating salmon, pulled pork, salads, and a variety of sinful desserts. I feel RAPS truly enriches my life after retirement.
3 The RAPS Sheet September 2021 RAPS Group Reports Book Group IN AUGUST THE BOOK GROUP met via Zoom and discussed Hamnet by Maggie O’Farrell, a masterfully crafted book that was well liked by everyone in the group. The novel recreates the family that Shakespeare left in Stratford when he went to London to write and produce plays. The principal character is Agnes, or Ann, Shakespeare’s wife. The author portrays the marriage as rich and happy, the move to London as driven by extended family tensions and economic needs, and Shakespeare as continuing to be involved in the family. Hamnet, or Hamlet, is a child who is known to have died. There is a mystical dimension to the book: Hamnet’s twin tries to prevent his death by substituting herself; his father later as the ghost in the play Hamlet again makes the attempt. The scenario provoked discussion about the role of the historical novelist, how much should be based on fact, and the degree to which the novelist’s imagination was allowed to roam. This was a beautifully written book, and several members spoke of an intent to read other books by the author. In September we will read The World That We Knew by Alice Hoffman, a novel of the Second World War. In October we will return to nonfiction with Walter Isaacson’s The Code Breaker. The Book Group meets the third Tuesday of each month, traditionally in the homes of various members. Currently we are using Zoom for our meetings. Any RAPS member is welcome to join the group. —Joan Shireman Bridge Group THE RAPS BRIDGE GROUP (pre-pandemic shut down) used to meet in the afternoon on the first Tuesday of each month. Play began at 12:15 p.m. and finished up by 4 p.m. We met in Smith Center. We had a set of about 10 regular players. Most months we had two tables, but some months we could only get enough players for one table. Given the sharp rise in COVID-19 cases in Oregon, we do not plan on starting up bridge sessions until October at the earliest. We need additional players; do you want to join us? I would like to hear from any interested RAPS members, or others you know who might want to play in our group. The RAPS Bridge Group does not require RAPS membership; your friends and relatives would be welcome to join us. Please contact Steve Brennan, 503-889-0146. My email address is: the.steve.brennan@gmail.com. —Steve Brennan MICHAEL R. GAINES, a longtime professor of accounting at Portland State, died August 5. He was 86 years old. Professor Gaines was born December 24, 1934, in Hollywood, California, to Arthur Myers Gaines and Lois O’Hearne Gaines. He spent his childhood in Los Angeles. After the death of his mother, his father married Hannah Deutschman Morris, and Professor Gaines became the youngest of a blended family of six boys. At Texas A&M University, Professor Gaines was a member of the Corps of Cadets and, upon graduation in 1957, joined the U.S. Army Reserve. He earned an MBA at the University of Denver in 1961 and became a Certified Public Accountant. He joined the Portland State accounting faculty in 1965, and in 1969 he completed a Ph.D. at the University of Washington. It was at UW that Professor Gaines met Barbara Conway, a graduate student in the nursing school. They were married for 55 years. Professor Gaines was active in the local community, In memoriam: Michael R. Gaines, 1934-2021 serving on the boards of Oregon Episcopal School, Pacific Crest Outward Bound School, and the homeowners’ association for the family cabin on Swift Lake. An Eagle Scout by age 14, he was also an outdoors enthusiast, climbing the Matterhorn on a summer break trip during his years at the University of Washington. His daughter, Cindy, was his favorite outdoor partner, sailing the Caribbean, cruising the American and Canadian San Juans, backpacking throughout the Pacific Northwest, and riding dirt bikes and driving a car in the Gifford Pinchot National Forest. The family also traveled on several continents and drove a motor home in Mexico and the United States. Professor Gaines is survived by his wife, Barbara; daughter, Cindy; and a large extended family. His five brothers preceded him in death. A celebration of Professor Gaines’s life will be held as soon as COVID-19 precautions permit. Remembrances may be made to the PSU Foundation for scholarships for students in the School of Business. An online guest book is available at www.oregonlive.com/obits. 1990 PSU Archives Digital Gallery
4 The RAPS Sheet September 2021 In memoriam: Robert Everhart, 1940-2021 ROBERT B. EVERHART, who served Portland State as dean of the College of Education from 1986 to 1998, died July 10 of complications from dementia. He was 80 years old. Dean Everhart was born in Pittsburgh and grew up near Gibsonia, Pennsylvania. During summers he worked on his grandfather’s farm and later worked on the Pennsylvania Railroad to make money for college. After graduating with a bachelor’s degree from the College of Wooster, Wooster, Ohio, in 1962, Dean Everhart was accepted into Navy Officer Candidate School. He graduated as an ensign and was deployed to Vietnam on the aircraft carrier USS Ranger. After four years in the Navy, he moved to Eugene to begin work on his master’s and doctoral degrees at the University of Oregon, financing his studies with the G.I. Bill and by teaching middle school. He received his Ph.D. in 1972 and moved to Puyallup, Washington, to begin work for the Northwest Educational Research Lab and the University of Washington. He then joined the faculty at the University of California, Santa Barbara, as an assistant professor. Dean Everhart remained at Santa Barbara for 10 years, earning promotion to full professor. In 1985 he became dean of the College of Education at Portland State, serving for 12 years before his retirement in 1998 and becoming the longest-serving dean in the college’s history. In a remembrance published on the Portland State website, Dean Everhart was