February 2022 Minutes
UM President’s Council of Retired Employees
umaine.edu/retirees
February 4, 2022
8:15–9:15
Minutes
Meeting via Zoom
Attendees: David Bagley, Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman, Dusty Dowse, Sarah McPartland-Good, Richard Kent, Michael Pullen (by phone), Sue Randall, Thomas Sandford, Phyllis Thibodeau, Meredith Whitfield
Absent member: Richard Judd
Call to Order:
Dusty Dowse called the meeting to order at 8:15 a.m.
Review and approval of the January minutes:
Minutes of the January 14, 2022, were approved as distributed.
Introduction of new members:
President Ferrini-Mundy approved two new members for a three-year term to serve on the Council and they were introduced at the meeting.
- Richard Borgman, Maine School Business
- Richard Kent, College of Education and Human Development
Both faculty are newly retired as of September 1, 2021
Other questions of membership:
The President eliminated the position of Past Chair to the membership list. The Council will now consist of a 12-member committee. Two representativesstill need to be filled at this time.
The Gold Card Eligible, which is an active employee currently working at the University and a Classified Employee. Dusty has asked that members scout around their Units for any likely candidates. Please forward potential names to him who may fall in this category.
Gym Membership:
The President is working out details for the Cooperative Extension retirees Gold Card holders to obtain a gym membership. Once the particulars are ironed out a letter will be sent to the retirees who are affected.
Homecoming:
After discussion and consideration,a motion was made, seconded, and unanimously approved to cancel the 2022 Homecoming.
Silver Tracks Newsletter:
Sue Randall sent out a request to solicit ideas for newsworthy items for the newsletter.
Louis Bassano submitted two potential ideas. John Hutchinson is a new Business Reference Librarian who is interested to make connections with the broader university community and highlight some of the resources he has available. Everyone agreed this would be an interesting story so Louis will interview him and submit to Sue for the newsletter. The other idea was to do a story on how the pandemic has impacted remote learning and how the experience could benefit the university in the future. Dusty will interview Serge Drage and report on his findings.
Sarah McPartland-Good suggested possibly adding the members’ bios to the PCRE website. Many agreed this would be a more appropriate location for this information.
Other featured items will be the Harold “Brownie” Brown Scholarship recipient and the President’s letter.
Items from the Floor:
Scholarship Fund
The Harold “Brownie” Scholarship has been awarded to the same recipient for the past two years. The student is chosen by the Office of Student Financial Aid. Sue Randall thought it would be worthy for the Committee to review the fund description to see the limitations and decide if we want to modify the description. Sarah will forward the fund description to the members.
Barbara Hikel Retiree Award
The email was sent to all University of Maine Employees soliciting nominations for the 2022 Barbara Hikel Retiree Award. The deadline for submission is March 11, 2022. The following members will serve on this subcommittee: Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman, Dusty Dowse, and Richard Kent.
Oral History Project
Sue will check with Marian Dressler on the infrastructure of the Oral History Project.
Meeting adjourned at 9:15 a.m. The next meeting is scheduled for March 4, 2022 at 8:15 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Phyllis Thibodeau