Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

December 3, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President John Menninger.

Attendance:  Berman, Boe, Cobb, Flanagan, Gilbert, Hines, Johnson, Menninger, Mitros, Stoner, Valde, Vlastos.

Absence:   Donham, Kuntz, Shirazi, Wanat.

The agenda for the meeting was approved.

The death of an emeritus faculty was reported:

Professor Richard Stevenson, Finance, Tippie College of Business.   11/6/18.

Minutes for November 5, 2018, were approved.

Reports and Issues:

Meeting with Benefits Review Focus Group on November 7, 2018.

Members of EFC met with Joni Troester and Rebecca Olson (from HR), and heard that the Benefits review came about because the University is responding to changes that have been made in state regulations and collective bargaining rules.  So far, this review represents an attempt to get ahead of possible new rules.  Professor Valde said that she was impressed that people are listening to feedback about accessibility, but wondered if HR needs to do more itself, not just send people to volunteers (SHIP).

Emeritus/Emerita Faculty designation

Professor Berman has emailed Kevin Kregel in the Provost’s Office, and understands that there is discussion taking place about how to resolve possible ambiguities.  The report from Professor Mitros (following) indicates that Faculty Council is looking at this issue as well, although their concern seems to be primarily about who is eligible for Emeritus/Emerita Faculty status, rather than the form of the designation.

Faculty Council Meeting, November 13, 2018 (from Professor Mitros):

Discussions included:

Faculty Track  - led by Diane Finnerty (Assistant Provost for Faculty),  briefly discussed a Board of Regents Report (available on-line in the Office of the Provost) dealing with titles and numbers of regular and fixed term faculty discussing trends in numbers in these categories.

Emeritus Status Policy Revision  - led by Diane Finnerty (Assistant Provost for Faculty)

Most recent changes last Spring added eligibility to those on the Instructional Track. Current proposed revisions dealt with adding and defining the term “honorable” in line 38 of current document Emeritus Status for Retirees. The line gives eligibility to “regular faculty who retire or terminate their service to the University under honorable circumstances”. Honorable was used permissively, that is,  to be equivalent to not terminated for cause. Lines 62 and 63 dealt with the use of the term “Emerita”, which will be accorded by the University at the request of individuals who would otherwise have been classified as Emeritus. Line 68 was added in which it is stated “Revocation: The University may revoke emeritus status, however conferred, at any time for good cause.”  Line 70 was slightly modified, noting that “Conferral and revocation of emeritus status” is not subject to review under any of the University’s grievance procedures.

The changes were voted on and accepted unanimously.

Advance notice was given about proposed changes in the University of Iowa Intellectual Property Policy. These dealt largely with use of terms such as disciplines, units, and departments, but largely with giving formulae for distribution of funds from patents and copyrights.

A brief discussion concerning Library budgets and consequent need to relinquish some journals took place. It was noted that Mr. Culshaw would be at the Faculty Senate meeting on December 4th to discuss the matter.

The meeting ended in an Executive Session dealing with President Russ Ganim’s report on an update of the Shared Governance Task Force, Government Relations, and the BTAA Shared Governance Conference.

In the discussion that followed the report, Professor Mitros gave the following numbers of faculty as defined and counted by the report to the regents:

          Tenure-track: 1516
          Clinical:  847
          Research:  40
          Instructional:  218
          Adjunct:  651

Members questioned the difference between the Clinical and Instructional tracks, but a clear definition wasn’t offered by the report.   The main issue seems to be that the first four categories are “regular faculty” while adjuncts are not “regular faculty.”

The possibility of inviting Kevin Kregel to speak to the EFC was raised.

Library

Professor Gilbert reported on the meeting of the University Libraries committee held on Monday, November 12, 2018.   Cathy Cranston gave an overview of the library’s efforts at undergraduate engagement.   A program known as SEAM (Students Engage at Main) works to help undergraduates become better researchers; graduate assistants and librarians work individually with undergraduates, and also collaborate with faculty to create ways for class work to include library time.   The Trio program, involving 350 at-risk students, has students take classes together and extends over 8 semesters.   SEAM also works with Honors students.   The program began in 2015, with one librarian, and there are now three librarians associated with it.  Cathy Cranston is interested in getting more courses to make use of the SEAM resources, especially large classes.

Other outreach activities include the Open Educational Resources project where faculty create resources that then become available at no cost; John Culshaw, University Librarian, is applying for funds from the Provost’s Office ($75,000) that would reward faculty for creating these resources. 

The journals cancellation proposal has been publicized; a meeting with Faculty Council on December 4th is upcoming.   Lists are being compiled, and strategies for providing open access are being considered.  

Hancher Advisory Committee

Professor Valde reported on the meeting, November 14, 2018, of the Hancher Advisory Committee; one main focus of the discussion was Hancher’s efforts to engage the student population.  She and Professor Berman raised a question about the confidentiality agreement they were asked to sign, and particularly what was covered in that agreement; further clarification from Chuck Swanson (Director, Hancher Auditorium) would be useful.

Guest speaker:   Jessica Wade, Assistant Director, University Benefits.

Jessica Wade reviewed the current procedures for benefits, indicating that, at the moment, there aren’t many changes; she pointed out that if faculty wish to keep the benefits that they now have chosen without any changes, no action is needed.

