May 2008 Board Minutes Wick Alumni Center
Members Present: John Goebel, Rose Marie Tondl, Jim Kendrick, Mel Thornton, Bob Fuller, Jim McShane, Kay Rockwell, Walter Mientka, Lowell Moser, Max Clegg, Herb Howe, Delivee Wright. Dan Lutz.
Guest: Tom Zorn, UNL Senator. Presenters: Keith Dietze, Director, University-Wide Benefits, Vice President for Business and Finance; Greg Clayton, Director, Benefits & Risk Management, Human Resources.
President Bob Fuller called the meeting to order. Minutes of the Emeriti Assn. April 1 board meeting were approved as posted on the website. The treasurer’s report submitted by Walter Mientka was accepted.
Medical insurance issues for Emeriti were discussed by Clayton and Dietze. Dietze reviewed changes since 2002 relevant to Emeriti. Click HERE for a summary of their presentation. Kendrick moved, seconded by Howe, that the president appoint a committee to study the health benefits situation in depth, make any recommendations and report back to the board. Motion carried.
Proposals to change requirements and benefits for membership in the Emeriti Assn. were considered in a lengthy discussion. It was emphasized that the requirements and procedure for conferring Emeritus status on a retired faculty member are the policy of the University of Nebraska, not of UNL. UNO, UNK and the Medical Center have Emeriti, but only UNL has an Emeriti Assn.
The membership committee asked the board to consider the following questions:
1. Should the UNL Emeriti Assn. automatically include Emeriti from other branches of the University?
2. Should membership be available to some persons not holding Emeriti status from NU?
3. What benefits would be open for any new types of members? Examples: voting rights, complimentary first-year membership, hold office, access to Wisherd funds.
4. Can honorary or special members serve as officers and board members?
Following is a brief summary by Mel Thornton of finished and unfinished business relating to changing the organization’s constitution and by-laws as they relate to membership:
A motion was approved to amend our objectives by replacing University of Nebraska by University of Nebraska-Lincoln. This change will remove any doubt that the Emeriti Assn. is intended to be exclusively for UNL Emeriti. To change provisions in the constitution, this change would need to be approved by a two-thirds vote of members present and voting at a regular membership meeting.
A motion was seconded and amended to make an addition to the Membership Article of the Emeriti Assn. Constitution. As amended, it reads: Special Membership: Any person holding Emeriti status from any university may be invited by the board to join the UNL Emeriti Assn. as a dues-paying special member. This motion was discussed and then tabled pending further discussion
Time did not permit discussing two questions:
---What benefits, i.e., voting, complimentary first-year membership, eligibility to hold office--could be enjoyed by any new types of members? It is clear that access to Wisherd funds is available only to UNL Emeriti.
---Requirements for serving as officers and board members? Should being an Association member in good standing be a requirement? Can honorary or special members serve?
For unfinished business, the board needs to consider these remaining proposals (suggested wording)::
---Add a special membership section to the membership article of the constitution: Suggested wording for consideration: A person with substantial service rendered to the University of Nebraska in teaching, research, Extension or administration in a professional field may apply for invitational membership. The application must be endorsed by the appropriate UNL department or unit. It is expected that applicants would be at least 55 years of age, retired, and have been employed in any branch of the University of Nebraska for at least 10 years.
---Add an Invitational Membership section to the article on membership (suggested wording): The board may invite any person with substantial interest in and experience with the University of Nebraska-Lincoln to join the Association.
---Add a Courtesy Membership to the article on membership (suggested wording): Membership is granted to a person who is invited to join the Association by at least one Regular Members of the Association. A Courtesy Member would be at least 55 years of age and have an interest in higher education.
In advance of the meeting, President Fuller proposed to those of the Association listserv the following membership category:
Honorary: (non-dues paying) Life Membership is granted to surviving Widows and Widowers of University of Nebraska-Lincoln Emeriti.
Survey Task Force – Report by Kay Rockwell, Chair
Report is attached as (a) dialogue proposal and (b) Addendum A
On behalf of the Task Force, Kay Rockwell moved:
Motion #1 -- acceptance of the Task Force’s proposed plan to conduct three dialogue sessions on how the Emeriti Association can address member needs. And, that each dialogue session include three groups: New Emeriti, Junior Emeriti, and Senior Emeriti.
Motion carried.
Motion #2, Part A -- that the Task Force members take responsibility to:
Make logistical arrangements for small group dialogues – Herb Howe
Design the specific questions to discuss – Kay Rockwell with advice from the Task Force
Make the final selection of Emeriti to participate in the small group dialogues using the names Board members have submitted – Rose Marie Tondl & Del Wright
Contact and ‘enroll’ Emeriti for each of the small group dialogues
Letter of invitation signed by President Bob Fuller – Herb will draft
One week later, contact nominee by phone or email – Rose Marie & Del
Two days before the meeting, contact nominee to verify they still plan to participate – Rose Marie & Del
Lead the dialogue:
New Emeriti (Rose Marie, Del, Herb, or Kay)
Emeriti (Rose Marie, Del, Herb, or Kay)
Senior Emeriti (Rose Marie, Del, Herb, or Kay)
Make a power point presentation on the findings to both the Emeriti Association Board and to the Membership – primary leadership: Kay
Motion carried.
Motion #2, Part B -- that the President appoint Emeriti Association Board members to take responsibility to:
· Recommend at least 24 Emeriti to participate in each of the three groups (New, Junior, & Senior), and that these nominations be submitted in writing to Rose Marie (rtondl@unl.edu) by May 30, 2008.
--Name:
--Address:
--Phone number:
--Email address:
--Why can this person contribute to the effort?
Record and interpret notes for each of the dialogues:
New Emeriti:
Emeriti:
Senior Emeriti:
Record only – they will not contribute to the discussion
Record concepts and briefly describe; have the appropriate group leader check the notes for accuracy
Organize notes according to the Small Group Dialogue protocol
notes across the three Emeriti categories: New, Jr, & Sr
(All three will cooperatively) prepare a comparison among the three groups, and prepare power point slides.
Submit the (a) summary of each of the three dialogue groups (New, Jr. & Sr.), (b) comparison among the three groups, and (c) the power point slides TO the Task Force.
Motion carried
Motion #3 -- that the Emeriti Board cover mailing costs for the letters of invitation, the lunches for the small group dialogues, and other small (not more than $100) incidental expenses.
Motion carried
The item on the agenda “possible Association sponsorship of a golf event” will be discussed at a later date.
Committee reports:
Membership—451 dues-paying members—breakdown: 175 paid annual members; 149 life members; 105 honorary surviving spouse members, and 32 complimentary new ’08 members.
Mientka reported on a memo from Jane Tinkler with the University of Nebraska Foundation that “due to budget issues, Emeriti may have to cover some or all of the cost of the Scarlet subscriptions by allocating a portion of dues collected…The subscription fees for academic years 2005-2008 totaled $19,125.” It was learned after the meeting that the Scarlet can be accessed via computer and an announcement will be made on the Emeriti website.
As a follow-up of the report, the board asked Mientka to send a follow-up report of the board’s deliberations to Meg Lauerman. Comment: the report was sent to Meg on May 19 with a copy to the board members. Meg sent a reply on the same day to Walter, with a copy to the board.
There being no further unfinished or new business, the meeting was adjourned.