COX: ENGLISH 1101 HONORS CHECKLIST OF GRADES



Executive Committee

GPC/DeKalb College Retiree Association

Tuesday, September 27, 2016 10:00 a.m.

Clarkston Campus, CM1141

Minutes

President McDonough called the meeting to order at 10:05 a.m. Members present included Bob McDonough, Deborah Huntley, Rosemary Cox, and Erica Hart.

Secretary Rosemary Cox presented the minutes from the July 12th Executive Committee Meeting and the August 10th Quarterly Meeting which featured an interactive discussion on “Living Well in Retirement.” Because Betty Molloy, Barbara Obrentz and Tiffany Sylve were not present at this September board meeting, the Executive Committee recommended that final approval of the minutes be postponed until Molloy, Obrentz, and Sylve have had an opportunity to review and comment on them through e-mail.

In the Chair’s Report, Bob McDonough brought up several issues outlined below:

• On the question of Perimeter College’s representation on the GSU Emeriti Coordinating Board, Bob McDonough, Rosemary Cox, and Catherine Carter have volunteered to serve as the new members, subject to approval by the GSU board. Deborah Huntley’s suggestion that Perimeter College have alternate members on the GSU Emeriti Coordinating Board needs further consideration because the bylaws of the GSU group would have to be amended to accommodate the change.

• The process and policies for determination of emeritus status from Perimeter College have not yet been finalized; GSU is currently discussing the guidelines. No Perimeter College faculty retirees have been granted emeritus status since November 2015.

• The issue of the name change for the GPC/DeKalb College Retiree Association needs to be reconsidered. The question still remains as to whether or not the new name should reflect all the institutions: DeKalb College, Georgia Perimeter College, and Georgia State University. Erica Hart suggested that the name change be put on hold because many concerns still need to be investigated.

• The question of whether or not GSU (downtown campus) retirees should be able to join the GPC/DeKalb College Retiree Association has still not been resolved. The GSU Provost is not in favor of establishing a retiree association for downtown retirees at this time. While it would be a very nice gesture to invite their retirees to join our group, it could potentially precipitate some drastic changes, particularly regarding holiday luncheon venues and newsletter mailings. At present, GPC/DeKalb College has about 530 retirees; the GSU number may be overwhelmingly greater. Because dues go into a general fund and the Retiree Association Scholarship is supported by donations, there would not be major financial impacts to opening our membership to GSU downtown retirees. They are already invited to attend our benefits meeting on October 27th as the GSU meeting on October 26th is open only to GSU and Perimeter emeriti; the program content will be the same. Erica Hart indicated that the benefits flyer and the updated Perimeter College brochure will be shared with GSU downtown retirees. McDonough and Huntley plan to attend the GSU Emeriti Benefits Luncheon on October 26th.

• McDonough and Hart attended the GSU football game between GSU and Ball State played at the Georgia Dome; everyone enjoyed this festive event.

Erica Hart presented the Financial Report. The total balance of the Retiree Association General Fund account is $4,143.46. Hart indicated that membership dues go into this fund; AROHE (Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education) membership dues are also paid out of this account. Hart was reimbursed $21.61 for food for the Quarterly Meeting on August 10th; she will also need to buy more water for the October 27th meeting. Concerning the GPC/DeKalb College Retiree Association Scholarship account, the total balance is $32,225.10; this reflects the $1,668.17 taken out of Operating Costs to cover the scholarship award.

Following up on the topic of the Retiree Association Scholarship, Hart indicated that the guidelines for the award will need to be amended to eliminate the age requirement. The Retiree Association originally had a designated scholarship committee that developed the existing guidelines and wording of the scholarship; Hart noted that other groups that had age restrictions in their scholarship descriptions based their decisions on the philosophy that older students need and deserve support for a variety of reasons, including the fact that they are typically more conscientious about their studies, and they may not have another opportunity to work towards a college degree. Nevertheless, because the current criteria for the scholarship states that it is open to “Current GPC students over the age of 35 who have completed 9 credit hours . . . ,” the phrase “over the age of 35” violates GSU discrimination policies that prohibit references to age, sex, or race. Hart suggested that the scholarship could be awarded to a “non-traditional student”; Cox noted that in the past the Honors Program used the phrase “Return to College” to refer to older students who had started or re-entered college to continue working towards a degree—perhaps this term could be applied to the Retiree Association Scholarship. Another issue in the wording of the current Retiree Association Scholarship guidelines is the specification that the award of $1,250 is “for tuition only.” The “tuition only” restriction may also need to be eliminated: Hart will check on this element. McDonough proposed that the guidelines could simply state that the funds would “cover tuition,” but Hart said that may impact other forms of assistance.

Because Barbara Obrentz was not present at this September meeting, Hart gave the update on the Newsletter. She indicated that the current issue is at the printer’s office, and it will soon be ready for mailing. Hart’s office will be stuffing envelopes on October 4th, and the mailing will include extra flyers related to the holiday luncheon and the need to verify e-mail addresses.

Hart continued with her news from the Perimeter Development Office, outlined as follows:

• The Retiree Association website—which is different from the GSU Emeriti Association website—is changing. Barbara Obrentz will be asked to help with developing the content of the website. Hart believes that even though Obrentz will not function as the “web master,” the Executive Committee should ask her to serve as the official communications person for the Retiree Association.

• Information about the Retiree Association will no longer appear on the Development Office webpage; it will most likely be put on the Perimeter College webpage under GSU.

• Retirees who have not changed to the GSU e-mail address will no longer receive e-mails about the Retiree Association. The migration from GPC to GSU e-mail has already begun; users can still delete trash from their accounts, but GPC e-mail is totally going over to the GSU system. Hart’s office updates their database for new mailing or e-mail addresses; all returned mail is marked and noted.

