Video: https://bit.ly/3hBLPNy 

A 2019-2020 goal for Clemson’s Emeritus College was to expand our programming to our emeriti faculty who did not live in the local area. Little did we know that a pandemic would help us meet that goal! In a fall 2019 survey of our faculty, emeriti living in other parts of South Carolina and in other states expressed an interest in participating in our activities, but were unable to do so because of distance. To remedy this, one planned action was to re-equip our conference space so that we could conduct web-based, online programs while still having in-person participation. 

In March, prior to the pandemic, we met with campus technology and classroom design experts. Recommended equipment was purchased to up fit our 1200 square foot conference space for full online delivery. The equipment arrived and then…the university closed its doors! Our last in-person program was on March 13^th.  

By using Zoom, we have been able to meet and exceed our programming goals during the Pandemic. Presenters and participants joined from a location of their choice. A wide variety of forty presentations have been given and recorded to allow for later access. Weekly newsletters alerted members to opportunities and follow up reminders were issued a day ahead. Zoom gave us a way to stay engaged. All statistics of participation were up dramatically from last year at this time. We found that it was indeed possible to “teach old dogs new tricks”!

The new camera and microphone/speaker were finally installed on July 17. We are up and ready, when allowed, to go for web-based presentations from our own conference room. We re-configured the room with tables and chairs, maintaining more than a 36 sq. ft. area per person, and the room will hold 15 individuals safely. 

YouTube: https://youtu.be/bb-InyRSmCI

During COVID-19, we are truly grateful to our USC Emeriti Center students who have been working remotely since March to support our retired USC faculty and staff while including current USC employees, students, alumni and the community in our online events. Our retiree community stays connected through email, zoom sessions and phone calls, and we are focusing on intergenerational discussions and wellness events. Our partnerships with various schools have provided terrific educational presentations and personal connections through zoom and one on one sessions with graduate students from the School of Pharmacy and the USC Chan division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy. We also have partnerships with Physical Therapy, Social Work, and Gerontology along with many other schools and units. We are connecting students and retirees through our phone calling program, Trojan, and we support our first generation USC Caldwell Scholars through fundraising, mentoring and zoom sessions. These are trying times but we continue to look for ways to support our retirees and students as they learn from and support one other.

If you are interested, we recently recorded a presentation about the USC Emeriti Center for AROHE which featured our USC Emeriti Center students. You may watch the video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/bb-InyRSmCI.For comments or questions, please contact Janette Brown, Assistant Vice Provost, USC Emeriti Center, University of Southern California, jcbrown@usc.edu, 213-740-7121

Via YouTube:  https://youtu.be/B2eYjyfUDZk

 California State University San Marcos Retirees Association was established in 2014 as a collegial organization for faculty, staff, and administrators who wish to retain their ties to the university and one another.  This is accomplished through a variety of events throughout the year as well as keeping retirees connected with monthly emails and quarterly newsletters. Suzanne Lingold is the current Chair of CSUSM’s Retirees Association and began serving as Chair on July 2, 2020, CSUSM Retirees Association, retired Association Dean of Extended Learning.  slingold@gmail.com, https://www.csusm.edu/fsra/aboutus/index.html

"The University of California Berkeley Emeriti Association (UCBEA) has developed a project that involves video recording of emeriti faculty for the purpose of preserving the history and accomplishments of its distinguished faculty.  More specifically, the project – referred to as the Legacy Project – has the intended purpose of producing video interviews with faculty who are entering the Emeritus/Emerita phase of their career. The project aims to capture the history and experiences of a UC Berkeley emeritus/emerita, providing a record of contributions, accomplishments, challenges, met and unmet expectations, campus changes and the like of the emeriti’s career, especially in relation to campus history.  The interviews are conducted in conversation with a colleague of the emeritus/a’s choosing.  The interviews are intended to provide a personal record for posterity and to shed light on the history of the Berkeley campus and the emeritus/a’s department, college, and/or school. We see it to be of value to the emeritus/a’s family, friends and colleagues and to serve as a resource for historians.

There is still time to register for AROHE’s October Idea Exchange webinar, which is scheduled for Wednesday, October 21, 9-10 a.m. Pacific Time. Relationships play a significant role in one's overall sense of wellbeing. In the wake of the COVID -19 pandemic, these social supports are affecting people more significantly than ever before. The result is a trend of increasing social isolation and feelings of disconnection that are detrimental to an individual at any stage of life. Join a conversation related to the importance of social supports to one's individual and collective wellbeing and explore the opportunities and roles institutions and retirement organizations may provide to enhance the wellbeing of their members, communities, and institutions. This webinar will be presented via Zoom. Click here to register.

Smith College offers its emeriti/ae two kinds of services: support for continuing research/office space (and all that goes with that) and dedicated forms of social/intellectual programing. 

Research and Office Space. Emeriti enjoy a grace-year in their faculty offices, followed by access to some form of office use – now often shared – on campus. In some cases in the natural sciences, retirees can continue using their labs; and all faculty emeriti can avail themselves of on-campus computing, library/interlibrary loan, photocopying services, the athletic facilities, etc. In addition they can apply to participate in the short- or longer-term collaborative research projects sponsored by Smith’s Kahn Institute, as well as for financial support, e.g. to attend meetings of learned societies.

