April 15, 2010
Present were Robert Franson, Audie Henry, Lois Widom, David Copp, Mary Hanlan, Kathy Cairns,
Irene Lennox, Inga Hoffman, Steve Zaslaw, Chris Le Maistre, Corinne Miller, Nancy
Mead
Absent were Patty Stumpf, Alverda Orlando, Florence Orenstein, Dusty Miller, Mark Gordon
Minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and various corrections were made. These chiefly consisted of spelling and typographic changes, but one substantive change was suggested under the Scholarship Report. The report of the motion concerning scholarship awards should read "the motion was made to amend the proposal that we give $300 to 25 re-entry students as defined by STARS, which includes entering students over the age of 25 and veterans, in the fall of 2010." These changes will be called to the attention of the recording secretary, who was absent at the April meeting, for correction and forwarding to Steve for the permanent file. The minutes were approved as corrected.
Robert noted that a few issues raised during our previous meeting in March had not been resolved, and he wished to call these to our attention. First, that we now have been cleared to participate in the Sutter Senior Health Fair on Saturday, May 1. Robert then went on to note that the matter of how to handle gifts and honoraria remains unresolved. And finally he wished to clarify how scholarship recipients should be described. It seems that we have never fully addressed the issue of whether or not re-entry students include graduate students. As it happens, that group has never been considered for scholarship awards, but Corinne will look into the possible need for us to make a change in that regard. She is aware of greater need in that category than ever before. In the interim we will confine our efforts to the re-entry population as currently defined by STARS. MSP. Steve will change our website to include a link to the STARS criteria.
NOMINATING COMMITTEE:
Robert gave the report of the nominating committee, as chaired by Virginia Law. The slate will include nominations for President, Nancy Mead; Vice-President, Chris Le Maistre; Treasurer, David Copp; Recording Secretary, Patty Stumpf. Since last year's officers had included two vice-presidents, one of them being Dusty Miller, a question was raised as to whether or not we needed a second vice-presidential nomination. However, the by-laws do not require this. Dusty does not wish to be considered for succession to the presidency.
POLICY ON HANDOUTS AT GENERAL MEETINGS:
There was considerable discussion over the issue of handouts at our monthly meetings, prompted chiefly by an instance at the March meeting of a member standing by the exit with fliers. The member had neither sought nor received permission for this and was thought to be impeding peoples efforts to leave the event center in an orderly fashion. Robert recommended that we continue our policy of offering a table where members could leave information that might be of interest to other LLL. But he further urged that we publicize that this exists and strongly discourage anyone from offering printed material at the door, except for handouts from the speaker. MSP. Often our speaker has materials to be handed out, and it was felt we should facilitate that, especially since we do not pay them for their services.
DATABASE:
Robert pointed out that our database is old and doesn't serve our needs well. He said we need a programmer to reset it. It was his recommendation that we hire a professional to this. MSP. Corinne will approach University Relations as to how we might proceed. Steve noted that he would like to see us offer an online method of payment, and David agreed.
SPRING FIESTA LUNCHEON:
Inga reported that we currently show 65 people signed up for this event. She has been receiving personal checks in payment and once a month sends these to Kira. We are estimating that some 160 reservations may be needed. We have set a deadline of April 30 for our members to reserve; the caterers deadline is May 7. Approximately ten extra reservations will be added to the total, to allow for last-minute arrivals. Robert has secured a half-price deal on five cases of wine from Soquel Vineyards. Irene announced various other details, including decorations. Kathy Cairns is making the table decorations and may need help. It was agreed by all that we should pay the fee required to have catering staff remove dirty dishes, replenish food trays as need, and, perhaps, cut the cake. Meanwhile Inga volunteered to keep an eye on the serving table to make sure it was adequately supplied with food. Lois mentioned that the party, as our 25th anniversary celebration, would be a good basis for a feature story in the newspaper. Nancy agreed to look into this.
TREASURER'S REPORT:
David did not make a formal report. He said he is working on a mid-year report and hopes to have it at our next meeting.
MEMBERSHIP:
We are at 447 members. We are in need of return envelopes for the membership mailing in the summer. Steve will make the necessary revisions and Corinne will place the order. It was noted that new envelopes should include the Osher logo. Florence Ornstein was absent.
