December 17, 2013

Location

Penn Tower Gates Conference Room

Present

Drs. Baum, Bloch, Broennle, Collins, Goldfine, Heyner, MacGregor(PASEF), Meadows, Myers, Paterson, Saunders, Steinberg,, Victoria Mulhern and Kayvon Nikoo (FAPD)

Absent

Drs. Deren, McCarthy and Salcido

The meeting was called to order by Meadows at 2:30 pm. The minutes of November 26 were approved.

Vicki has advertised Rachael's position and has promising candidates but it may be months before completion.

President's report: a small number of individuals met at 2:00 pm to discuss getting new members of Council. Current members will approach eligible faculty and then Council will select four individuals to be on the ballot. We also need recommendations for President-elect. Discussion followed regarding specific individuals, and Meadows reviewed the process.

Council was saddened by the news of the death of Kefalides, and it was suggested that a card be sent on behalf of Council.

Administrative Report

There are now 2,070 full time faculties, a record high. Saunders asked if there is a ceiling; no, but there is for the CE track. Discussion ensued regarding termination procedures.

Committee Reports

Luncheon seminars Bloch reported that all remaining seminars are filled. Spring lecture has not yet ben filled; Goldfine has not heard back from Michael Brown. Meadows had suggested a spring architectural walk round the campus led by architect David Hollenbeck; this was warmly received, but will not substitute for the Spring lecture. Paterson suggested we ask Dawn Bonnell to talk about her job; Meadows said that in Jan, Eve Higginbotham will speak to the groups.

Retirement

Saunders asked about the retirement lecture(s). We have two; one a ‘nuts and bolts’ with Vicki and Hilary and the other, a panel discussion that will be held on the second floor of the Penn Bookstore. Goldfine has sent out a survey questionnaire to 20 communities where there are Penn faculty. No responses so far, but when responses are received, there will be links on ASEF and PASEF with the name of the individual, so that potential retirees can gain information on a number of aspects.

Service

MacGregor has withdrawn from the patient visitation program due to the difficulty of obtaining information regarding Penn faculty patients. Meadows asked Collins to continue the effort.

PASEF

No plans yet for the Spring lecture. The Alumni association is looking for people to lead trips; so far, MacGregor has three people who have led a trip to write a brief essay on their experience, for the website. He also asked people on the Road to Retirement panel to write a brief essay on their experiences, so far has one. The libraries (Van Pelt and Medical) are eager to provide services to retirees. These can be one on one, or to a small group. Gerry Porter has drawn up a flyer to be sent to the spouses of deceased faculty to help them navigate their rights and privileges.

Website

Kayvon has put links on the website to the obituaries for Nick Kefalides that were in the Inquirer and from Penn. There were complaints about finding specific materials on the website; and it was concluded that we need an Emeritus/Senior faculty to assist Kayvon.

Other Business

Steinberg suggested that all faculty attaining the age of 55 should get a welcoming letter from ASEF. Vicki’s office has data on birthdates and could do this. There was discussion concerning the age, 55, for attaining senior status; it was concluded that this could be raised to 60, but that it is important for faculty to begin the process of planning before it is too late to take advantage of some of the plans. Vicki commented that most faculty leave it too late!

The meeting was adjourned at 4:30 pm.

Respectfully submitted, Susan Heyner, Ph.D. Secretary Treasurer