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 In office: 10 am-2 pm Wed-Fri Remotely: 10 am-2 pm Mon & Tue 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 APRIL 2022 ALTHOUGH THE President’s Annual Luncheon for Faculty and Staff has been canceled for the third consecutive year, RAPS members will still get a face-to-face—via videoconferencing—with President Steve Percy on Tuesday, April 26. Hearing from the president while dining with friends and colleagues has always made the President’s Annual Luncheon the best attended event of the RAPS programming year. Despite coronavirus infection rates slowing in recent weeks, health and safety concerns and logistical obstacles continue to interrupt indoor gatherings, forcing the cancelation of the luncheon. While we won’t be dining together on April 26, we will still hear from the president in the comfort of our own homes via the videoconferencing platform Zoom. The meeting will begin at noon, with Percy bringing RAPSters up to date on the University’s achievements and challenges as well as responding to questions. Percy has worked extensively with diverse, urban-serving universities, including the University of WisconsinMilwaukee and the University of Baltimore, where he was founding dean of the College of Public Affairs. He joined PSU in 2014 as dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs and professor of political science. He was named Portland State’s 10th president in May 2020 after being appointed interim president in July 2019. Now in his fourth decade as an educator and leader, PSU’s president has dedicated his career to fostering vibrant connections between universities and the communities they serve. An expert in public policy, administrative ethics, and urban politics, Percy is known for his ability to advance civic engagement and create innovative solutions by linking the skills and capacity of universities to the knowledge and energy of communities. RAPS will provide the link to the meeting several days in advance of the event. President Percy briefs RAPS on April 26 President Steve Percy will meet with RAPS via Zoom on Tuesday, April 26.
2 THE RAPS SHEET APRIL 2022 CO-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE Mask mandate is over, but keep your guard up ALTHOUGH I AM OUT OF TOWN as I write this column, I understand that Oregon has lifted the mask mandate. As a senior citizen this troubles me. While those who are younger might see this as an opportunity to get back to normal, I hope you employ wisdom and realize that we, as seniors, are more vulnerable and still need to take precautions such as masking in public places and socially distancing when possible. On Thursday, March 17, RAPS was honored to have Harry Baechtel and select students from the PSU Opera Program talk about their upcoming performance. As you probably know, the PSU Opera Program is nationally recognized and has a 50-year tradition of teaching students all phases of opera, from sets to performing with a live orchestra. We met in person, but we were masked and we refrained from our traditional March potluck lunch for the safety of our members. Our usual president’s luncheon in April has been canceled, but President Stephen Percy has agreed to address us via Zoom. The program will take place on April 26 at noon. You will receive a Zoom link by email shortly before the date. President Percy received his Ph.D. in political science at Indiana University. He had held several positions at other universities before coming to Portland State as dean of the College of Urban and Public Affairs. He is a champion of fostering strong connections between universities and their larger communities. Our president is an expert in public policy, administrative ethics, and urban politics. As many of you know, he is best known for his innovative solutions and collaborative partnerships within PSU and between the University and the community at large. The April 26 program will focus on updating us about developments on campus and providing us with important news and future plans of the University. This is a program you will not want to miss. In the meantime, please stay safe. If you have any ideas for future RAPS programs or activities, feel free to contact me at bruce@thesternfamily.net. —Bruce Stern RAPS Group Reports Book Group THE RAPS BOOK GROUP met remotely on March 15 to discuss The Sentence by Louise Erdrich. She is a Native American writer and the group has read and enjoyed her other books. Reactions to this book were mixed. Some found it difficult to follow and were uncertain about the author’s intent. On the other hand, some thought it a wonderful book, full of wisdom. It is a ghost story, humorous in places, but we couldn’t even agree on the message of the ghost. This book was published in 2021, and the COVID epidemic is part of the plot; we wondered if part of our confusion was because of the contemporary setting. In April we are going to read Judy Batalion’s The Light of Days. It is, as described on the cover, “an unforgettable true tale of exceptional bravery, female friendship. and survival in the face of staggering odds.” It is the story of Jewish women in Poland who enter the fight against the Nazi occupation. A meticulously researched history, it will, we expect, be a contrast to the enigmatic March book. The Book Group meets at 1:30 p.m. on the third Tuesday of each month. Traditionally we have met in members’ homes; currently we are meeting via Zoom. Any RAPS member is welcome to join the group. —Joan Shireman Hiking Group THE APRIL 26 HIKE will be at Lacamas Lake, also in Washington, where (hopefully) the camas will still be in bloom. There are some six miles of hikes at Lacamas Park. On March 22, the hikers tackled the 3.1-mile Columbia River Trail in Captain William Clark Park in Washington, just east of Washougal. The RAPS hikers hike on the fourth Tuesday of the month. Detailed information on the hike is emailed the week before. If you are not on the hikers’ email list, please contact Tom Dieterich at tgdieterich@earthlink.net to be put on the list. —Tom Dieterich