INTEREST GROUPS:
Dusty Miller was absent. There was, however, a discussion of whether or not to consider renting space for interest groups, on an as-needed basis. The board had no objection to our doing so. It was pointed out that sometimes we have special need for spaces that cannot be provided in the homes of members.
COURSES:
Our records show that 25% of our members take at least one class. We could use still more venues, particularly if we add more classes. Lois could use help in setting up new courses, as well as new course locations. It was noted that David Bowman, Chair of Biological Sciences, who has offered to give a course, will be coming to our next meeting with his wife. Lois raised the question of who should receive honorary memberships. Robert proposed a committee to study this, noting that these memberships do not contribute to the count as requested by Osher. Mary, Lois, and David will meet to study this issue and report back at our next meeting. David made a proposal that we add to our course list by hiring graduate students to teach. This was not discussed.
KRAFT COURSE:
We need a system to more efficiently deal with courses such as the Kraft offering, where a lottery may be involved. People sending in their money may not get into the class, but, as it stands now, their checks have already been deposited, and the University has no easy mechanism to make refunds. Mary suggested that we take names but no money until the class membership has been determined. The board approved this procedure.
SHUTTLE:
Alverda will be unable to provide a shuttle for the April meeting. David will try to arrange some paid help for this Sunday. Lois suggested that we encourage members to offer rides from the bottom of the hill on an as-needed basis. David reported that a shuttle with driver would run $232.00 for three hours.
MAY MEETING STRATEGIC PLANNING SESSIONS:
Robert suggested we allow 45 minutes for these sessions, which will take place in the event center at tables for eight, expecting that we may need as many as 20 tables. Board members and/or group leaders will preside at each table. Robert has prepared a draft outline of possible subjects for discussion. Included are some data-gathering questions. There was discussion of the proposed outline, as well as of the logistics for this new feature. Robert would like a small group to meet to consider these matters and come up with a final plan. Corinne, Inga, and Nancy volunteered; Joan Rose was mentioned as a possible, and Steve offered to ask if she would be available.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:15 p.m.
The next meeting will be on Thursday, May 13, at Inga's house.
Minutes were taken by Nancy Mead, in the absence of recording secretary, Patty Stumpf.
ACTION ITEMS:
Steve: provide a link on our website to the criteria used in defining STARS re-entry students;
revise envelope design and incorporate Osher logo as needed.
Corinne: check on need for book scholarships to graduate students; check with University
Relations on how we might proceed in finding a professional to re-design our database.
Inga: will keep an eye on the food table at our party, making sure the platters are filled in a
timely fashion.
Nancy: will explore the idea of getting a feature story on our 25th anniversary celebration.
Mary, Lois and David will meet to discuss honorary memberships.
Corinne, Inga, and Nancy will meet to review plans for our May 16 discussion groups.
March 18, 2010
Present: Florence O, David Kopp, Robert Franson, Irene Lennox, Lois Widom, Audie Henry, Alverda Orlando, Nancy Mead, Inga Hoffman, Mark Gordon, Corrine Miller, Dusty Miller, Chris Le Maistre, Mary Hanlan, Shirley Forsyth, Kathy Carnes, Patty Stumpf
Absent: Steve Zaslaw
The meeting was called to order by President Robert Franson at the home of Inga Hoffman at 10:05 a.m.
Minutes from the last meeting
A correction was made, noting that under item 3 it should say "March speaker may be able to cover."
Compliance with UC Policy on Support Groups - Robert
Robert referred to the document of the same name and encouraged us all to read it. As one of the Friends Groups, we are asked to comply with its provisions. He felt it appropriate to accept the document. It was MSP that we accept.
May Meeting & 25th Anniversary Fiesta Luncheon - Irene
There is still some confusion remaining regarding April publicity for the May meeting and luncheon. The menu has been finalized. The cost for the food will exceed $1500 so the contract must be drawn up with Corrine, not Tracy. Wine quantity to be ordered is still undetermined. Displays and space available for setting up easels with posters from Interest Groups was checked by Robert at the last General Meeting and he saw plenty of room. Easels can be rented for a fee if required. There will be a one page flyer announcing the May Party. Dusty will contact the Interest group leaders to advise them about preparing something for display, if they are interested.