She then worked through a summary of the University of Iowa Retiree Health Plans, noting the salient differences between three different plans:  Health Alliance (HMO plus Rx), Health Alliance (PPO Plus Rx) and Wellmark BC/BS (UI Choice).   She also reminded members that a new Wellmark ID card would be sent out by the end of December.  She also commented on levels of coverage for prescriptions and on the Dental II plan.   Details for all the plans are available online at the following links or phone numbers.

UIChoice:   www.wellmark.com, 1-800-643-9724; through University Benefits, https://hr.uiowa.edu/benefits, 319-335-2676; or from UI Health Plans Office, 319-356-8442.

Health Alliance:  healthalliance.org/IA-Retirees, or through Health Alliance Medicare Services, 1-877-917-8550, TTY 711.

The next meeting of the EFC will be Monday, February 4, 2019, 9:30-11:00 a.m., 2520B UCC.

The meeting was adjourned at 11:05 a.m.

Submitted by Miriam Gilbert

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

November 5, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President John Menninger.

Attendance:  Berman, Cobb, Donham, Flanagan, Gilbert, Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Mitros, Stoner, Vlastos, Wanat.

Absence:   Boe, Hines, Kuntz, Shirazi, Valde.

The agenda for the meeting was approved.

The deaths of emeritus faculty were reported:

  • Professor Subramanian Venkiteswaran, College of Engineering, 09/23/2018
  • Professor Rafiq Waziri, College of Medicine, 10/01/2018
  • Professor David Arkush, College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, 10/15/2018

Minutes for October 1,  2018, were approved.

Reports and Issues:

Parking

Professor Stoner reported that by January 1, 2019, all gated lots will be automated 24 hours a day.   Changes are also planned for the hospital lots (tickets needed to exit).  The University and the city are talking about setting up a bike share system.

Library

Professor Gilbert reported on the meeting of the University Libraries committee held on October 11, 2018.  The chief item for discussion concerned the move to cancel journal subscriptions.   As University LibrarianJohn Culshaw said, the libraries have had no budget increases, but publishers are upping subscriptions by 5-7% yearly.   So he’s trying to identify $600,000 worth of cuts, even though he will still apply for a budget increase.   He pointed out that this problem is occurring all over the place, and about ten years ago, the libraries cut approximately $50,000, but now the problems are much larger.   

At the moment, the budget for the libraries is $19 million; the Law Library gets $4 million, and that spending doesn’t go through the University Librarian; the remaining $15 million comes to the rest of the libraries on campus.   The most expensive journals are in the sciences, and the tentative plan is to cut 10% from the sciences, 5% from the humanities, and 7% from the social sciences, although those percentages might change.

A letter will be sent out that asks faculty to review current journal subscriptions in terms of:  low use, lack of strategic importance to your research area; availability through other channels.  The timeline involves getting faculty input before the winter break, sending a list of proposed cuts out after break, checking with Acquisitions (all sorts of issues with bundling, etc), and planning to get the final list out in March, with cancellations being finalized in April, 2019.   So this move is essentially planning for the fiscal year beginning July 1, 2019.

Discussion included the question of online costs vs. paper subscription, but merely having online subscriptions doesn’t necessarily save money.

Senior College

Professor Donham reported that Senior College had enrolled about 1000 students in fall courses; almost every course was over-booked.   Senior College is switching from a brochure to online announcements, and booking will begin on January 7, 2019.   Donham also outlined the connection between the Center for Advancement (which sends out email about Senior College and handles the registration and finances); a memo of understanding exists between Senior College and the Center, so that Senior College functions independently, but pays the Center $8000 a year for its support.  

In the discussion that followed, questions were raised about how the overbooking problem might be solved.   The fee for a four-week course has been $30.00 since 2002, but there is a general unwillingness to raise that fee.  Professor Berman asked if there was a way to limit multiple registrations.   There are some people who book for two courses a semester, but usually not more than that.   And courses are overbooked by 10%, to allow for the fact that people don’t always show up.  

UIRA

Professor Wanat reported on UIRA’s meeting that involved a tour of the Kirkwood equestrian center, with a presentation about animals’ interactions  with PTSD patients.  At another meeting, Rod Lehnertz (VP, Finance and University Services) gave a presentation about the growth and development of university facilities, and also talked about effects of the 2008 flood.   UIRA also will sponsor a Heath Benefits talk on November 8, 2018, from 2-4 p.m.; an Emeritus Faculty lecture begins at 4 p.m., so in the future, we should work to avoid possible conflicts.

Emeritus Faculty Lectures

Professor Kathleen Kamerick (CLAS, Department of History) will lecture on “Magic and Adultery in Medieval England” on December 6, 2018.  

Professor Joe Coulter (College of Public Health) will give a lecture on January 24, 2019.

Professor Menninger again asked for suggestions for future lecturers.

Emeritus Faculty—relationship with colleges

Professor Donham reported on the talk that he and Professor Johnson had with the new Dean in Public Health; he said it was a very thoughtful conversation, and the Dean appreciated having these issues brought to her attention. 

New Business

Professor Berman reported that it was difficult to get information on the question of who determines the use of “emerita” for faculty who might wish to be listed by that title.   She had tried contacting Payroll, Benefits, the Provost’s Office, and the Dean of CLAS, but wasn’t getting any responses to her calls.   The suggestion was made to try a direct call to Kevin Kregel in the Provost’s Office, since he has the responsibility (generally) for faculty issues.

The next meeting of the EFC will be Monday, December 3,  2018, 9:30-11:00.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:42 a.m.

