December 2024 Minutes

President’s Council of Retired Employees
Friday 6 Dec 2024 at 8:15 am
Foster Board Room, 2nd Floor, Buchanan Alumni House and Zoom

Members Present: Louis Bassano, Richard Borgman (Vice Chair), Richard Judd (Secretary), Richard Kent, Thomas Sandford (Chair), Claire Strickland, Althea Tibbetts, Gail Werrbach
Ex Officio Members: Taylor Defa, Sarah McPartland-Good. Also in attendance: Mike Eckardt.

Approval of 1 Nov 2024 Minutes: Althea moved, Louis seconded; approved.

PCRE Membership: The PCRE recommendations for the new Member at Large and for the Classified position are in the President’s office; Gail introduced PCRE members to Mike Eckardt. We have a professional slot open now that David Bagley has stepped down. We were pleased to have David Bagley as our colleague on the PCRE and thank him for his contributions. Best to you in your next venture, David. At the January meeting PCRE should perhaps consider candidates. Rick plans to return to PCRE in the fall.

Hikel Award: Nominations are due on December 13, and the Hikel committee will begin consideration soon after that. Gail chaired the committee last year, and will chair again this year. Clair and Mike will also serve on the committee. The Committee will complete the process in January so that the nominee can plan to attend the Homecoming. The committee will make a recommendation before the January 3 meeting, Sarah noted that it was hard to get people to nominate and asked PCRE members to encourage acquaintances to do so. A list of all previous winners is on the website (except the 2024 winner). The nominations should go through the PCRE membership as a whole before going to the President. Members discussed the timing of the nominations during the holiday season and considered moving back the deadline, but decided to defer this decision until next year.

Silver Tracks Newsletter: Louis volunteered to take on the Newsletter with help from Rich and Althea. Louis asked about a deadline for submitting copy. Last year’s goal was March 1, but the copy was submitted a little later than that, and was printed in early April. Rick will review his notes and reply to Louis. It should come out in time to inform readers of Homecoming details—perhaps in the first half of March. The subcommittee should allow a couple of weeks for printing and adjustments in formatting. Louis suggested several topics and asked for a subcommittee meeting to discuss them. Tom will set up a Zoom conference for the subcommittee. For article ideas Louis or Tom could contact the VP for finance (Kelly Sparks), facilities management (maybe Stuart Harvey), and/or the current director of athletics.

Homecoming: Tom confirmed the date as Thursday, June 5. Gail was in contact with Lenard Kaye and he has agreed to speak at the homecoming. The PCRE should provide some ideas about a topic, but he may have his own ideas. Gail will ask him about preferences. Gail or Mike wi introduce him at the Homecoming. PCRE discussed possible tours: perhaps another Ursa tour (Tom will check on the maximum number); Extension’s tick lab (which might be limited to 15); the new athletic facilities; and a behind-the-scenes tour of the Hudson Museum Four tours would be ideal, but depending on limits we may need more. Participants would have to provide their own transportation to the tick lab, or perhaps the tick lab could set up a display with a presentation or video in Wells. They usually distribute packets of tick-related things. Tom will follow up on the athletic facilities. PCRE discussed another tour of the 3-D printing facilities.

Website Update (umaine.edu/retirees): Cindy was not at the meeting but communicated with Tom. The 2025 Hikel Award nomination form is on the web page and is downloadable. The October minutes are on the page, and David Bagley’s name has been removed. Cindy needs head-shots from Mike and Gail Dyer-Martin and will put them on the page when their nominations are approved. Cindy also needs a head shot from Taylor Defa.

Retiree Listings on Departmental Websites: Louis asked whether departments include retirees’ names on their faculty web pages, and wondered if there is a university-wide policy in this regard. Gail was not certain about a university policy. PCRE discussed retired classified personnel. HR has the data, but including the names would require a mandate from the President.

Other: Tom has not heard from All Maine Women regarding oral history interviews. Since the AMW members are all seniors, there is a high turnover and officers are difficult to contact. Library personnel have not heard about the interviews either. Tom will continue to try to contact someone. Louis asked about policies regarding tech support for retirees, indicating that he has had trouble getting help and has heard from others that help is limited. Claire responded that in her experience IT help is available (in her case, within 30 minutes). She personally met with IT employees in the Shibles basement, and they were helpful. The address is help@maine.edu, and they have a listing for retired employees. Perhaps this issue should be clarified. Rich suggested including a note on IT help for retirees in the Silver Tracks. Claire will email someone and invite them to a PCRE meeting, perhaps in February. Robert Placido is VP of IT.

Motion to Adjourn: Unanimous.