AS REPORTED in the March RAPS Sheet, the generosity of an anonymous donor and of RAPS members has enabled RAPS to accomplish a long-held dream, the establishment of an endowed scholarship. We are transferring $50,000 to the PSU Foundation to establish a quasi- endowed scholarship to be named the RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship. The process is complex, and several RAPS members have had questions. Answers to some frequently asked questions may help clarify the change. —Joan Shireman Chair, Scholarship Committee QUESTION: What is meant by a “quasi-endowed” scholarship? I understand an endowed scholarship, but not quasiendowed. ANSWER: Endowments establish restricted funds to create investment income for a specific purpose, often specified by the donor. By contrast, quasi-endowments are funds earmarked by a board—rather than by a donor—and are restricted funds from which income is available for a specific purpose, in this instance scholarships. The board retains some control over these funds. QUESTION: Why was it named the RAPS Robert Vogelsang Scholarship? ANSWER: Robert Vogelsang was a professor emeritus of communication and a member of RAPS. When he returned from a regional meeting of retirement associations with the information that most other associations raised money for a scholarship, he was adamant that we needed one. His vision and energy led to the establishment of the scholarship. 3 THE RAPS SHEET APRIL 2022 QUESTION: Is $50,000 the minimum amount required by the Foundation to establish an endowed scholarship? ANSWER: Yes QUESTION: Why is RAPS doing this? ANSWER: The main reason is that the quasi-endowed account will be managed with the PSU Foundation’s investments. Earnings will, over the years, supplement the scholarship and make it more generous. Also, there is some visibility gained by an organization with a generous endowed scholarship. And there is continuity over the years in an endowed scholarship. QUESTION: There is currently $86,000 in the Scholarship account. If $50,000 is transferred to the Foundation, what happens to the remainder? ANSWER: RAPS will fund scholarships from the existing balance of $36,000. And that fund will grow through continued support from membership and the Collette trips. QUESTION: Why was the scholarship amount raised from $4,500 to $9,000? Doesn’t that make it harder to raise enough for the scholarship each year? ANSWER: Yes, but RAPS members are generous. The Scholarship Committee looked at the current estimated cost of education at PSU and decided that we would like our scholarship to be of more help. Many of our scholarship recipients are the first in their families to seek education beyond high school. Their families can provide little financial help. And it is difficult to combine university studies with multiple jobs. A generous scholarship can be the difference between continuing in a program and abandoning the endeavor. Q&A: Important changes to the RAPS Scholarship explained Joan Shireman Upcoming RAPS events MAY Thursday, May 19 “Supported Conversation for Aphasia,” a presentation by Susan Ginley, clinical professor in Speech and Hearing Sciences, on a communication method to encourage conversation when working with someone, such as a stroke victim, who has lost the ability to communicate. AUGUST Thursday, August 18 Mark your calendars for the August picnic! Details will be announced in the summer issue of The RAPS Sheet. SOPRANO TAYLOR HULETT, accompanied by Chuck Dillard, opera program music director, sings an aria from Merry Wives of Windsor at the March 17 RAPS meeting. The PSU Opera Program will stage four performances of the opera at Lincoln Performance Hall between April 22 and May 1. Pat Squire photo
4 THE RAPS SHEET APRIL 2022 Autumn in Vermont & Spotlights of Boston TWO RAPS TRIP IN FALL OF 2022 TO BENEFIT THE RAPS SCHOLARSHIP If New England fall colors and Boston history and culture sound appealing, the Scholarship Committee has some suggestions for you. “Autumn in Vermont” and “Spotlights of Boston” are scheduled for next October and are led by Collette, and part of your fare will benefit the RAPS Scholarship. “Spotlights of Boston” begins October 6 and concludes October 11, 2022. “Autumn in Vermont” runs from October 14 to October 20, 2022. Both trips begin and end in Boston and are three days apart. You have the option of enrolling in either one or both with a three-day layover in Boston. We have customized flyers and web pages for both. The Boston trip highlights both historical and modern Boston. The Vermont trip focuses on the autumn colors, but you’ll also see historical sites such as Fort Ticonderoga and Lake Champlain. Custom websites are: Boston: https://gateway.gocollette.com/link/1088346 Vermont: https://gateway.gocollette.com/link/1088348 PDF flyers: https://1drv.ms/u/s!Asvnw2QV39fanF_zQ2yfRQPzrYA-?e=W1YSQU To learn more, please contact larry_sawyer@comcast.net or joanshireman@gmail.com. Weeks Bridge over the Charles River
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