The Associate Dean of the Faculty Hélène Visentin oversees space assignments. She is advised by the Emeriti/ae Committee, whose members serve for staggered terms of three years. The committee’s advisory work is ever more important as the demand for usable office space now outstrips the supply. 

The EX-Ls is an organization designed to provide retired and other former employees of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) a venue to enjoy and benefit from continued association both with other retirees, former employees and with the Laboratory itself. EX-Ls was founded in 1982.

The main activity of the EX-Ls is the Quarterly Luncheons (held February, May, August, and November) that include a talk by a speaker. The talks vary from topics of general interest to retirees, to talks about scientific activities at LBNL and elsewhere. Luncheons have not been held since May 2020 because of COVID-19, however the talks have continued apace through ZOOM presentations. 

The EX-Ls board members are elected annually at the November luncheon and the Board meets quarterly (now via ZOOM). Board meetings are open to members.  The EX-Ls collaborate with the other three Berkeley retiree associations: UC Retiree Association Berkeley (UCRAB), UC Berkeley Emeriti Association (UCBEA), and the Presidents and Regents Retiree Association (PARRA). We are also represented on CUCRA (Council of UC Retiree Associations). CUCRA and CUCEA (Council of UC Emeriti Associations) are the main advocacy groups for retiree issues with UC.

Membership in the EX-Ls is automatic if you are retired from LBNL or a former LBNL employee. This membership includes spouses, partners, and family members.  Since there are no dues, the EX-Ls are dependent entirely on contributions for financing its activities. The luncheons are self-supporting through the sale of tickets.  

At Florida State University, we are fighting the effects COVID-19 restrictions on social gatherings.  In that vein, our usual campus fall tours will, for this semester, go viral.  Currently we are in production of a virtual tour of the FSU Museum of Fine Arts and the School of Theater.  Our tour will be hosted by the Dean of our College of Arts and Sciences, James Frazier.   Included in the tour will be comments from the Department Chairs and members of the faculty.  In addition, we will focus on student and faculty scholarship.  Also included will be a look at the upcoming season for both the Museum and the School of Theater, with comments about what to expect during the pandemic.  Lastly, we will provide information about the Patron’s Societies that offer vital support to our faculty and students.

Our Fall Luncheon, if cancelled, will still proceed with a Zoom presentation by our guest speaker, Professor Terry Coonan, Executive Director of the Center for the Advancement of Human Rights at FSU.  The title of Professor Coonan’s address is “Human Rights in the 20^th Century.” 

Coinciding with our 30year anniversary in 2021, we look forward to publishing “The Third Decade of Success,” a celebration of the growth and successes of the past ten years, to follow two previous books. Built on the philosophy of our founders—a dedicated group of faculty, staff, and upper administrators—we continue to thrive on the happy mix of University employees that have always comprised our membership.

Current President Carl Cross and a 15 member Board of Directors hold monthly meetings at office space provided to ASURA by the University. Meetings include officers, board members, committee chairs and various university liaisons. Legislative and health care liaisons monitor issues of interest to retirees. Monthly seminars on topics of interest are offered to pre-retirees across our campuses and to our retiree members. Travel opportunities (local, regional and international), luncheons, and special event offerings are frequent. Our Adopt-a-Family, Book donation and Scholarship programs directly impact needy local families and returning students. And the Video History Project, in existence for nearly 20 years, continues to capture fascinating insights into ASU’s history with its nearly 120 digitally recorded video interviews of past administrators, faculty and staff. 

Planning for retirement is challenging. That’s especially so for those with limited resources, because they face numerous risks. 

Adding to the challenge is a major discrepancy between how pre- and present retirees perceive those risks and what empirical research shows the main risks really are, according to a recent study. https://bit.ly/2RwnM80

Being hunkered down at home doesn’t mean you can’t explore new worlds. Discover your next book in these lists created by great minds.

• Curated by the UC Berkeley English Department — From fantastical escapes to apocalyptic plots, these recommendations come from faculty and grad students in the English department. https://bit.ly/33zlaf7

• Curated by UC Berkeley librarians — These selections — ranging from a practical primer on quieting the mind to a page-turner about “the father of epidemiology” — are all available online for free. https://news.lib.berkeley.edu/lockdown-list

A ‘family caregiver’ is defined as someone who is providing unpaid short-term or long-term care to a parent, spouse, friend or other adult loved one who needs help with everyday activities and personal tasks such as transportation, managing finances, scheduling appointments, shopping, bathing, dressing, preparing meals, wound care and/or medication management.

But many family caregivers don’t think of themselves as caregivers—they see themselves as sons, daughters, spouses, and friends just doing what families do for each other. https://bit.ly/3iFw8Ge

It's normal for an older adult to forget where they put their keys, look all over their glasses then realize they're wearing them or have trouble remembering someone's name. But there comes a time when memory loss can be really scary and concerning.

Since 2001 AROHE has supported both institutions and individuals by transforming the experience of retirement – the preparation, the actual transition, and post-retirement programming – into a smooth and productive life-course change.

To renew, join or learn more visit arohe.org or contact AROHE by emailing info@arohe.org or calling (213) 740-5037.