Submitted by Miriam Gilbert, EFC Secretary

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

October 1, 2018

The meeting was called to order by President John Menninger.

Attendance:  Boe, Gilbert, Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Mitros, Shirazi, Stoner, Vlastos, Wanat.

Absence:   Berman, Cobb, Donham, Flanagan, Hines, Valde.

The agenda for the meeting was approved.

The death of Donald Madsen, Mechanical Engineering, on September 20, 2018, was recognized.  

Minutes for September 4, 2018, were approved as amended (adding Warren Boe’s name to the Senior College committee).

Professor Carolyn Wanat was nominated as Vice President of the EFC and was unanimously elected.

Reports and Issues:

Faculty Council and Faculty Senate:

Faculty Senate Meeting, September 2018

Items of discussion included:

­Jobs at Uiowa, report on sexual misconduct, report from the Provost’s Search committee.

UIRA

Professor Wanat reported on UIRA; the summer picnic took place, with attendance slightly down.   Emil Rinderspacher is the President-Elect.

The question of the relationship between the Emeritus Faculty Association and AROHE (Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education) arose.   Professor Menninger will talk to Sue Otto from UIRA.

Parking

Professor Stoner reported that he had raised the question about the Main Library lot showing FULL signs; evidently more student permits have been issued, and so there is less space for Emeritus faculty.  

Parking meter revenue is up.   And there is now increased use of LED lighting in lots, lighting that should pay for itself in two years.  

Questions raised in EFC suggested that we might want to invite someone from Parking to address the group.

Benefits

Report from Professor Boe about Travel Insurance

The complex issues related to traveling abroad and getting travel insurance through the University were discussed by Professor Boe, and will be posted on the Emeritus Faculty website.

Health Benefit Survey:   from Professor Menninger

In a follow-up to the issues raised about how the University is looking at benefits, Professors Menninger, Johnson and Shirazi met with Joni Troester and Rebecca Olson, of the Benefits Review committee.    It seems that this committee plans to meet with focus groups, and Professor Menninger suggested that retirees might well be one of those groups.  When one includes merit staff, the retiree group might be as large as 2500.   The survey sent out by the committee did not go to emeritus faculty or retirees.  

In the discussion, questions were raised about whether EFC should sponsor another survey, and whether it would be useful to talk with Richard Saunders (former assistant VP for Human Resources, now active with UIRA).  [Note: Professor Menninger is continuing to check with Troester and Olson; a meeting on November 7, 2018, with members of the EFC has been set up.]  Further liaison with UIRA seems a useful and likely strategy. 

New Business

Professor Berman is going to look at the way in which the University lists female professors who wish to be called “emerita” and will report back to the EFC.

Professor Johnson suggested that an Emeritus Faculty blog might be worth exploring.

The next meeting of the EFC will be Monday, November 5, 2018, 9:30-11:00.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:30 a.m.

Submitted by Miriam Gilbert

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

September 4, 2018

The meeting was called to order by President John Menninger.

Attendance: Berman, Boe, Donham, Flanagan, Gilbert, Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Mitros, Stoner, Vlastos, Wanat.

Absence:   Cobb, Hines, Shirazi, Valde.

Menninger announced that Miriam Gilbert had volunteered to serve as Secretary.   She was accordingly elected to that position.

Minutes for the meeting of May 7, 2018, and for the AEF meeting of May 21, 2018 (as amended) were approved.

Menninger recognized emeritus faculty who died in the past months:   Diane Horton, Biology, died 24 June; Calvin Siebert, Economics, died 4 July; Satish Khera, Family Dentistry, died 12 July; Laird Addis, Philosophy, died 31 July; Earl Eyman, Electrical-Computer Engineering, died 29 August.

Menninger said that the election of a Vice-President of the EFC would be delayed until the October meeting.

Reports and Issues:

Emeritus Faculty Lecture Series

The Emeritus Faculty Lecture Series for Fall 2018 was announced:

"Totalitarian Parades: Mass Amusements in Rome, Berlin, and Moscow"

Professor John Beldon Scott, Art and Art History 
4 pm, Thursday, September 13, 2018
101 Biology Building East

"The Hollywood Musical's Social Projects"

Professor Rick Altman, Cinema and Comparative Literature
4 pm, Tuesday, October 9, 2018
101 Biology Building East

"My Classroom is the Rockies"

Professor John Dunkhase, Teaching and Learning
4 pm, , November 8, 2018
101 Biology Building East

TBA

Professor Kathleen Kamerick, History
4 pm, December ??, 2018
101 Biology Building East

Professor Wanat raised the question of how these lectures are publicized, and suggested that we investigate ways of reaching the larger community, not just emeritus faculty or even faculty and staff associated with the university.   UIRA does have a newsletter (The Gray Hawk); Senior College has a website that is available to people in the community.   Professor Menninger will talk with Gary Gussin, and also see if the Provost’s Office might be helpful.   Other possibilities could include publicity through the Iowa City Public Library and the Senior Center.   Any further suggestions should be emailed to Professors Menninger and Gilbert.

Faculty Council and Faculty Senate: (submitted by Professor Mitros via email to the secretary)

Faculty Council Meeting  -   28 Aug 2018

Items of discussion included:

Update on Fixed-Term Faculty issues – these individuals who are “part time” or non-tenure track reside largely in CLAS. Currently discussions there are directed towards the possibility of extending benefits to dependents and providing retirement benefits. These would go into effect in September of 2018. Discussion as to whether these individuals should be on an instructional track ensued.

