May 19, 2009

ASEF Executive Council Meeting May 19, 2009

Present

Drs. MacGregor, Goldfine, Hess, Saunders, Heppenstall, Schleyer, Kefalides, Asbury, Downes and Rachael Berget

Vicki and Hilary Show

The "Planning for Retirement" program went well; people stuck around for the reception. Dr. Saunders counted 26 attendees in the room at the beginning of the program, but at the end there were 51 people there. Dr. Heppenstall commented that he had looked at "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Retirement" and thought that it was extremely useful.

Penn Retirement Community

Drs. Strumpf (PASEF President), Saunders, and Paul Rozin prepared a report and submitted it to Ms. Anne Pappageorge, Vice President of Facilities and Real Estate Services. The administration wants to hire a consultant to develop a more sophisticated survey of emeritus and retired faculty to determine interest in such a retirement community.

Dr. Saunders said that PASEF is creating a committee to participate in the planning process for the retirement community. He said that he will ask Dr. DuPont Guerry to act as the ASEF representative on this PASEF committee.

Emeritus Status for Research-Track Faculty

Drs. Saunders, Goldfine and Salzberg presented at the May 12 Medical Faculty Senate Steering Committee (MFSCC) meeting about the granting of emeritus status to research-track faculty retirees. Things seemed to be going well until one MFSSC member expressed the opinion that she didn't feel that it was "right" for Research Track faculty to get Emeritus status if Academic Clinician (AC)-track faculty don't also have the right to that title. Dr. Saunders said that and Drs. Goldfine and Salzberg's next stop will be Dr. Harvey Rubin, who is the incoming Chair of the University Senate. ASEF cannot move this proposal forward without the concurrence of the Medical Faculty Senate and then the University Senate. Dr. MacGregor suggested that ASEF might have to request this title for AC track faculty, too, in order to get it passed. Dr. Saunders explained the political considerations of this proposal, especially given the fact that main university campus does not have the same academic tracks as does the Medical School.

Speakers Bureau

Dr. MacGregor asked Rachael Berget to resend the memo about the Speaker Bureau to ASEF members. He has only gotten about 4 or 5 responses to date. Dr. MacGregor will reframe the memo to lay out some potential topics and issues for speakers to address.'

Ballot for Election

Rachael Berget will re-send the ballot for the ASEF 2009-2010 election.

ASEF Budget for 2009-2010

Dr. Saunders kept his budget request for the same amount as this year, $11,000. The budget breaks down like this:

Fall Emeritus Dinner - $ 7,000
Spring lecture - $ 1,000
Spring Retirement Program Reception - $ 500
AROHE* dues - $ 100
Miscellaneous - $ 1,400 $10,000

This leaves a 10% cushion for unexpected expenses. This seems like the right amount for the budget because ASEF has about $500 left in this year's budget and we have managed to cover all of our expenses. Dr. Saunders said that he cannot ask for a budget increase because everything is "so tight" for the next budget year.

21 Penn Tower Space

Dr. Saunders said that he toured the space with Jane McKinney a month ago. He said that the carpet has been cleaned and desks left behind by vacating workers have been removed. Dr. Saunders' department has donated 4 old computers, with monitors, to the ASEF office space. He suggested that other Executive Council members ask their departments if they have anything to donate.

Fall Emeritus Dinner

Dr. Saunders has sent an e-mail to the Dean requesting his availability to attend the Emeritus Dinner. We will plan the dinner around the Dean's availability on a Tuesday or Thursday evening in October. We have 11 or 12 retirees to recognize. Dr Saunders will draw up a list of these individuals for the Executive Council.

Dr. Saunders said that he wondered whether it was logical to have the dinner if there were only one or two honorees. Dr. MacGregor said that he thought that ASEF should hold the dinner regardless of how many retirees there are because what's important is the socializing with people you haven't seen in a long time. There was another discussion of where to hold this Fall's dinner. The Inn at Penn was again praised as a better space than the BRB.

Election

Dr. Saunders again solicited a volunteer to serve as Secretary-Treasurer for the organization. There were no volunteers. He will continue to seek someone for this position.

ASEF Website

Dr. Schleyer said that the recent re-design of FAPD's website has caused some minor glitches in ASEF's website, which is accessed through the FAPD website. He will review these mistakes and work with Julian Pugh to correct them. Dr. Schleyer said that he will also work on the obituaries that ASEF posts for recently deceased emeritus faculty. He will contact The Almanac to request permission to copy and paste their obituaries onto the ASEF website. Dr. Hess suggested that ASEF acknowledge recently deceased emeritus faculty at the Fall Dinner, and everyone agreed that that was a good idea.

ASEF Monthly Luncheons

Dr. Saunders asked Dr. Kefalides whether it would be feasible to move the Monthly Luncheons to 21 Penn Tower. Dr. Saunders suggested this because The Lenape Room is rather small. Dr. Kefalides replied that, now that ASEF can use the Hourglass Room in the University Club, the size of the Lenape Room is less of an issue. Additionally, it is easier for luncheon attendees to eat at the University Club than it would be to have food catered up to 21 Penn Tower.

Dr. Kefalides suggested that monthly luncheons should be advertised in The Almanac, which is how PASEF announces their luncheon programs. He also announced the luncheon speakers and their topics for the Fall Semester 2009:

September 2009 - John Trojanowski, M.D.; Neurodegenerative Disease
October 2009 - DuPont Guerry, IV, M.D.; Melanoma
November 2009 - Leonard Warren, M.D., Ph.D.; European scientists
December 2009 - Donald H. Silberberg, M.D.; The development of theDepartment of Neurology

Dr. Saunders asked Dr. Kefalides whether he wanted to transition the scheduling of these monthly luncheons to another ASEF member, given the fact that Dr. Kefalides will be the Chair-Elect of ASEF this year (he will be the Chair of ASEF in 2010-2011). Dr. Kefalides replied that he'd like to continue organizing these programs. Dr. Saunders asked Dr. Kefalides to be on the lookout for a replacement to serve during Dr. Kefalides' term as ASEF Chair. Dr. Kefalides replied that he has two people in mind as potential replacements.

The next meeting of the ASEF Executive Council will be on Tuesday, September 15, 2009.

Respectfully submitted, Rachael Berget