October 18, 2011

Location

Conference Room D, Penn Tower 21 12pm-1:30pm

Present

Drs. Allen, Bloch, Heyner, Kefalides, MacGregor, Meadows, J. Myers, Saunders, Steinberg and Winegrad; Rachael Berget (FAPD) and Julian Pugh (FAPD). Absent: Drs. Deren, Goldfine, Hess, McCarthy, A. Myers, Nachmias and Warren

Dr. Kefalides called the meeting to order at 12:10 pm.. The minutes of the previous meeting of September 20 were approved.

In the absence of Dr. Goldfine, Dr. Kefalides reported that the naming opportunity for the new educational space is awaiting the Dean’s vision.

Drs. Kefalides, Goldfine and Meadows met with the Dean; he was very attentive and pleased to hear of the activities and events held by ASEF. However, it is difficult to compare his experience with the activities of a similar group at Northwestern since their group is University-wide, compared to ours, which is restricted to the Medical School; Penn is unique in having two organizations.

Dr. Winegrad declined to be President-elect, citing pressures of colllaborative research commitments. Dr. Meadows reported that several names are under consideration and urged members to send their suggestions to her or to Dr. Kefalides. It was recognized that it is very difficult to hold the post if the candidate is still having an active practice. Dr. MacGregor will look at the list he and Dr. Goldfine have assembled. Some further discussion with several names was brought up.

Committee Reports

Service

Dr. MacGregor gave an update on the visitation program. Visits stopped at the end of June. At the end of the summer, the legal people encouraged him and Dr. Deren to prepare a brochure. A telephone conference is scheduled for next week to approve it. Admissions will determine who receives the brochure. Dr. MacGregor estimates that the system should be in effect by the end of November. Dr. J. Myers asked if there will be some sort of monitoring, and Dr. MacGregor estimated that about 50% would be missed. Dr. Meadows suggested that the brochure should be available in a display box in the Hospital Admissions room and throughout the hospital as well . There was discussion regarding the dissemination of the brochure in the University.

Luncheon Seminars

Dr. Winegrad reported a difficulty with the lines of communication with the facility and the speaker; dealing with Austin Case had presented some problems. Dr. Allen ( President of PASEF) said that there had been some pressure to pay for the use of the Hourglass Room; the problem is that the use of the Penn Club for lunch by faculty has been declining, while graduate student use has increased. Consequently, the Hourglass Room has been reserved for faculty. Dr. Kefalides reiterated that ASEF and PASEF must insist that they are part of the University and as such should not be paying. If the audience is small, then the use of the Hourglass Room may be a problem; Dr. Meadows suggested aiming for seminars with a wide interest, while Dr. MacGregor said he thought the Lenape Room (which accommodates 20 max) provides an air of collegiality. Dr. Steinberg suggested cutting the seminars in half, with ASEF and PASEF alternating. Dr. Kefalides indicated that this approach will defeat and minimize the overall goal of the luncheon seminars. General discussion of seminars, topics and space followed.

Program

Dr. Steinberg handed out a schedule of the upcoming programs: The Reception for new Emeritus Faculty will be on Wednesday, November 2, 2011 at 5:00 pm in BRB II Auditorium with the Dean as the featured guest speaker., His topic will be Penn Medicine Shaping the Future. Dr. Steinberg emphasized that they need to know the numbers attending so as to inform the caterer. Dr. Kefalides has received nearly all of the biographical sketches. Members are also urged to encourage faculty to attend. The PASEF Reception for new Emeritus Faculty will be held on Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 5:00 pm in Claudia Cohen (formerly Logan) Hall. The annual ASEF Holiday Party will be held on Tuesday, December 20, 2011 from 3:30 – 5:30pm on the 21st floor of Penn Tower. Dr. Meadows pointed out that on that day we hold the Council meeting at 2:00 pm with no lunch. The PASEF Executive Council will be invited to attend the Holiday Party The ASEF Retirement Symposium will be held on Tuesday, January 17, 2012 from 3:30 – 5:00pm. Dr. Steinberg emphasized that attendees should read The Hitchhiker’s Guide beforehand. The date of the Spring Seminar has not yet been confirmed, but will occur sometime between March 5, 2012 and March 16, 2012. The featured speaker will be from Dr. Becca Levy There will be a talk by Vartan Gregorian on April 2, 2012, sponsored by PASEF. A date in May has yet to be finalized for the PASEF Retirement Seminar. Rachael Berget will be in touch with Victoria Mulhern and Hilary Lopez to confirm. ASEF’s annual End of Year Party will take place on June 19, 2012 from 3:30 – 5:30pm on 21 Penn Tower. The Executive Council meeting will take place from 2pm-3:30pm and lunch will not be provided.

Retirement Community

Dr. Saunders reported that at the end of the summer there was a high level review of the proposed Retirement Community plan by Penn Administration. The University took the proposal sufficiently seriously to hire a consultant and use a cartography lab to identify the target population. As there already exists a huge retirement community close to Penn, the administration declined to support the proposal. Dr, Saunders wished that a questionnaire had been sent out to determine numbers interested. Craig Carnaroli sent a letter to Drs. Saunders and Strumpf in which he laid out reasons for declining. This will be attached to an e-mail that Drs. Saunders and Strumpf will send out to ASEF and PASEF membership. The project will be discontinued with their resignation. There was some discussion regarding the project and the members applauded Dr. Saunders for his dedication to the project.

PASEF Space

Dr. Allen reported that PASEF has requested the Administration to provide space in the central part of the campus. They were informed that no space would be available in the foreseeable future. A concern he voiced is that if PASEF cooperates with ASEF, they may lose total sight of space in the future. However, Dr. Allen will bring PASEF board members to look at the space in Penn Tower 21 and it has the advantage of reasonably priced parking. Dr. Allen will deal directly with Julian Pugh.

New Business

Dr. Kefalides drew attention to the PASEF website listing library workshops, in particular, two at the Biomedical Library: 11/3/11 Researching in Life and Health Sciences and 12/7/11 Google and Google Scholar for Health and Life Sciences Research The Committee congratulated Dr. Meadows on being honored by the Governor as a Distinguished Daughter of Pennsylvania.

The meeting was adjurned at 1:35 pm. Respectfully submitted, Susan Heyner, Ph.D. Secretary Treasurer