Charter Committee Review – the mandated periodic review of such committees will begin this year, doing several at a time. Consideration will be given to the possibility of consolidating or eliminating some of these committees.

Retreat Follow-up – The Faculty Council/Administrative retreat on August 14th concentrated on faculty--undergraduate collaborations in research. Ways to increase the current 30% involvement by undergraduates in these endeavors were discussed, as well as finding ways to credit students and faculty so involved. One suggestion was to have a poster session by some of these student/mentor teams at a Regents meeting.

Presidential Best Practices Document – This deals with the removal of AAUP sanctions and will be placed on the Faculty Senate website.

Big Ten Academic Alliance Shared Governance Meeting – The University of Iowa will host this meeting this year (October 25 – 27). One item of discussion will be distance education. It was noted that Purdue has taken on a major role in this area having recently purchased Kaplan, a leader in the area.

The meeting closed with an Executive Session.

UIRA

Professor Wanat reported on UIRA; the summer picnic took place, with attendance slightly down.   Emil Rinderspacher is the President-Elect.

The question of the relationship between the Emeritus Faculty Association and AROHE (Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education) arose.   Professor Menninger will talk to Sue Otto from UIRA.

Parking

Professor Stoner attended the most recent Parking Committee meeting; a major issue seems to be the parking at Iowa River Landing, where there is a lack of space.   Moped parking is also a concern.   Professor Gilbert raised the question of Emeritus Faculty with “full” parking privileges not being able to access particular lots (such as the Main Library lot) at times.

FRIC

Professor Menninger reported on a conversation with Professor Sheldon Kurtz about a small committee formed by President Harreld to investigate health benefits; the conversation raised the question of whether there was an overlap or coordination with FRIC.   Professor Menninger said that he would follow up on those concerns.

Senior College 

Senior College had a very large enrollment in the Spring session (2018) and this fall; almost 900 people are enrolled.   The Fall list includes 11 courses, some with waiting lists.  There are questions about whether everyone who wants to get in will be able to do so.

Old Business:  Departmental Support and Involvement of Emeritus Faculty

Report from Professor Gilbert:

On Friday, August 31, John Menninger and Miriam Gilbert met with Dian Gottlob (Assistant Dean, CLAS) and Christine Getz (Associate Dean for Graduate Education, CLAS); this meeting was a follow-up to a meeting in May with then-Dean Chaden Djalali, where we had asked, in general, “how can emeritus faculty help the College?”   From that initial meeting, several general suggestions emerged. Dean Djalali spoke about winning prestigious awards and it seems that the Provost’s Office has tasked the College with seeing how that might be accomplished.   Another possible area was that of “outreach and engagement.”   This meeting was particularly focused on the question of prestigious awards, what the College was doing, and how emeritus faculty might be helpful.

Over the summer, Gottlob and Getz have taken some initial steps.   They spoke with former CLAS Dean, Linda Maxson, who was fairly active in terms of nominating people for appropriate awards in the sciences, and whose file of letters is available.   Moreover they decided to try to increase the possibility of nominating faculty as Fellows in the American Association for the Advancement of Science by getting more faculty to be members; anyone nominated has to have been a member for three years.   CLAS identified 20 junior faculty members and paid for their memberships; and the conversations with relevant DEOs (to help identify these faculty) also led to senior faculty renewing their memberships.   So this small step really represents a kind of long-term planning.   Professor Menninger suggested that CLAS might also want to encourage members to become officers.  

There was also discussion of other awards (Gerda Henkel Prize in Art History, nominations for the National Academy of Science, and for the National Medal of Science) and how CLAS might encourage and support such nominations.

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences offers another area where CLAS might do more; at present, only five members of the faculty (includes both current and emeritus) are Fellows of the Academy.   They are Jim Leach, Don Gurnett, Garrett Stewart, Linda Kerber, and Marilynne Robinson.  Professor Gilbert plans to talk with Garrett Stewart about possible nominations.

Gottlob also presented information about two other awards, the Beckman Young Investigator Award (young really means young—in the first three years of a tenure-track appointment or independent research appointment), and the Stockholm Water Prize.   In both cases, she has identified possible candidates.

But clearly there is more that could be done and the larger (but unanswered) question might be:  how specifically, and at what stages (identifying candidates, vetting CVs, finding nominators, mentoring candidates) might emeritus faculty be helpful.

Professor Menninger also brought up the question of outreach and engagement; Associate Dean Gigi Durham is in charge of that area for CLAS and we hope to meet with her soon.

Discussion

Professor Berman, who was at the initial meeting with then-CLAS-Dean Djalali, pointed out that the Dean’s interest seemed to be more in terms of what emeritus faculty could do for the College rather than vice-versa, and wondered if the “best practices” suggestions were getting sidelined.

Professor Dunham said that the new Dean in Public Health was willing to have a conversation.

Professor Wanat raised the larger question of where and how the “prestigious awards” count, and asked particularly about how they figure into the annual rankings from U.S. News and World Report.  [An email from Dian Gottlob said that she would check on the connection to U.S. News and World Report.   The link to the list of “prestigious awards” is: http://sites.nationalacademies.org/PGA/Resdoc/PGA_044718]

New Business:

Professor Johnson raised the issue of whether the University uses “Emerita” as an official listing, and Professor Berman is going to follow up on that question.

