November 10, 2008

Minutes for ASEF Executive Council Meeting November 10, 2008

Present

Drs. Saunders, Schleyer, Steinberg, LaRossa, Asbury, Goldfine, Stinnett, Dalinka, Kefalides, Meadows, MacGregor and Rachael Berget.

Emeritus Status for Research Track Faculty

A guest, Dr. Brian Salzberg, was present. Dr. Salzberg described the fact that Research Track faculty do not currently qualify to be designated as Emeritus upon retirement. Dr. Salzberg would like for ASEF to propose a resolution to the Medical Faculty Senate that would allow Research Track Faculty members to be designated as Emeritus. Dr. Salzberg said that these faculty members have no real job security (because their salaries, and continued employment, are contingent upon retention of research funding) and have given years of service to the institution, so they are deserving of the Emeritus designation.

Dr. Saunders said that this debate comes down to the requirement for scholarship. The University's rule regarding Emeritus designation states that it is only available to members of the Standing Faculty, and Research Track and Academic Clinician Track faculty members are members of the Associated Faculty. Dr. Saunders believes that many people on "the other side of Spruce Street" would not approve of giving the "Emeritus" title to AC faculty, who do not have the requirement to publish or do research to get promoted.

Dr. Saunders said that ASEF might sponsor a resolution that states that Research Track faculty have to meet nearly all of the same COAP requirements as Tenure Track faculty. Dr. Steinberg said that he thought it would be prudent to discuss this resolution with the Provost before sponsoring it publicly. He said that ASEF might want to review all of the rights and privileges of the Research Track before proceeding.

Dr. Saunders stated that, originally, Research Track faculty members were hired as collaborators for Tenure Track faculty. During former Medical School Dean Kelly's tenure, the clinical revenue was not sufficient to hire Tenure-Track faculty members into strictly research positions. So, the Research Track was constituted so that a person could be released from the University if his/her research funding was lost. Dr. Salzberg added that, under normal circumstances, Research Track faculty are also excluded from directing a student's thesis committee.

Dr. Stinnett stated that one important element of the issue currently before ASEF is whether ASEF invites other groups to discuss this change with it. Dr. Stinnett then moved that ASEF sponsor the resolution that had been discussed earlier, and Drs. Schleyer and Kefalides seconded his motion. Dr. Steinberg said that he would vote against this motion because he believes that members of ASEF's Executive Council should talk to others first before sponsoring this resolution. He said that ASEF needed more information before doing anything.

Dr. Saunders said that this is an action that does not require a Faculty Handbook change. He said that the Provost can make this decision. Dr. Goldfine suggested that Dr. Saunders also speak to Dean Rubinstein before acting upon this resolution. Only after speaking to the Dean about this topic, and getting the information it needs should the ASEF Executive Council draft this resolution and present it to the Medical Faculty Senate. This plan passed with all "Ayes".Dr. Saunders said that he would also discuss this matter with Dr. Harvey Rubin.

ASEF 2008 Emeritus Dinner

Dr. Saunders reported that he had gotten a number of e-mails and has had conversations about the 2008 Emeritus Dinner. He recounted these observations and recommendations from his correspondents: 1) attendance wasn't good – we had 50 or 60 for the reception and only 38 for the dinner; 2) the venue for the evening's program (the BRB auditorium) was too huge for the number of attendees; 3) we need to advertise the event more thoroughly; 4) we need to start "talking up" the event earlier, like in August; and 5) perhaps we should do away with a keynote speaker. Dr. Steinberg emphasized the importance of having the Dean in attendance at this event.

Dr. Meadows stated that ASEF should have a speaker that faculty want to hear, that we have to have "bread and butter topics". She said that people come to hear about things that affect them, such as their money or their healthcare. Dr. Steinberg said that the speaker had to be vetted more thoroughly and discussed in advance with the ASEF Executive Council.

Dr. Asbury stated that he had 3 competing events that night; he said that ASEF should plan our dinner for late September or early October, before the academic year gets so busy. Dr. MacGregor stated that the dinner should be advertised as a chance to see old friends and ASEF members should invite friends personally to attend this dinner. He also suggested advertising the dinner in The Daily Pennsylvanian and in The Almanac. Dr. Saunders said that we have to start the whole process of planning and advertising the dinner earlier next year and Dr. Kefalides echoed the sentiment that the selection of the speaker is critical.

