September 2006 Board Minutes UNL East Campus Union
Members Present: Anita Leininger, Don Edwards, Delivee Wright, Jerry Petr, George Tuck, Robert Fuller, Max Clegg, Walter Mientka, David Brinkerhoff, Dick Boohar, Jim Kendrick, Jim McShane, Dan Lutz, Jack Goebel.
President Irv Omtvedt called the meeting to order at 2 p.m.
The first item of a sizeable list of concerns regarding the identification and certification of academic retirees from UNL related to the fact that the Board of Regents no longer acts on a submitted list of faculty nominated for Emeritus status.
A lengthy discussion ensued regarding what constitutes an Emeritus individual. Procedures leading to an official designation are vague at this time.
The Emeriti Assn. needs access every three months to a list of retirees with a breakdown of those recommended for Emeritus status or not. Some faculty are not on tenure-leading appointments. This would include Cooperative Extension faculty/educators and those paid from “soft” funding sources.
Extensive discussion led to a motion by Kendrick, seconded by Leininger, that the Emeriti Assn. establish a committee to recommend criteria for certifying Emeritus status for retiring academic faculty. Motion approved unanimously.
It was agreed that David Brinkerhoff would chair the newly-established committee. Other committee members will be Dick Boohar, Jack Goebel and Jim McShane.
A contradiction was noted in that Extension educators presently are not eligible for tenure but can be recommended for Emeritus status.
Moving on to other matters, letters will be sent to Emeriti on an annual basis relating to dues payment, if they are not life members. Letters would be sent to surviving spouses of deceased members and to new retirees. It was noted that retiree Don Jensen died before his Emeritus status was approved. However, surviving spouse Jan Jensen is eligible to be a member of the Emeriti Association.
After some discussion, it was moved by Goebel, seconded by Edwards, to delay our becoming a member of the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE), or sending a delegate to the Arizona meeting sponsored by the University of Southern California. Motion carried.
Omtvedt expressed concern regarding the issuing of tickets for a fine of $30 to Emeriti parking in an undesignated parking lane in the “A” lot behind the music building. He said the issuance of temporary parking passes needs to be pursued to allow attendance by Emeriti for specific meetings.
Omtvedt announced the appointment of Association officers, including the past president, to constitute a nominating committee for 2007. A ballot would be placed on the Emeriti Assn. website. It was noted that the Association secretary and treasurer serve at the pleasure of the president. The ballot would include two candidates for president/president-elect and two candidates for a 3-year term on the board. Deadline for submission of electronic ballots is November 14; a membership meeting is scheduled for November 16.
Delivee Wright announced that the program theme for the October membership meeting will focus on geneaology—“Finding your Roots.” A panel composed of Dewaine Alcorn, Sharon Sawyers and Ed Hirsch will discuss the topic. This will be followed by tale discussions at which members can relate personal experiences and situations, along with questions and answers regarding the general topic.
A card will be sent to Emeriti with Lincoln area zipcodes announcing the October meeting date and topic. The meeting at the East Campus Union will open with refreshments, business meeting at 12:00 noon. Solicitation of board and officer candidates will be done on the web.
It was stressed that the Emeriti Criteria Committee will have access to funds required to carry out its mission. Approved by acclamation.
Omtvedt asked for a motion to approve the Association paying the individual cost of $50 for new Emeriti Assn. members to enroll in OLLI for the upcoming program series. Moved by McShane, seconded by Edwards, carried.
Copies of the August, 2006 Treasurer’s report were handed out by Mientka. The report also was posted on the website. Report approved as submitted.
Website committee report – Jim Kendrick. The report showed a total of 868 visits from January through August, 2006. The five most popular tabs (clicks) were: List of Emeriti Assn. members, list of board members, treasurer’s report, calendar of event, and “What’s New?” New members for calendar year 2007 will be posted on the web.
Tuck suggested a welcome to new members be posted on the web, and members are encouraged to share ideas for OLLI program presenters and topics. A need continues to identify from among Emeriti those who are interested in teaching either a 7-week OLLI class or a single session
With no further old, unfinished, or new business, the meeting was adjourned.
Addendum to minutes clarifying the electronic ballot process introduced and discussed at the board meeting. Submitted by Jim Kendrick.
The electronic ballot can be used by any Association member, wherever they may reside, to vote on major issues presented to the Association for a decision. Major issues are those such as voting for officers and considering fundamental changes in structure or procedures.
Accepting a committee report, voting for adjournment, voting to send condolences, etc. are not considered major issues. However, at any meeting, Roberts’ Rules of Order permit a motion from the floor to have an issue decided by written ballot. This means—if approved by a vote of members attending the meeting—that all members need to be apprised of the necessity for a written ballot and the issue(s) to be voted on. The electronic ballot is considered a written ballot.
Obviously, any member may vote in person at any meeting in which an issue is to be decided by a vote—providing meeting attendees have not previously voted on the same issue using an electronic ballot.
One disadvantage—but not deemed a fatal weakness—of the proposed electronic ballot is the inability of members to “write in” a name when voting for officers of the Association.
For the voting on a slate of officers at the November 16 membership meeting, I propose that the electronic ballot be activated on Monday, October 23 and remain open until midnight on Tuesday, November 14. This assumes that the Nominating Committee will be in a position to announce the names of candidates during the membership meeting scheduled for Thursday, October 19.
Finally, paper ballots will need to be available at the November membership meeting for those members who had not cast their vote via the electronic ballot.