Committee Assignments for 2018-19 are:

EFC Committee Assignments

  • Programs (EFC and Annual Meeting) - Stoner (Chair), Wanat, Johnson
  • Emeritus Faculty Lectures - Menninger (Chair), Gilbert and Kuntz.  Gussin (Consultant)
  • Elections -Mitros (Chair)
  • Communications/Website -  Boe (Chair), Flanagan, Cobb, Johnson

EFC Liaisons with University committees/organizations

  • Campus Planning –  Hines
  • FRIC – Shirazi, Valde
  • UIRA – Wanat
  • Research Council – Stoner
  • Library – Kuntz, Gilbert
  • Faculty Senate/Council – Mitros, (Gilbert and Shirazi to help when necessary)
  • Hancher – Kuntz, Valde
  • Rec Services – Flanagan, Donham
  • Senior College – Johnson, Donham, Mitros, Wanat
  • Parking and Transportation – Stoner, Flanagan

Finding a venue for the General Meeting that would accommodate hearing loops, after a query was raised at the General Meeting in May.

The next meeting of the EFC will be Monday, October 1, 2018, 9:30-11:00.

The meeting was adjourned at 10:56 a.m.

Submitted by Miriam Gilbert

 

 

Association of Emeritus Faculty (AEF) Minutes

May 21, 2018, Room 2520D UCC

Emeritus Faculty Council (EFC)Members:

Attendance: Berman, Boe, Cobb, Donham, Flanagan,  Hines, Levin, Mitros, Johnson, Menninger, Shirazi,  Wanat, Valde [Correction:  Berman and Gilbert were in attendance]

Absent:  Kuntz,Stoner [Correction:  Berman and Gilbert originally marked as Absent]

The meeting was called to order at 10:00a.m. by George Johnson, the President of the Emeritus Faculty Council. A quick count by F. Mitros indicated about 80 members of the Emeritus Faculty in attendance.

A moment was taken in honor of our recently departed colleagues who were listed on the back of the program. We also honored Janice Denehy, College of Nursing, who was not listed.

Council members were introduced to the AEF membership.

President Johnson reported on some of the activities of the Emeritus Faculty Council in the 2017-2018 session.

Invited Speakers (2017-2018)

  • Susan J. Curry -Interim Executive Vice President and Provost (Phase II UI 2020 ) 
  • Erin Shane - Associate Director   Parking and Transportation
  • Virginia Drake - Senior IT Support Consultant
  • Tom W. Rice-  Office of the Provost (Phase II UI 2020)
  • Jessica J Wade – Assistant Director of Benefits
  • Professor Jon Garfinkel -  Tippie School of Business (FRIC Investment Review Committee TIAA)Alec B. Scranton – University of Iowa Foundation Professor of Chemical and Biochemical Engineering and Dean

A project for the EFC this session was to improve interaction of the emeritus faculty with their departments. A document of recommendations( See addendum 1) was prepared that the collegiate representatives of the EFC could share with their college Deans or their representatives. Subsequently, these recommendations would then be shared with departmental executive officers (DEOs) by the collegiate leadership. The important points to be discussed with the DEOs are listed below:

Emeritus Faculty are Faculty – EFC Project 2017-2018

1. Emeritus Faculty Presence on Departmental Web Pages

2. Emeritus Faculty Presence on Appropriate Email Lists

3. Yearly Departmental Luncheon for Emeritus Faculty

4. Office Space with Desktop Computers for Emeritus Faculty when possible

Warren Boe (EFC Communications Committee) reported on the EFC website (https://uiowa.edu/emeritusfaculty/). Information on the website includes all the documents of the EFC, a listing of Emeritus Faculty by department, and the elected members of the EFC that represent each college. There are links to emeritus benefits such as parking, health care and information technology.

Warren also informed the AEF that Irwin Levin had finished his last term in the EFC.(Thanks Irwin for your service!) Irwin was a representative from Liberal Arts and Sciences. There were no nominations for the vacant position from the floor.

An election by email will be held in the near future.

John Menninger reviewed the Emeritus Faculty lectures. These lectures begun by Gary Gussin and continued by John with Gary’s help have been very successful. They are listed below:

Emeritus Faculty Lectures: 2017-18

Gary Gussin (09/14/17) -"Ways to turn genes on and off: Interactions of proteins with DNA and each other"
Eric Forsythe (10/03/17)- “Directing Comedy in Unfunny Times”
Ed Kottick (11/07/17) -"Flowers, Floozies, Fripperies, and Finishes: A Fleet Frolic through Harpsichord Decoration." 
William Albrecht (12/07/17) - "Confessions of an Erstwhile Regulator"
Evan Fales (01/25/18) - “What on earth is the Bible talking about?”
Thomas Cook (02/20/18) – “The Ponseti Method for Correcting Clubfoot Deformity: Iowa’s Gift to the World”
Ron Ettinger (04/10/18) - “ How do the medications you take affect your oral health and what can you do about it?”

John Westefeld (05/03/18) - “Suicide: Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention"

H. Dee Hoover, Chair of the Senior College, gave a report on the spring 2018 session. The 11 courses were highly rated with long waiting lists. He discussed the reorganization of the Alumni Association and the Foundation to form the Center for Advancement and its effect on the Senior College.

Comments or Questions from the Membership

Emeritus Professor Ken Hubel commented from the floor that many AEF members were hard of hearing and that made it difficult for them to follow the meeting. He suggested we find a venue next year that had a “hearing loop system” that directly communicated with modern hearing aids. Another member suggested that we have retired emeritus faculty in audiology that could further consult with the EFC. We hope to accomplish  a review of hearing loop systems at the University that we might utilize  in the 2018-2019 EFC session before the next annual meeting.

