UIC Chapter of SUAA Minutes of the Board of Directors Meeting March 1, 2005

Members Present: Marsha Borders, Kathy Crittenden, Merrill Gassman, Dick Johnson, Irv Miller, Jacob Starks, Wally Wadycki, and Ralph Westfall

1. The meeting was called to order at 10:00am by Acting President Kathy Crittenden.

2. Minutes of the February 1, 2005 meeting were read but not approved. Corrections were solicited, for approval at the next meeting. Corrected minutes will be distributed via e-mail.

3. Members present introduced themselves.

4. The following announcements were made:

• A state-wide SUAA Board Meeting will be held at Governor's State University on March 10, 2004. Five SUAA/UIC Board members will attend.
• The Retirement Planning Conference, scheduled for March 19, 2005, was discussed. Dr. Crittenden described the duties of volunteers and distributed flyers for the Conference.
• The Spring Meeting of the chapter is scheduled for April 21. President B. Joseph White will attend and stay through lunch.
• The latest edition of the chapter newsletter has been distributed. The members present applauded Roz Hoffman for doing a superb job in putting it together.
• The membership report, prepared by Gerry Piorkowski, was read by Dr. Crittenden. The chapter now has 1205 members. The state SUAA has moved to rotating memberships, so that dues will be paid on the anniversary date of admission to SUAA membership, rather than at the previous common date.
• Irv Miller discussed the most recent Brown Bag Seminar, at which Prof. Kelvin Rodolfo discussed tsunamis and their origins and consequences. Although only 10 people attended, the seminar was very well received by those present. The next seminar will be April 14, to be addressed by Hedy Landman on the subject of caregiving for the frail elderly. Suggestions for seminar speakers for next year were solicited.

5. Wally Wadycki will review the Bylaws and propose changes, to be distributed to Board members for comment at the next Board meeting. Following Board approval, the changes will be distributed to the chapter membership for a vote. Dick Johnson raised a question about the terms of office of Board members, as laid out in the Chapter Constitution. Wally Wadycki will review the issue along with his review of Bylaws changes.

6. Dick Johnson reported on legislative affairs. He reported that the State SUAA organization is considering the establishment of a Political Involvement Committee (PIC) to set in place a grass-roots structure for political action on behalf of SUAA, including support of positions on issues and endorsement of candidates for office that support SUAA positions. The PIC would be independent of the Legislative Committee, and its main function would be informational. The establishment of the PIC is on the agenda for the March 10, 2005 statewide SUAA Board meeting. A proposed name for the PIC is "Public Higher Education Action Committee (PHEAC)". Its first activity would be training of members for political action, beginning this coming summer. Several Board members expressed some reservations:

• PHEAC appears to be a lobby, so it must be independent of SUAA, so as not to endanger SUAA's tax-exempt status. Thus, it would need to be independently funded. It is unlikely that voluntary contributions from members will provide sufficient funds for operation.
• Most of the Board members expressed reservations about endorsing particular candidates, feeling it is more appropriate to endorse positions on issues.
• In spite of these reservations, members agreed that it was important that the UIC chapter be involved in this activity as soon as it is initiated, and a proposal was introduced that the UIC chapter will offer itself as a pilot chapter for training in political involvement as soon as it is approved by SUAA. The vote was 7 in favor, 1 opposed.

7. The Governor's proposals to change the state pension system were discussed.

8. Dick Johnson reminded the Board members that nominations of officers for 2005-2007 need to be forwarded to the nominating committee as quickly as possible.

9. The meeting adjourned at 11:35am

Respectfully submitted,

Irv Miller
Secretary ad hoc

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