Treasurer’s Report – David
1. Budget projection with Osher money plus LLL monies minus the expenses and scholarships will result in a balance of +/-$40,000. Our rate of spending is $40k below our income. David suggests we think about good things to do with this additional money. We have money available and can take on some projects that are beneficial to our members. A discussion ensued about the fiscal responsibility of being conservative with the additional monies; and that projects will evolve over time to fund. It was suggested that a committee be formed to consider additional projects to fund.
2. Establishing an Independent Petty Cash account (per David’s report)
The bank will not permit one to open an account for an existing organization without obeying the rules of that organization. Some options include:
a. Create an independent but parallel organization.
b. Invite some members (Board Members?) to withhold their Silvia Miller contributions. Pick up small expenses with personal checks. At the end of the year give the balance to the Silvia Miller Fund.
Option b. provides no tax benefit to donors but there is also no 6% University fee. Corrine suggested that we continue to pursue working with the University to find a workable compromise.
3. Funding scholarships and reducing fees
The numbers in the 2-17-2010 report “Projected revenue available for scholarships” were too low by a significant amount (luncheon income and Unclassified Donations were not included). The revised number is funding in the amount of $26,000 based on a membership level of 450 people (FY09-10) and $29,000 at the 500 member level (FY 10-11).
Because of the additional funding from the Osher Foundation, the Treasurer has been asked if we could reduce the LLL fees. There was a discussion regarding eliminating Interest Group fees which are generally considered as funding for scholarship funding. Interest Groups and course fees were designed to fund scholarships. There are no guidelines for OLLIs for this and every OLLI operates differently. There is a deep consciousness within the organization that money beyond expenses will be used for scholarships and has always been a core part of the LLL mission. One possibility is that a new member can join the interest groups for no charge for the first year only.
Scholarship report – Shirley and Florence
The least amount a student is spending is $500 per quarter for books. The committee recommends that scholarships be made only to re-entry students and/or veterans over 25 years of age. The committee would like 25 scholarships at $300 per quarter per student deposited in their own accounts (no longer using solely the UCSC Bookstore) and that in the second and third quarters they must meet with the STARS staff and sign off with them to receive additional funds. This would become effective in September 2010.
The motion was made to amend the proposal that we give $300 to 25 re-entry students and veterans over 25 years of age, over three quarters beginning in 2010. The motion was seconded and passed.
The STARS office will prepare an official document to present to the students receiving scholarships.
Membership: Florence
We are very close to 450 members now. People are joining either for the classes they are interested in, for example, the Buster Keaton class, and some of the new interest groups. The goal is to keep these new members and to make them feel welcome in LLL.
A separate discussion ensued regarding publicity for LLL. For the local newspapers contact in person with the newspaper staff is the best. Various members will attempt to contact Sentinel staff.
Interest Groups – Dusty
There will be no sailing group because no one offered to lead the group.
The Great Decisions Discussion Group began on Monday.
Classes – Lois
If you missed the Shakespeare class, you made a mistake. Next year we should get the classes started earlier as they are bunching up right now. We may need an earlier newsletter announcing upcoming classes. Using the MAH meeting space has been excellent as is the AV equipment. It is also a good relationship between LLL and MAH.
Sutter Health Fair – Lois
9 to 1 on May 1. It is a pleasant thing to do and a good place for LLL to make an appearance. Inga, Dusty, Lois and Chris will participate. Lois will call Sutter Hospital to confirm our attendance.
Bob Kraft’s Course
There were 21 applicants for 15 seats. Bob has determined the number of students since he will conduct the class at his home. Applicants 16 through 21 will go on a waiting list. Their checks have already been processed so we need to provide them with a voucher that they can use to offset any future LLL fees.
Videotaping Lectures – Mary
Some requests have been made to videotape the speakers at the Membership meetings which can then be viewed on the website. Mary thinks we should consider this in the future. The idea will require a lot of study.
Shuttle Service
Corrine is going to provide David with a contact at UCSC to investigate renting shuttle services. Alverda transported about 10 people at the last meeting. More use the service when it rains. We need to get the actual costs before moving ahead on this.