EFC member Bill Hines introduced our speaker, Professor James A. Leach, whose speech was entitled “What is Precedented and Unprecedented In American Foreign Policy.” Professor Leach presented many fascinating historical vignettes. He ended his talk with 10 important points for political reform in the U.S. (See attached addendum 2.)

Before retiring for an excellent buffet lunch, President Johnson thanked Brenda Bradley and Kathy (Kathryn) Currant from the Office of the Provost for arranging the annual meeting and luncheon. We thank Brenda for helping the EFC have a productive year.

During lunch emeritus faculty could meet with Erin Shane (Associate Director   Parking and Transportation) or Virginia Drake (Senior IT Support Consultant) to ask questions about policy and emeritus benefits.

 

Addendum 1
Departmental Support and Involvement of Emeritus Faculty
Recommendations for Improvement

What does the Emeritus Faculty do in retirement?

The University is a community of scholars. The emeritus faculty does not cease to function in that community when they retire. The faculty continues to teach, do research, and perform other scholarly and service activities in their respective departments. They lecture, tutor, mentor, facilitate small groups, provide clinical care in a teaching environment, and serve on departmental and university committees. They come to departmental colloquia, ask questions, and remind others what can be learned from a lifelong perspective.

What is the Emeritus Faculty Council?

The University of Iowa Emeritus Faculty Council has faculty representation from all the Colleges of the University. We recognize that some departments foster excellent relations with their retired faculty while others do not. We would desire a minimum consistent approach to departmental support and involvement of emeritus faculty from all colleges of the University of Iowa. We are also acutely aware that not all university departments have equal access to scarce resources. Our recommendations to the departments focus on high impact best practices that are easy and cheap to implement.

Recommendations to improve Emeritus Faculty departmental support and involvement

1) The Emeritus Faculty is not dead yet! List Emeritus Faculty on departmental web pages with their email addresses. Many departments do not maintain web pages for retired faculty as a cost saving measure but it should be strongly considered for faculty still doing research. A few departments also have an in memoriam listing.

2) Keep Emeritus Faculty on email lists that notify them of important departmental events that they can attend. These include colloquia, candidate faculty talks, research days, conferences, and retirement celebrations of retiring faculty and departmental staff.

3) A yearly luncheon meeting with the Emeritus Faculty and the departmental executive officer or dean to discuss current activities and challenges is greatly appreciated by the retired faculty. The luncheon allows social interaction between old friends and consultation with the DEO about the department.

4) Office space with desktop computers is provided by many departments to their retired faculty. This benefit is resource limited in smaller departments which may still provide a room for faculty to share. Office space can be important to those still teaching or doing research.

 

Addendum 2
Righting the Ship of State
or
A Blueprint for Political Reform
Jim Leach[1]

A more perfect union requires renewed attention to the social contract our founders established.  To right the ship of state, citizens and their representatives must adopt shared philosophical guideposts:

  1. The American Constitution is a governance blueprint designed to protect and preserve inalienable rights of a free people. 
  2. The oath that public officials take is not a party unity pledge.  It is a moral and legal commitment to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. 
  3. Process is our most distinctive product.  How politics is practiced is often as important as the policies that unfold.
  4. No individual, no political party, no country has a monopoly on thoughtfulness. 
  5. If all men and women are created equal, it follows that the views of all citizens deserve to be respectfully listened to and considered in the making of public policy.
  6. Trust matters.  Our separation of powers model is premised on the assumption that public expression must be truthful and public judgments free of conflicts of interest.  Integrity is the only glue that can bind citizens of diverse backgrounds and contrasting views together in mutual respect.
  7. The national interest must always trump local, state, or interest group concerns.
  8. Congress, state legislatures, and the courts are obligated to reconsider recent campaign finance practices and judicial rulings.  Mega financial interventions, foreign or domestic, have no legitimate role in American elections.  Corporatism is not democracy.            
  9. Polarization is antithesis to the American way. Politicians should respect their opponents.  They are rivals not enemies. Indeed, elected officials of differing parties and views should consider themselves teammates in advancing the public interest.  Dysfunctionality is never a credible option.    
  10. A hate-free nation must be our common goal.  We are all connected and rely on each other.  As Lincoln, citing Scripture, warned a century and half ago, a house divided against itself cannot stand.  The same applies to our common home – mother earth. 

In a farewell address delivered over half a century ago, President Eisenhower spoke of the dangers of a “military-industrial complex.”  Today a vastly greater concern is the rise of a “political-ideological complex.”  Ideologues use politicians as pawns while politicians use ideologues, especially those with deep pockets, as enablers of personal ambition.  This reinforcing set of mutual interests has little to do with the common good and much to do with the breakdown of civility in public life.

All it takes for mankind to become an endangered species is for public leadership to be ceded to charlatans at home and demagogues abroad.

Einstein understood it best.  Splitting the atom, he warned, has changed everything except our way of thinking.

To think anew and reform our political system is a manageable task because the basics of our society are so strong.  After all, we have in America today extraordinary leadership in almost every walk of life, the principal exception being aspects of politics.  All we have to do is refurbish the candidate mix, revitalize the political ethic, and put our faith in a new generation of leaders.