Global Health Programs Inquiry

Dr. Saunders read an e-mail that he received from Dr. Neal Nathanson about an inquiry that Dr. Nathanson's global health programs office had recently gotten. Dr. Nathanson asked Dr. Saunders if Penn would be willing to send faculty to international medical schools as visiting professors or consultants for brief periods of time. Dr. Gail Morrison had suggested that Dr. Nathanson contact Dr. Saunders about the potential for Emeritus faculty to take advantage of this offer. Dr. Saunders said that he thought that ASEF should enthusiastically endorse this activity. 

Replacement of At-Large Council Member

A number of potential candidates was discussed. The names of those persons will only be included in the minutes after they have been contacted to determine whether they are interested in serving as an At-Large Council Member.

Retirement Community Survey

Dr. Saunders talked about next steps for the data ASEF has collected thus far from its Retirement Community Survey. He listed several things that ASEF should do to begin the process of floating the idea of a Penn faculty retirement community the administration:

1. Identify Board of Trustee members who are real estate developers;
2. Contact the chair of the Board of Trustees;
3. Contact President Gutmann;
4. Contact the Medical Faculty Senate and the University Faculty Senate to advocate for this project.

Dr. Meadows said that she thought that ASEF should have some idea as to how big a project this retirement community would be prior to advocating for it. Dr. Saunders said that John Trojanowski really started this idea. Another interesting possibility for this retirement community is that the residents could be potential research subjects for Dr. Paul Rozen, who is a gerontologist in the Psychology Department. Dr. Saunders also said that viable retirement community should have between 200 and 250 units in it.

Dr. Saunders stated that he would like to get Penn Executive Vice President Craig Carnoli involved in these discussions. ASEF would have to sell this to the institution as something that is morally and ethically responsible to do, because it would definitely be more profitable for the university to put office space on this land. 

Post-Baccalaureate Mentoring Sessions

Dr. Kefalides and Dr. MacGregor reported that they had participated in one of the Post-Baccalaureate Mentoring sessions. They had 19 students, who had lots of questions. They said that they had an animated discussion with these students on what it means to be a doctor. Dr. Saunders said that program director Sally Carty told him that she was very happy with that session. The next session is scheduled for November 18, 2008.

AROHE (Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education) Meeting

Dr. Saunders reported that his poster got moved to the main session of this meeting and that AROHE members had voted him onto their board. One of the ideas that Dr. Saunders brought back from the meeting is an organization newsletter. If ASEF does this, should it be print or electronic? Dr. Schleyer suggested that it would be much more cost effective to post the newsletter as a webpage. Dr. MacGregor added that he thought that a newsletter is a great way to stimulate interest and get people involved. Drs. MacGregor, Goldfine and Saunders will revisit this topic at their next Committee meeting.

PASEF Database

PASEF is currently working on creating its own list/database of members, similar to the one that ASEF already has.

ASEF Office Space

Dr. Asbury stated that Earl Marsh told him that there is space available on the ground floor of the Gates Building. The Gates Building would be ideal, but the 4th or 5th floor of the Maloney Building would be OK, too.

Sayre Clinic as Emeritus Volunteer Site

Dr. Schleyer asked about the Sayre School site. He said that ASEF Council Members should talk to Dr. Bernie Johnson about what is going on at that site. Dr. Schleyer said that Dr. McCarthy said that ASEF should no longer advertise the Sayre School/Clinic as a viable volunteer site because Sayre will not allow faculty members without their own malpractice insurance to voluntarily practice there.

Programming Committee

Dr. Goldfine said that his committee is thinking of having TIAA-CREF come in and talk about retirement. He would like to have them come in and do a presentation aimed at ASEF members. Dr. Goldfine is thinking of hosting this in January or February 2009.

ASEF Luncheon Program

Dr. Kefalides said that Dr. Don LaRossa is the November 2008 luncheon speaker. Dr. Alan Pack will be the speaker in December, and Dr. John Trojanowski will be a speaker in 2009. Dr. Meadows suggested that ASEF should ask the people that attend Dr. Kefalides' Luncheon Program to fill out a questionnaire to find out what they want from ASEF. 

The next ASEF Executive Council meeting will be held on Monday, December 8, 2008.

Respectfully submitted by

Rachael J. Berget, M.Ed.