March 2020 Board Minutes Wick Alumni Center
Members Present: Kim Hachiya, Earl Hawkey, Jeff Keown, Don Weeks, Sue Gildersleeve, Alfred Stark, Rita Kean, Kay Rockwell, Vi Schroeder, Jane Zatechka, Linda Major, Doug Jose, Pat Crews, Tom Hoegemeyer
President Don Weeks called the meeting to order at 1:30 pm.
1. Meeting Minutes.
The minutes of the February 11, 2020 board meeting were presented for approval. Jeff Keown moved approval and Pat Crews seconded the motion. The board unanimously approved the minutes.
2. Memory Moments.
Homer Puderbaugh Jr. – College of Architecture
Cho Wing Solomon To – Mechanical Engineering
Daniel Vasgird – Office for Research Compliance Services
Lucille Rolfes – College of Law
Dewaine Alcorn – Special Education
Donald Nelson – Chemical Engineering
Wilber “Bud” Dasenbrock – Landscape Services
Byron (Bud) Stolzenburg – Nebraska Extension
Mark Hendricks – Nebraska Extension
3. Committees/Activities Reports.
- Awards: Pat Crews noted that it would be helpful to have a subcommittee working on the award recognizing outstanding service to UNL. Jeff Keown volunteered to lead the subcommittee.
- Budget: Earl Hawkey reported that there were 15 more dues paid since the last board meeting.
- OLLI: Rita Kean clarified that the arrangement with OLLI provides for one course per semester to be offered as a benefit to ERA members.
- Membership: As noted previously 15 additional members paid dues since the last report.
- Website: No new report.
- Tours: The March 26 tour of Huskervision will be canceled due to campus facilities being closed. It will not be possible to conduct this tour in August as fall is too busy a time for Athletics. Instead, it is hoped to reschedule that tour for spring 2021. A tour of the Johnny Carson Media Center is planned for August 2020.
- Coffee Chats: Jane Zatechka reported that the next April Coffee Chat will be held at Bagels & Joe and the May Coffee Chat is scheduled for Panera at 14th and Pioneer.
- Newsletters and brochures: Reprinting the membership brochures was discussed; Rita Kean moved and Kay Rockwell seconded a motion to order 1000 more of the current brochure without making any changes. The motion carried unanimously.
4. New Business.
- Potential cancellation of spring ERA meetings. Because UNL announced cancellation of in-person classes for the remainder of the semester, it was discussed whether to cancel both March and April membership meetings and the April board meeting. Tom Hoegemeyer moved and Kim Hachiya seconded that all spring meetings as well as Coffee Chats and tours be canceled. The motion carried unanimously. It was noted that it would be desirable to maintain an online presence with members to keep them updated on ERA plans and campus activities. The online presence will primarily consist of emails and the spring newsletter.
- Secretary and Assistant Secretary positions. Dora Dell has expressed interest in assuming responsibility for the Secretary position as Sue Gildersleeve transitions to membership recruitment chair.
- Share-a-Ride Initiative planning. Tom Hoegemeyer will lead this project and is working on plans to begin offering this program next fall.
- UNL’s termination of email policy. The concern about immediate termination of email privileges upon the death of current and emeriti faculty will be raised with Chancellor Green when the ERA president, past president and president-elect meet with him this spring.
- Printed name tags. Name tags will be printed for attendees at tours and luncheons but not for Coffee Chats. Because registration is requested for tours and luncheons, it is possible to print name tags in advance; handwritten name tags will be used for Coffee Chats.
- Pre-Retirees Seminar, April 14 – ERA presentation 7:50-8:00 AM. It is a positive change that ERA representatives will be able to address the group at the beginning of the meeting rather than at the end since attendees sometimes leave the seminar prior to the scheduled ending time. Because in-person classes have been canceled for the remainder of the semester it is uncertain whether this pre-retirement seminar will be held as scheduled.
5. Progress with Initiatives.
- Initiative 1: Automated registration for meetings. Completed January 2020.
- Initiative 2: Share a ride. Tom Hoegemeyer has agreed to lead this initiative for fall.
- Initiative 3: Retirement transition assistance – See notes following this section.
- Initiative 4: Membership survey. Still in process.
- Initiative 5: Nonprofit status for ERA. The initiative will be on the agenda for this year but work has not yet begun.
- Initiative 6: ERA activities supporting students. Linda Major: Laura Damuth had seven volunteers to assist her and would like to re-advertise this opportunity. Linda also met with Amy Goodburn to discuss additional opportunities to be noted on the ERA website.
- Initiative 7: Potential additions to Coffee Chat meetings—still in progress.
- Initiative 8: Expansion of volunteer opportunities for ERA members—Vi Schroeder will lead the effort to compile a list for inclusion on the ERA website.
6. Discussion about retirement planning assistance. Initiative 3 related to retirement transition assistance was discussed. It is believed that more could be done to help UNL staff and faculty better prepare for the social and emotional aspects of retirement in addition to the financial and insurance concerns. Among comments and issues discussed were the following:
- It may be possible to coordinate with OLLI to plan and conduct retirement preparedness classes.
- Should the efforts be geared primarily toward UNL faculty and staff, or offered to others in the local area?
- Early retirees should also be included, not just those retiring at traditional ages.
- Faculty need some help knowing what needs to be accomplished in order to wind down academic efforts successfully.
- It can take up to two years for faculty members to fully disengage from academic involvement.
The meeting was adjourned at 2:15 pm.