credited with leading the creation of the Portland Teachers Program (PTP), which helped address the need for more primary teachers of color. A collaborative effort that was launched in 1989 after a two-year planning process, the PTP included Portland State, Portland Community College, Portland Public Schools, and the Beaverton School District. Mary Kinnick, professor emerita of education and assistant dean from 1986 to 1989, called Dean Everhart “the guiding light behind the establishment of the PTP. He felt strongly that it is essential for teachers to reflect the racial diversity of their students.” Cheryl Livneh, professor emerita and an associate dean of the College of Education and the Division of Continuing Education, recalled that “Bob drove the development of the School of Education’s own continuing education programs. We ultimately offered programs around the state. This not only generated thousands of student credit hours, which generated funding for the school, it also expanded our connections and influence throughout Oregon.” Dean Everhart was also instrumental in expanding the college’s focus on research, attracting outstanding faculty, and creating a program that made small grants to support faculty research, accomplishments recognized by his faculty colleagues. Rick Hardt, professor emeritus, remembered Dean Everhart as a “great administrator/member-of-theteam type, always positive and supportive.” Another professor emeritus, William Greenfield, described Dean Everhart as a “classic scholar-administrator, recognized nationally by his peers.” In another remembrance, written by Professor Emeritus Thomas Chenoweth and published on the College of Education’s website, Dean Everhart was praised as “an exemplary professor and an even better person. His accomplishments in the fields of scholarship, teaching, and community service were exceptional.” Professor Chenoweth described Reading, Writing and Resistance: Adolescence and Labor in a Junior High School, Dean Everhart’s 1983 ethnography of student life in an American junior high, as “one of the richest and most insightful descriptions of junior high school life ever written.” Dean Everhart enjoyed the outdoors with his wife, Shelley. The couple met in Santa Barbara and married in 1987. They joined the Mazamas, climbed several peaks in the Pacific Northwest, and participated in numerous backpacking trips. They also ran the Hood to Coast, many 10Ks, biked Cycle Oregon, skied with the Cascade Prime Timers, kayaked in the Sea of Cortez, cycled in Europe, and traveled extensively. Dean Everhart is survived by his wife, Shelley, of Portland; daughters Ina Everhart, Nyssa Everhart, and Toby Everhart; three grandchildren, Lea, Gavin, and Willow; and sisters Martha Fahlberg and Mimi Simmons. A memorial service will be held at a later date at St. Luke Lutheran Church. A celebration of life will be held at Portland State. Remembrances may be sent to College of Education Pathways for Diverse Educators (Fund 8300120), PSU Foundation, PO Box 243, Portland, OR 97207 or to the Alzheimer’s Association at alz.org/give. Online condolences may be sent to: https://crowncremationburial.com/tribute/details/19535/RobertEverhart/obituary A guest book is available at www.oregonlive.com/obits. PSU Archives Digital Gallery 1986
5 The RAPS Sheet September 2021 Upcoming RAPS events OCTOBER Thursday, October 21 “Inside ‘The Cube’: PSU’s Idea Lab for Innovation and Entrepreneurship,” presentation by Juan Barraza, director of Student Innovation, PSU Center for Entrepreneurship (PSUCE), and two students in the program speaking on the center’s activities and how the students brought their ideas to fruition. Room 333 SMSU. NOVEMBER Thursday, November 18 “Acting on Equity and Racial Justice,” presentation by President Steve Percy and Ame Lambert, vice president for Global Diversity and Inclusion, on the University’s efforts to combat racism and advance social justice across campus. Room TBA. DECEMBER Thursday, December 9 Annual Holiday Party, Augustana Lutheran Church, NE Portland. Thanks to your gifts in 2020-21, the RAPS Scholarship is ‘in business’! RAPS Scholarship Donation Form N a m e __________________________________________________________________________ A d d r e s s ______________________________________________________________________ C i t y __________________________________________________________________________ State ________ Zip __________________________________ P h o n e __________________________________________________________________________ Email __________________________________________ Donation amount: q $500 q $250 q $100 q $50 Other: ____ Donation made in memory of: ______________________________________ Donation made in honor of: ______________________________________ Make checks payable to: PSU Foundation and noted for RAPS Scholarship Please mail to: RAPS, Portland State University, PO Box 751, Portland, OR 97207-0751 To use a credit card, go to the PSU Foundation website: https://www.psuf.org Since 2011 RAPS has awarded a scholarship every year to a student whose interest is focused on an aspect of gerontology. Some recipients have focused on health care, others on the economic and social challenges of old age. Four years ago, noting rising tuition and costs of books, the scholarship amount was raised to $4,500. And always we have been successful in funding the scholarship. The academic year of 2020-21 was different. Because we met only remotely, the fundraising that was dependent on in-person events could not happen. No Christmas bake sale, no solicitation for gifts at meetings. And no income from RAPS members participating in Colette tours. We were limited to appeals in the RAPS Sheet. And we should be very proud of ourselves. Twenty-three donors gave $7,736 to the Scholarship Fund in the past academic year— enough to fund this year’s scholarship! Recent appeals have asked you to help us “stay in business.” And you did! Thank you! —Joan Shireman
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