For many Americans, party affiliation is either in flux or becoming less relevant than ever before.  Citizens expect public officials to work with them to renew and uplift the City on a Hill that the Pilgrims envisioned with such conviction.  It is the decency and integrity which characterized our forebears and defines so many of our neighbors that provides the steam to flush the bitterness out of politics and end the self-centered, conflict-ridden gamesmanship that has taken such unfortunate root in national politics.

                                                          ***********

[1] Leach served as a Republican Member of Congress from 1977 to 2007. Subsequently, he taught at Princeton and Harvard before becoming the 9th Chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities.  He is currently University of Iowa Chair of Public Affairs and Visiting Professor of Law.

 

EMERITUS FACULTY COUNCIL MINUTES

May 7, 2018

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes-- May 7, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President George Johnson.

Attendance: Berman, Boe, Cobb, Donham, Flanagan, Gilbert, Hines, Levin, Mitros, Johnson, Menninger, Shirazi, Stoner, Wanat,

Absence: Kuntz, Valde

Minutes for April 2, 2013 meeting were approved.

Committee Reports:

Elections: CLAS nominee Stephen Vlastos (History) has agreed to be on the ballot. He is presently in phased retirement but will be retired by July 1, 2018. The search for another person to be on the ballot will continue.

EFC Lecture Series: Menninger reported on the following lectures scheduled for Fall 2018:

  • September: John Scott – monumental parades
  • October: Open
  • November: John Dunkhase (Science Education) – no title yet
  • December: Katherine Kamerick – no title yet

Other possible speakers:

  • John Merchant –expert on large hog operations
  • Bill Hines – writing an article on large hog operations

Recreational Services Committee – Doug Flanagan has been attending the Rec. Services meetings for the past 3 years. Capital and maintenance projects have been deferred until September 2018 because of UI budgetary restrictions. Hopefully, these projects will proceed after this date.

Best Practices Policies for Emeritus Faculty –there is still a need to schedule some meetings and DEOs. Nursing, Pharmacy, Dentistry and Public Health deans still need to be contacted. Those who have already had meetings are Business, Law, Medicine, Education and Engineering.

A letter has been sent to new emeritus faculty to inform them of services available to them including the availability of the 3rd library faculty study room.

Annual Emeritus Faculty Meeting – Monday, May 21, 2018 @ 10 am – 1 pm

The tentative agenda and program were discussed. Warren Boe will report on the EFC web site. George Johnson will present the best practices for emeritus faculty initiative. John Menninger will report on the EFC lecture series. H.D. Hoover will give a Senior College report.

Our speaker will be Jim Leach the former acting head of the Art Museum.

Representatives from Parking & Transportation and University IT will be present from noon to 1 pm during the luncheon to answer questions.

EFC President for 2018-19 – John Menninger will assume this role for the next academic year.

Outgoing EFC President – a unanimous vote of thanks was offered to George Johnson for leading the EFC for the past year

Meeting adjourned at 11:00am.

Next EFC Meeting is Tuesday, September 4, 2018, 9:30-11:00am

Submitted by, Douglas Flanagan

 

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

April 2, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President George Johnson.

Attendance: Berman, Boe, Cobb, Donham, Flanagan, Hines, Levin, Mitros Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Shirazi Stoner,

Absence: Gilbert, Wanat, Valde

Remembrance: Kwan Rim from Engineering

Minutes for March 5, 2013 meeting: Boe motioned to approve; Mitros seconded. Minutes were approved.

Committee Reports:

Elections: CLAS needs a replacement for Levin. Stephen Vlastos (history) has agreed to be on the ballot. Mitros and Levin will find another person to be on the ballot.

EFC Lecture Series: Menninger reported that he has contacted several people to give lectures next fall. The council agreed that tenure is no longer a requirement for lecturers. Lecturers may give more than one lecture.

Emeritus Faculty Departmental/College Relations: Johnson has been pursuing a best practices policy for the treatment of emeritus faculty in their departments or colleges. He will send out an email to EFC members and you should respond to him with your schedule to visit your respective dean or department DEO. Johnson is willing to accompany you to this meeting if you desire. EFC members from several colleges indicated they were pleased with their treatment by their academic unit. They were urged to provide a letter of thanks to their administrative leader with a summary of what the unit does for emeriti.

Bylaws for AEF: Brenda Bradley reported that she had talked with Associate Provost Kevin Kregel and he said that the EFC bylaws are not part of the UI policies and procedures so they do not need to go through a process of approval. The EFC is the only approval you need.

Senior College: Donham said that they are looking for a replacement for Val Lembke on the board and invited nominations.

Faculty Senate: Mitros reported on a recent meeting. The following items were discussed:

  • AAUP Sanction Removal Committee Report – A report will be sent to the National office which will consider it at the June meeting.
  • Path Forward – Acting Provost Curry reported on the progress of this committee which is charged with facilitating the UI strategic plan. See the website at https://pathforward.uiowa.edu/
  • Volunteer Time Release Policy – A non-mandatory resolution that allows a supervisor to allow an individual whose volunteer time on university related actives to be compensated with release time. Primarily for staff members.

Today’s Speaker:  Associate Director Erin Shane, UI Parking and Transportation

She talked about the two parking tags, EM and EM-NW and explained the difference. You must obtain an RFD entry card for either permit and use it to enter and depart from the ramp you are using. Failure to use it when leaving, even if the gate is open, will result in a fine, which is currently $20. Do not take a ticket when entering the lot You cannot enter your tag number on the parking card and receive free parking anymore.