Sunday March 21st meeting
Mark reviewed the greeting process which seems to be very effective as there was a group of people always available to hand off new people to guide them to the tables. People at the membership table also need back-up when the line grows.
Mary mentioned that she appreciates the reserved parking spaces for the speaker and Alverda. April meeting speakers will be with Nicole Paiement and Brian Staufenbeiel.
Next meeting: April 15th at 10 a.m. at Inga’s house
Meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf with help from Nancy Mead
UCSC Lifelong Learners
Board of Directors Meeting
February 18, 2010
Present: Mark Gordon, Irene Lennox, Florence Orenstein, Steve Zaslaw, David Copp, Audie Henry, Robert Franson, Lois Widom, Nancy Mead, Inga Hoffman, Chris LeMaistre, Alverda Orlando, Mary Hanlan, Dusty Miller, Kathy Cairns, Patty Stumpf
Absent: Corinne Miller
Location: Inga Hoffman’s house
1. The Minutes from the previous meeting were approved (prepared by Nancy Mead).
2. Osher – a $50,000 check has been received; David Blazevich will attend the March meeting.
3. Sunday General Meeting – Mary
The shuttle service will be available again by Alverda. David suggested that we hire a shuttle service. Lois suggested we look into the cost of hiring such a service. Liability issues for volunteer drivers might be an issue. David will do the necessary research. The April speaker has cancelled but the March speaker can cover the date; however, nothing has been finalized yet. There was a discussion regarding the previous meeting and the set-up when new people arrived. The same procedure will be used at the March general meeting.
The Board was reminded that new members joining after April 1 will get a full year membership.
4. Nominating Committee
Bylaws require election of officers at the end of the May meeting. 3 members are chosen by the President; a notice has been drafted for the newsletter; Robert has asked Virginia Law, Jim Ferris, Roger Bach and Cindy Margolin to be on the nominating committee. It was MSP that this group of people be appointed to the nominating committee.
5. Treasurer’s report
Scholarships – can we increase the amounts we give to students? This year there were 24 applicants and 20 scholarships were awarded. The money is given to them via the campus bookstore. David prepared a revenue projection based on membership numbers. Estimated student costs per quarter for books are $500, based on bookstore data. The Scholarship Committee will talk to Corrine to get more information about the actual book costs for the STARS students. The questions to be answered are: what percentage of the book costs are we actually able to cover; are we able to help all of the eligible applicants; what students in the STARS program are eligible for the book scholarship awards? LLL scholarships to date have only been granted to re-entry students, not transfer students or veterans.
6. Membership
We are now at 407 members (excluding honorary members)
The Membership Committee met and is now comprised of Inga, Dusty, Florence, Hila Michaelsen, and Steve Edmonds.
7. Interest Groups – Dusty
Financial Education and Discussion Interest Group proposal
There is a new interest group proposal from Steve Edmonds to have a Financial Education and Discussion Interest Group, to meet twice a month, with topics for discussion prepared by either Steve or members of the group. He would not be recruiting clients. Sunday he will make a presentation to the general group. It was MSP that this new interest group be accepted.
Jan Jaffe’s recruitment & training session
It has been proposed that an article be published in the newsletter to advertise a ½ day seminar on Leading a Group. No definite time or date has been set. This is presented as a project to be run by Jan and Dusty, run as a workshop. MSP to allow the workshop. Steve suggested we put the steps to starting a new interest group on the LLL website. There will be an article in the newsletter about this group.
8. Members who are ill or have suffered loss – Dusty
Typically a board position of corresponding secretary would send letters of condolence to families; however, we currently do not have this position on the Board. In the case of a member’s death, Robert has taken it upon himself to send a note and to include a mention in the newsletter in memoriam. The general consensus of the Board is that the current practice is adequate.
9. Courses – Lois
The courses are going well and there are some good ones coming up. The Buster Keaton class begins next Wednesday. Lois is working with the UCSC Biology Department on a 4 session class on different aspects of biology. There was a discussion regarding the financial policies of UCSC and the limitations on spending. This is having an impact of providing a small honorarium ($100) to our instructors. The possibility of taking one revenue stream and funneling it into a separate account for LLL, not subject to the policies of UCSC, was discussed and will be investigated.
