Minutes of Board Meetings

November 3, 2009
Steinhart Room, Wick Alumni Center

     
President Lowell Moser called the meeting to order at 1 p.m. at the Wick Alumni Center  Directors and officers present: Delivee Wright, Max Clegg, Mel Thornton, Robert Fuller, Walter Mientka, Tice Miller, Jim Kendrick, Herb Howe, John Goebel, Dan Lutz, Jim McShane.. Present as observers were Dan Wheeler, vice president-elect, and Jerry Petr, 2010 director. 

Present, representing the UNL Alumni Assn., were Andrea Cranford, and new staff member Jeff Sheldon, UNL graduate. Sheldon discussed and distributed materials of a credit card program sponsored by the Alumni Assn. and fielded questions regarding this effort.

Minutes of the October Emeriti Assn. board meeting were approved as posted.

The treasurer’s report by Mientka was accepted as presented.

Old Business

Zelma Wisherd headstone report: The fund-raising effort to purchase a headstone for the unmarked grave at Wyuka Cemetery is successful. Emeriti are invited to attend a family gravesite recognition beginning at 11 a.m. December 1 at Section 30 at the cemetery. Visitors are invited to return to the Wick Center for a retreat beginning at 12:00 noon. News media will be contacted for possible news and photo coverage. The NU Foundation has been contacted and will be sending a representative.

Determining procedure for inviting Collegial members: This membership category is approved; draft of an invitation to prospective member shown. A nomination would be submitted to the board, which, after approval, a letter from the president would be sent to a potential member. Annual dues for a collegial member would be $5. Moved by Goebel, seconded by Howe, to approve the invitational letter, carried.

Emeriti in Action Project – report by Fuller: Twenty-nine Emeriti, including some spouses, have been suggested for exhibits to be placed in display cases in UNL library space. Deadline for completion of displays is March 1, 2010, with “kickoff date” for viewing of displays April 20. The displays will be in place for the rest of the semester. The project is seen as a one-time effort, not an annual display.

Oral History Project: not too much to report at this time. This project will be discussed at the upcoming Emeriti Retreat.

January New Emeriti meeting – location and format. Arrangements did not work out to hold at East Campus Union. The event will be held Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at the Champions Club.

Question regarding whether to schedule monthly membership meetings alternating between Tuesday and Thursday  A compilation of attendance over the past few months showed no striking difference between the two weekdays. Moved by Thornton, seconded by Howe, that the membership meetings in 2010 be held on either Tuesday or Thursday as circumstances dictate. Carried.

New Business

Act on Nomination for Collegial Membership: Margarethe Ahlschwede, who with her husband, now resides in Lincoln, was nominated by Thornton.  Mientka moved, seconded by Fuller, that an invitation be sent to Margarethe, motion carried. Jim Carr proposed that Robert “Bob” Larson, faculty member Chemistry, UNL, who moved to Drake University, be nominated for Collegial Membership. Moved by Thornton, seconded by Fuller, to approve Larson for Collegial Membership. Carried.

December 1 Board Retreat Agenda:

 A key item: how to get newly designated Emeriti involved. Other points for discussion: Emeriti Assn. brochure, and implementation of Oral History Project.

Other potential agenda items
     Needs of Emeriti currently not being met – what do Emeriti want/desire?
     Health insurance issues, especially dependent on final decisions on national basis.
     Message to member listserv regarding their needs and ideas to implement solutions and moving forward.

November membership meeting: Howe reports no changes from details on speaker and topic shown on postcard distributed to members.

Committee Reports

   Membership Relations – Miller.
      Brochure revision – will have a draft to discuss at retreat.
      NEC Coffee – November 12, Coffee House Chat 9:30 a.m. D. Beans Coffee.
       
   Wisherd Fund Report – McShane.
Ideas for new guidelines will be discussed at the retreat  The Wisherd Committee has been holding its activity in abeyance pending instructions. We have been asked for advice on how the account money might be better spent and need guidance on how much of the fund income is open for discussion. Under instructions from President Moser, the committee will send out a new call for support requests on the old model.
    
      Senate Activities – McShane Two matters:
1. The Senate has received and is considering the report of the Committee it established to look into the Ayers affair. Members will remember that it was questions from the Emeriti Association that provoked Senate action; Emeritus Associate Professor McShane served on the committee. Specifically, the committee was asked whether academic freedom had been compromised by the disinvitation and how much situations might be better handled in the future.. The committee found that academic freedom had been undermined on this occasion and made eight recommendations for improving the handling of future situations. The report is available electronically on request from Jim McShane.
2. The Senate is considering a very difficult set of procedures to handle allegations of professional misconduct in science. There has been considerable improvement over the first draft from last spring and the work continues. Again, interested persons can view electronically a copy of the current draft on request from Jim McShane.   
 
Website Report -Kendrick
 Number of hits were reported.
       
Membership – Thornton
Summary: 795 total members, including 206 annual, 143, life, 29 new (2009), 23 new (2010), spouses – 131, 263.  The list of members on the website is updated quarterly. Also during this report, the board discussed procedures for safeguarding our data and sharing it only with UNL.
 
Proposed policy changes will be presented at the December Retreat. Question as to whom membership data would be shared, i.e., names, residential address, e-mail address. Request from UNL to be complied with, outside entities might be provided membership information with stipulation that data is not retained.

          Benefits – Goebel
              Nothing to report

Memory Moments – Eric Kerr, plant pathologist stationed at Gering, deceased.

There being no further old, new or unfinished business, the meeting was adjourned at 3 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,
Dan B. Lutz, secretary

Note: For Minutes of previous Board Meetings, click HERE