The EM can be used on surface lots as well as cashiered lots. It cannot be used in gated non-cashiered lots. You will receive an IRS Miscellaneous income form in the amount of $744 at the end of each year you have the tag.

The EM-NW tag allows parking in the cashiered lots and has a value of $204 per year plus the cost of any use of cashiered lots from 8:30-4:30 on weekdays. You can check your cost of weekday 8-4 parking in the Employee self-service in the Personal section under the My Parking item.  https://myparking.parking.uiowa.edu. You will not receive an IRS Miscellaneous income form unless the total amount used exceeds $600. At current rates, you could use approximately 330 hours per year of weekday usage before reaching the IRS threshold for reporting. Fifteen people with EM-NW cards went over $600 in usage in 2017.

Summary of permit usage for 2017:

Description

EM Permits

EM-NW Permits

Total Permits

Number of Permits

376

178

554

Total Transactions

4,485

2,356

6,841

Total Hours Received

18,726

6.158

24,884

Total Business Hours

14,949

4,326

19,275

Average Hours/Permit

49.8

34.5

44.9

Average Bus.Hrs/Permit

39.8

24.3

34.8

The most popular lots for EM permits are Newton Road Ramp, NRP, Library Lot /3, Hospital Ramp 4, HR4, Rec Ctr /11, Hospital Ramp 1, HR1, and North Campus Ramp, NCR. While the most popular lots for EM-NW are Rec-CRT /11, Hospital Ramp 4, HR4, Lib Lot /3, Newton Road Ramp, NRP, Field House, FH, Dental /33.

She then talked about the future of parking with some of the issues being the location of future ramps, location of electric car charging stations, and possible changes from the current system to one which reads license plates.

Meeting adjourned at 11:00am.

Next EFC Meeting is Monday, May 7, 2018 9:30-11:00am

Submitted by Warren Boe

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

March 5, 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President George Johnson.

Attendance: Berman, Donham, Flanagan, Gilbert, Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Stoner, Valde, Wanat

Absence: Boe, Cobb, Hines, Lewin, Mitros, Polumbaum, Shirazi

Remembrance: Tom Walz, 2/10/18, Social Work

Minutes for February 5, 2013 meeting: Menninger motioned to approve; Valde seconded. Minutes were approved.

Committee Reports:

  • Membership:  CLAS needs a replacement for Irwin. Doug Madsen (political science) and Stephen Vlastos (history) were suggested. Mitros and Irwin will contact them.
     
  • EFC Lecture Series: Menninger announced the remaining lectures for spring:
    • March 8: Ekhard Ziegler “Infant Nutrition Research at Iowa”
    • April 10: Ron Ettinger “How Do the Medications You Take Affect Your Oral Health and What Can You Do About It?”
    • May 3: John Westfeld “Suicide Prevention, Intervention, and Postvention”
       
    • All lectures will be at 4:00 pm in 101 BBE.

Emeritus Faculty Council Minutes

5 February 2018

The meeting was called to order at 9:30 a.m. by President Johnson

Attendance: Berman, Boe, Donham, Flanagan, Gilbert, Hines, Johnson, Kuntz, Menninger, Mitros, Stoner, Valde, Wanat

Absent: Cobb, Lewin, Shirazi

Minutes: Now to be taken in rotation by Committee members. President Johnson thanked Professor Kuntz for his prior service in this regard.

Replacement: Connie Berman was welcomed as a new member from CLAS (Emerita History) to replace Judy Polumbaum. It was noted that a CLAS representative to replace Irwin Levin would be needed since his term will be ending soon.

Appointment: Carolyn Wanat was nominated to be considered by the Senior College to join their Committee.

Emeritus Faculty Lectures: Dr. Menninger continues his work in this area. Dr. Thomas Cook will deliver the next lecture on Tuesday 20 February at 4:00 p.m. in 101 Biology Building East.  It will deal with the Ponsetti method for treating patients with club foot deformity. Times and topics of upcoming lectures are available on the EFC website. Dr. Menninger asked for suggestions for future lecturers/topics.

University Committee Reports: 

  • FRIC:  Jill Valde, our new representative, was given some insight into her role. Consideration was given to inviting a member of FRIC to attend an EFC meeting.
  • Library: Emeriti were reminded that an Emeritus room  exists on the 3rd floor of the Main Library. Members are encouraged to visit and use the room.
  • UIRA: Carolyn Wanat mentioned some recent activities and encouraged more involvement by any interested Emeriti.

New Business:

Warren Boe discussed the problems involved in maintaining an accurate list of Emeriti. Problems occur when members move out of state, change their e-mail address, or die. Dr. Boe suggested formation of a ListServ. A discussion of who in administration could best provide the appropriate information and help maintain an accurate list ensued.

Announcement: Dr. Johnson announced that our guest at our next annual emeritus faculty meeting on May 21 would be Jim Leach.

Today’s Speaker: Our speaker today was Tom W. Rice , Academic Director, Mary and John Pappajohn Education Center, The University of Iowa, Office of the Provost and the Division of Continuing Education. He discussed with us the Phase II UI 2020 Committee progress and coming report. As a continuation of this process, Tom talked about a “big ideas” program that would involve faculty in thinking broadly about the future of the University. This idea and its possible implementation were very well received by members of the EFC.“

Next Meeting: March 5, 2018

The meeting and presentation were adjourned at 11:15 a.m.

Minutes by Frank Mitros