10. LLL May Party – Birthday Celebration
There will be a regular general meeting followed by breakout sessions to discuss future planning for LLL. Lunch will follow, with music provided by Velzoe and the Upbeats. The Board agreed to subsidize the cost of the party and that $15 would be a reasonable ticket price, which will include wine. Robert is working with Corrine on providing wine at the event. Bargetto wine will be served. $250 was spent last year on wine at the year end event.
11. LLL History Book Update– Mark and Alverda
The committee is unable to complete the history by the May meeting date. They continue to gather data for the book. It is planned to include pictures as well as text. graphics and pictures.
Meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
LLL Board Meeting Minutes of Thursday, January 14, 2010
Present: David Copp, Robert Franson, Mark Gordon, Mary Hanlan, Inga Hoffman, Nancy Mead, Corinne Miller,
Dusty Miller, Florence Orenstein, Alverda Orlando, Lois Widom, Steve Zaslaw
Absent: Kathy Cairns, Audie Henry, Chris LeMaistre, Irene Lennox, Patty Stumpf
Robert announced that he would not be running for re-election as president. He also expressed that he believes the UCSC Community Online is not truly ready for our participation as yet, since in various ways it has not proved responsive to our efforts to use it.
The minutes of the previous meeting, taken by Patty Stumpf, were approved, pending changes previously brought to Patty's attention by Dusty Miller.
OSHER UPDATE:
Robert reported that our Osher application has been approved and is scheduled to be implemented sometime in January, pending a formal announcement to come from the university. Kathleen Hughes is the contact person. She anticipates a news release that will appear in the Sentinel. David Blazovich of Osher would like to visit us, and he has been invited to attend the February meeting. It is anticipated that he will be asked to have lunch with a small group of our members, to follow the meeting. We are on schedule to receive $50,000.00 and $12,500.00 (less a 6% fee levied by the university) for our use during 2010. We had submitted a budget to Osher indicating how these funds might be used. One such use will provide for publicity, to include ads, brochure publication, and other costs involved in an outreach to grow our membership to 500 by 2012.
Various efforts are now being made to publicize our organization. Nancy Mead reported that we have people working on contacts with the Sentinel, our two local weeklies, the community TV channel, and the Santa Cruz Realty Board. Other efforts are planned, to include radio public service announcements and distribution of brochures to appropriate public places, such as libraries, doctors' offices, etc.
JANUARY 17 MEETING:
Because we nearly filled the room used for last month's speaker, it has been decided to use the event center for our speaker's presentation in January in order to accommodate a possible crowd of over 140. This has involved some modification of our format. Since we will use the event center for the entire meeting it will be set up differently, with chairs in place to seat up to 200 people. Refreshments and ancillary tables will be set up around the perimeter. There will be an additional table at the entry to feature our interest groups. More sophisticated equipment has been rented for the meeting. There was considerable discussion about these changes and how they might impact the membership. Great concern was expressed for the comfort and satisfaction of attendees. It was felt that we should be keenly attuned to how this format functions, in order to assess whether or not it should be replicated, as opposed to finding other solutions for our presumably growing numbers.
Apropos of the logistical concerns, Mark Gordon told us of a plan he devised to deal with new or prospective members. This would involve having a cadre of people to meet, greet and superintend those who were attending for the first time. He proposed assigning members to tasks, such as greeting; taking people to the membership table for a name tag and/or sign-up; offering help in explaining how LLL works; and trouble-shooting any problems that arise. He also outlined need for help in setting up, including bathroom checks and making sure the sound system, tables, and materials were all in place. At least sixteen people would be necessary to implement the plan as he conceived it. There was much discussion as to whether or not this was a good idea, but finally Florence Orenstein suggested that we give it a try. There were no objections. Mark circulated a sign-up sheet, asking for volunteers.
Along with questions about the facility came questions and concerns about parking. Alverda volunteered to use her van to shuttle people up the hill in cases where walking was a hardship. She will need some signs and a designated parking space to use for her van when she finishes. Mary Hanlan offered to make signs. It was also suggested that we ought to have a parking attendant, either a volunteer or a paid person such as a student, who could give suggestions if parking areas filled.
