AEF Annual Meeting May 7, 2008

Agenda for the May 7, 2008 AEF Annual Meeting

ASSOCIATION of EMERITUS FACULTY
Annual Meeting
10:00 a.m., Monday, May 7, 2008
Levitt Center

Agenda

• Call to Order: Carl Orgren, Emeritus Faculty Council President

• Opening Remarks: Welcome Jordan Cohen, Vice President – College of Law

• Action on the Minutes of the Seventh Annual Meeting of June 18, 2007

• Introduction of the Council Members Carl Orgren, President

• Report of the Election Committee: Elections Committee

• Report on the Emeritus Faculty Council 2007—2008 Carl Orgren, President

• Questions or Comments from the Membership

• Memorial Moment, in honor of colleagues who died during the year

• Passing of the Gavel

• Speaker: University of Iowa President Sally Mason

• Adjourn

• Lunch and Fellowship Hour


 

MINUTES OF THE NINTH ANNUAL MEETING

(To be approved June, 2009)

Association of Emeritus Faculty
10:00 a.m., Monday, May 7, 2008
Levitt

Carl Orgren, President of the Emeritus Faculty Counsel introduced Jordan Cohen, Interim Vice President of research. Vice President Cohen welcomed the emeritus faculty to the meeting, and noted that the campus, faculty, regents, and everyone seemed to be calming down now and making progress.

Introduction of council members: Carl Orgren introduced the members of the Emeritus Faculty Council in attendance.

Report of the election committee: H.D. Hoover introduced the new members of the Emeritus Faculty Council.

Report of the Emeritus Faculty Council of 2007-2008: President Carl Orgren indicated that meetings of the faculty council are open and all emeritus faculty are welcome. He noted that there are a number of good speakers throughout the year, and that summaries of the speakers’ presentations can be found in the faculty council minutes of the monthly meeting.

Phil Cummins made a short presentation regarding the Triangle Club and its monthly meeting. They are soliciting new members.

Orgren described the committees of the Emeritus Council and some of the items discussed:

a. From the faculty senate; the new faculty research track, smoking and alcohol policies of the university and arming of the campus police.

b. From the finance/insurance committee; numerous changes in the benefits program, none of which had direct relevance to retirees.

Tom Conway described the activities of the senior college of last year in which many emeritus faculty participate, both as lecturers and attendees. Conway outlined some of the new programs for the coming year. He further noted that attendance continues to increase, so they are now approximately 500 participants per year. The hope is that this activity will ultimately evolve into a faculty club building.

Carl Orgren discussed the upcoming 2009 meeting of the Big Ten Retirees Association in Iowa City. Sarah Wolfson is the organizer of the meeting. The emphasis will be on academics.
George Lance was recognized as being responsible for the emeritus faculty survey and the redo of the retirees handbook.

Carl Orgren noted that 2/3’s of the respondents of the faculty survey participate in activities with the university. And many also are involved in community activities. A total of 12 FTE positions are filled by the activities of the emeritus faculty.

A moment of silence was held for deceased emeritus faculty members.
A list of these members is part of the agenda of the meeting.

Audience comments: Jim Spratt wants to familiarize the current board of regents with a booklet written by Howard Bowen when president of the university. It was known as the “green book”. It was suggested that anyone with this document please contact Jim Spratt.

Passing of the Gavel: Carl Orgren passed the gavel to Pat Kelley as the incoming president of the Emeritus Faculty Council. Kelley reinforced the idea that emeritus faculty are welcome to attend the council meetings.

Questions from the audience: Question was asked regarding adding or subtracting emeritus faculty from the listserve. Carl Orgren noted the difficulties of editing such information in a purely volunteer organization, that is without any additional support. A member noted that a deceased faculty member, Michael Balch needed to be on the list of emeritus faculty who died this last year. Pat Kelley asked the group for ideas or people for speakers at the meeting. Hope Solomon noted that emeritus faculty are not eligible for discounts on software purchases from the university.

Speaker: Bill Hausler introduced our speaker President Sally Mason to give the “University of Iowa Annual Report #1”.

President Mason said that one of her first priorities was “lots of listening” as to how the university works, and for hopes and dreams for the future. She noted a number of issues had been “saved” for the incoming president. So her learning curve had to be steep so that decisions could be made. The shared government system here at the university made such decisions easier.

Examples included the campus wide smoking ban, comprehensive safety/security plan, research track faculty policy, a ten year self survey (preparing for a North Central Association accrediting visit) with resulting ten year accreditation. She further discussed athletic challenges, commenting on our national championship in wrestling and three UI coaches earning big ten coaches of the year. She mentioned some of the individual student athletes.

President Mason participates in a number of outreach events throughout the state and even nationally, allowing her and members of the UI foundation to meet with alumni, friends, legislators, and lobbyist. She was impressed to find that the support for education in Iowa is greater than that in other states where she has had experience, and that there is a favorable atmosphere for donations. Our strategic plan in place, The Iowa Promise, is being adhered to. She and other planners are working with the Board of Regents to develop a subsequent strategic plan.

Some accomplishments and aims for the future included increasing access to the university for students by lowering financial burdens while maintaining quality, a need to raise the salary of faculty as a quality measure (noting an average 7% increase last year). She mentioned that the faculty has shrunk by about one hundred over the last few years, and this hopefully will be remedied soon.

Some facilities coming online in the last year include the Iowa Institute for Medical Discovery, the college of Public Health building, the campus recreation/wellness center, and a new boat house. There is a plan for healthcare needs at the university hospital complex. The Carver Hawkeye Arena facelift, and improvements in the Dental Sciences building are underway.

President Mason hopes for many more accomplishments in the future, particularly related to leadership activities such as our new provosts, as well as vice presidents for research, dean of the college of public health, the hospital ceo, and the dean of the college of medicine.

Finally, President Mason noted the sustainability issue regarding the university. Some new items here include creating a sustainability office, a focus on bio- renewable resources, and adding five new faculty positions in the sustainability area.

Questions from the audience included: Jim Spratt noting the research information regarding the flat budget of the NIH, Phil Cummins advocating a faculty club and Carl Orgren asking about diversity issues.

The meeting was adjourned at approximately 11:10 a.m., to be followed by lunch and fellowship hour.

Respectfully submitted,
Tony Franken, Secretary