Berman called on Carol Scott-Conner to give the results of the election for council members. 

On behalf of the Elections Committee Scott-Conner noted that eligible candidates were not found for the College of Liberal Arts or from Engineering and then listed those individuals who were elected: 

• College of Law - John C. Reitz (for a first 3-year term) 
• College of Medicine - Sonia Sugg (for a first 3-year term) 
• College of Medicine - Robert Wallace (for a second 3-year term) 

Scott-Connor then moved on to report on the Emeritus Lecture series noting the following Spring programs:

Charles Connerly PhD – Iowa Faces the 1960’s – February 22

Leslie Schwalm PhD – The Search for Race: Civil War Medicine and Science – March 21

Bruce Tomblin PhD – Language and Health: Language abilities and children’s well-being – April 25

Scott-Connor said the Committee is busy looking for ideas and speakers for the Fall and next Spring but noted that there is no budget so expenses can’t be offered.

Incoming President Russ Lenth then reviewed the work of the website committee by displaying the site: https://emeritus-faculty.uiowa.edu/about-emeritus-faculty-council-and-association-emeritus-faculty. He urged emeritus faculty to review the site.

Warren Boe then presented on the the Senior College. Boe said the Council consists of 15 members who meet monthly to plan the year’s schedule. This year the Council presented 12 courses in the Fall and 11 courses in the Spring.  They are planning 13 this next fall. He noted the College had 2,166 registrants this past year and that registration for the Fall will start in August.

Shelton Stromquist presented the work of the University Research Council noting that the URC has been examining the support relationship between the University and researchers. He said two working committees have been appointed and that 1,000 emeritus faculty were contacted with a survey and that over 190 responses have been received. In addition, the Office of the Vice President for Research has sent out a survey for information on how to improve research support.

Stromquist asserted that emeriti continue to represent the University in a variety of ways but it is too often not visible.  He said that enabling support at the department, college and University levels are important to sustain this engagement and that that one of the sub-committees will undertake this examination is Fall. 

In discussion it was noted that:

• IT support is variable and more dependent on college level support. 
• The possibility of listing papers produced by emeriti on the website should be considered.
• It was noted that vendor contracts may limit the University’s flexibility in providing support.
• Lenth concluded that emeriti need greater visibility for their work because we bring credit to the University.

Sorofman then described work with Hancher and the museums by noting that these organizations need to recognize that emeriti are an important audience for their programs. 

Lenth discussed the Library and the support they can provide to emeriti. He mentioned “open access” policies and its availability for emeritus faculty.

Gardinier discussed the faculty council and senate. She highlighted amendments to the operations manual on tenure, clinical and recently the instructional track.  She highlighted an amended dispute procedure, recently adopted, giving faculty more time to respond to findings.   

She also said that the next year will feature the first review of the office of the president since 2003.

Lenth then gave recognition to those leaving the Council – Connie Berman, Sheldon Kurtz and Jacob Odgaard.

He then introduced new members: 

• College of Law - John C. Reitz 
• College of Medicine - Sonia Sugg 
• College of Medicine - Robert Wallace

He also repeated the concern that candidates were not nominated from the College of Liberal Arts and from the College of Engineering and said there will be a special effort to fill these positions. He also invited emeriti faculty to contact him or anyone on the EFC if they were interested in serving.

Lenth then offered thanks to Connie Berman for her service as President the last year. 

Lenth said there are several important objectives for the next year including the lecture series and advocacy for the emeritus faculty.  He also noted that there will need to be some amendments to the bylaws to address updates needed to reflect the current nature of the emeritus faculty.

Lenth invited open discussion from the faculty.

One member noted that an important concern from the University President is fundraising and that the emeritus faculty can be helpful here as well as encouraging new students to enroll. Lenth summarized that emeriti can support through contributions and endowments and advocate with policymakers.

One member inquired about the past practice of having “desks” available in the library for ongoing emeriti research.  This member also noted that a survey was done 4-5 years ago and given to the Provost (Kregal). Lenth said this survey is on the web site and does serve as a starting point for our research. The member then added that emeriti are also eligible to serve on thesis committees which could save time for junior faculty.  He also noted that, in the past, emeriti had been considered 1% University employees. It was not clear that this policy was still in place. 

Lenth then asked Berman to introduce the keynote speaker, Miriam Gilbert.

Berman gave a brief bio of Gilbert with reference to her degrees in English, many travels to Great Britain with a lifetime focus on Shakespearian studies.  Berman applauded her efforts to introduce students to Shakespeare and to stimulate them to learn more about the writings and their meaning. 

Gilbert began her talk by quoting Ben Jonson: “Shakespeare was not of an age, but for all time.” She explained that even though it is evident that Shakespeare influence continues in stage and film his legacy is more than that. Gilbert explained this wider view saying “although Ben Jonson would not put it this way, one part of what makes Shakespeare for all time is that his works continue to bother us.”. Gilbert observed that Shakespeare makes us confront problems and she used the play The Merchant of Venice with three video presentations of Shylock’s soliloquy and asked everyone to observe different interpretations of the conflict between Jews and Christians.

• Jonathan Pryce of the Globe of Production, 2015.
• Laurence Olivier from 1970, The National Theater.
• Henry Goodman, The National Theater of Production, 1999.

Gilbert noted how each actor portraying Shylock expressed a different aspect of the Jewish-Christian relationship but in the end the words of Shylock paint a picture of commonality between Christians and Jews that cannot be ignored. 

Further, Gilbert explains, after Shylock has demonstrated commonality between Christians and Jews, the narrative further develops the theme that behaviors might be the same too, especially the seeking of revenge when one is wronged.  Gilbert asserted that there is logic in this thematic development and for her it is a chilling reflection of human nature.

For Gilbert this should create discomfort and she highlights this tension by referencing the court scene overseen by the Duke of Venice, where Shylock is both characterized as an “inhuman wretch” but one who should “forgive”.

A key for Gilbert was expressed by Stephan Greenblatt in a 2017 New Yorker article where he discusses the writings of Shakespeare and how they can help people escape from their “mental ghettos”.  Gilbert supported this vision and noted it was especially pertinent to the current conflict in the Mid-East where there are two indigenous people facing the challenge of establishing homelands. 

Gilbert went on to demonstrate how other writings of Shakespeare, such as Henry V, present similar challenges to contemporary thinking. She concluded that her goal as a teacher was to present these perspectives to her students and to encourage them to explore Shakespeare’s writing to better understand his perspectives.

Berman thanked Gilbert for her lecture and adjourned the meeting.