• The Perimeter College Development Office now has to pay for postage. Hart estimates that it will cost about $275 to send out the holiday event flyer, so that amount will have to be deducted from the Retiree Association account.

• October 22nd is Homecoming. Also, the “save the date” flyer for the Holiday Luncheon (scheduled for December 6th) will be mailed out with the Newsletter, but a separate flyer can be sent out if it is needed.

• The Executive Committee needs to finalize the meeting dates for 2017. These dates for the Executive Committee and Quarterly Meetings should not conflict with the dates for the GSU Emeriti meetings and events which have been published on their website; in addition, the Executive Committee should remember that it should meet one month before the Quarterly Meetings. Hart suggested that at the last Executive Committee Meeting of 2017 (scheduled for October 10, 2017), the members need to plan for the coming year. Huntley added that planning for the Holiday Luncheon, particularly reserving the venue for the event, should begin earlier in the year.

Huntley then discussed Quarterly Meeting programming. She addressed the following topics:

• In accordance with tradition, the October meeting will focus on benefits. McDonough requested an agenda for the benefits meeting, and Hart advised that we should abbreviate the business portion of the meeting to allow maximum time for the benefits presentation.

• For February 2017, a program related to dental and/or vision care or nutrition would be a nice follow-up to the August program on “Living Well.” In particular, eye health directly concerns issues with driving, which is another viable topic on its own: Huntley stated that AAA has a good program just on driving safety. Hart added that in putting together Quarterly Meeting programs, it is effective to utilize “experts” from the College—both current and retired—as we did with the “Living Well” presentation. For a humanities-based program, retired music professor Tommy Joe Anderson is available to give presentations.

• Huntley questioned whether or not the Retiree Association could give an honorarium for a speaker. Hart stated that she would look into that policy; giving a person a check creates problems because it requires filling out paperwork and would require the person receiving the honorarium to declare it on his/her taxes. Giving a gift card is also not an option according to Hart. She suggests taking the person to lunch, giving a small gift such as a pen, writing a “thank you” note, or, if the person is a College faculty member, writing a letter for his/her Annual Report.

Turning to a discussion of Field Trips and Events, Deborah Huntley began by discussing the Holiday Luncheon at Petite Auberge French Restaurant on December 6th. Huntley indicated a need to double check the cost because it has changed. We need a quote for an all inclusive price; a price change will necessitate an update on the flyer. A vegetarian option also needs to be included. In addition, Hart noted that because the College will be closed Thanksgiving week, the RSVP deadline should be November 21st to allow the Development Office time to process requests in order to return the information to Huntley by December 1st; for smooth processing, the flyer needs to include e-mail addresses for both Huntley and the Development Office as well as the Development Office’s telephone number. Huntley also indicated that she needs to clarify with Petite Auberge whether the meal will be served individually or as a buffet, and whether or not attendees need to fill out a choice card ahead of time. Concerning the program, Dr. Lyons will be the guest speaker; other invited guests include this year’s Retiree Association Scholarship recipient, Perimeter College’s Vice President for Development, Montrese Adger-Fuller, and Erica Hart Harris. The Retiree Association covers the cost for five luncheon guests. Concerning next year’s Holiday Luncheon, Huntley expressed a need for the Executive Committee to begin looking for another venue as Petite Auberge is relocating to Violette, where the parking situation is not adequate.

Rosemary Cox provided a follow-up to the humanities-based Fall Field Trip to the 10th Annual Chattahoochee Valley Writers’ Conference and tour of the Smith/McCullers House and Museum in Columbus, Georgia, on September 23rd and 24th. Cox was disappointed that so few retirees participated in the field trip (besides herself, Ron and Joyce Swofford were the only retiree participants; Erica Hart Harris joined the Smith/McCullers House tour, and four faculty members from the Clarkston Campus English Department also took part in the tour and conference). Cox believes that there may have been a miscommunication about the writers’ conference: attendees did not have to submit or bring examples of their own writing in order to participate in the workshops. For future humanities-based field trips, Cox suggested that the Retiree Association focus on local excursions such as attending a play or musical performance, or visiting an art gallery or local writers’ residence like the Margaret Mitchell House in Atlanta.

On the subject of future field trips and events, the Executive Committee considered several options. Hart proposed selecting a theme for the year and then planning activities around that. She also suggested that the Retiree Association might want to form a Theatre and Movie Group, similar to the Retiree Book Club, where members attend plays or movies every month. McDonough mentioned planning a luncheon around a venue in Atlanta such as a visit to the Georgia Aquarium, the Atlanta History Center, or the Carter Center. Other ideas included a visit to the Tellus Science Museum or the Booth Western Art Museum (both affiliates of the Smithsonian Museum) in Cartersville, a trip to the environmentally sustainable “new urban village” of Serenbe, to the Okefenokee Swamp, or a steam train ride through the north Georgia mountains.

Bob McDonough then gave the USG Retiree Council Representative Report and the GA- HERO (Georgia Higher Education Retirees Organization) update. He plans to attend the USG Retiree Subcommittee meeting in Macon on October 21st; at that meeting the Communications Committee plans to bring up the issue of sharing websites and contact between members from other institutions. The Council stresses the importance of building a database of all of the membership. McDonough was unsure if the topic of health benefits would be discussed. Concerning GA-HERO, McDonough stated that he did not have any news to report: he will attend the next meeting and report back to the Executive Committee.

The meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.

Respectfully submitted,

Dr. Rosemary D. Cox

Secretary GPC/DeKalb College Retiree Association

January 9, 2017/ Approved January 10, 2017

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