PUBLICITY:
Publicity efforts are in the works, but there is some need to coordinate these with the forthcoming Osher designation. Lois and others recently spent time at the Dominican Hospital Health Fair, hoping to spread the word and attract members. This was well-attended, and there was a great deal of interest in the materials and information provided by LLL members.
NEWSLETTER:
Steve Zaslaw had an estimate on costs for using better quality paper and color in the printing of the newsletter. There was general agreement in accepting this figure. He also mentioned his concern about the photo quality of our present brochure. He believes he can make improvements. It was MSP that he do so. It also was suggested that a graphic designer might be wanted to assist with planning any future materials as we move into the Osher designation. It was MSP that we locate a graphic designer to be approached about our needs for both a color brochure and a newsletter designed to incorporate the Osher logo.
INTEREST GROUPS:
Dusty Miller reported that we now have 26 interest groups. The most recent is to be known as The Symphony Group. Members would be able to avail themselves of tickets to Santa Cruz County Symphony concerts and previews at an attractive price. They would be able to pick and choose which events to attend. The Fishmans will chair the group.
COURSES:
MSP that anyone teaching a course for LLL will be made an honorary life member. Additionally, Lois Widom believes that we should use Osher monies to gift each presenter with a $100.00 gift certificate. This too was MSP. Corinne advised Lois to first speak with her about how to do this so that the expenses would be easily covered out of university-held funds. Lois has concerns about the seating capacity for some of the classes, but it was agreed that we would learn from this, our first experience with possibly overflow numbers of enrollees. She did her best to find venues with adequate resources.
MEMBERSHIP:
Florence Orenstein announced that our membership has reached 370. She noted that a volunteer, Jan Jaffe, called all non-returning members in an attempt to learn the reason for non-renewal. Jan concluded that for the most part these people had not connected to any of our activities and/or have trouble making the Sunday meetings. Florence also noted a problem in processing new members. Evidently in some cases checks come in unaccompanied by a coupon or any other identifying data, and these are not properly recorded as a result. Florence wants people to know that as a safeguard they should put a LLL designation on the check itself.
SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE:
The Scholarship Committee has met and sent a report via Florence. They have had resignations and need two more members. They've made inquiries and have learned that the average cost for books is $500.00 per quarter. To that end they would like to make awards of $400.00 a quarter and increase the number of students to 25 in 2010-2011. This proposal would be at a cost of $36,000.00. Treasurer David Copp said the current budget can handle only $22,000.00. MSP to continue current amounts at this time. All of this years recipients are doing well in school. David will look into the financial impact of increasing the number and size of scholarships at some point in the future and will report back at the next meeting.
BOOK COUPONS:
Our last month's speaker has coupons worth 20% off on her new book, which is about to be published. Anyone interested should see Mary Hanlan.
DESSERT EXTRAVAGANZA:
Corinne Miller announced that this year's extravaganza will be held at the STARS office from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on Friday, January 29. All board members, interest group leaders, and short series leaders are invited to attend. RSVP (831) 459-2552 by Friday, January 22.
MAY PARTY:
It was discussed whether or not to change the May party date to accommodate last year's musical group. MSP to keep the date as is and look for other groups to entertain us. We need to establish a budget for this event. Florence thinks we should charge $20.00 per person. Mark Gordon presented some ideas for consideration as activities but no decisions were made.
LLL HISTORY BOOK:
The history committee will meet January 26 at 2:00 p.m. in the STARS office to consider final plans for a publication. The committee consists of Alverda, chairman; Mark; Florence; and Nancy. Size and format of the publication need to be established, and a budget must be set. A community TV photographer would be willing to shoot interviews with oldtime members, for local TV airing.
The time of the next board meeting will be announced.
Meeting adjourned at 12:35 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Nancy Mead, substituting for Patty Stumpf
UCSC Lifelong LearnersBoard of Directors MeetingNovember 12, 2009 10:00 a.m. (continued on November 19, 2009)
Present: Alverda Orlando, Audie Henry, Mark Gordon, Chris Le Maistre, Inga Hoffman, Steve Zaslaw, Nancy Mead, Dusty Miller, Robert Franson, Mary Hanlan, Patty Stumpf, David Copp
Absent: Lois Widom, Florence Orenstein, Corinne Miller, Kathy Cairns, Irene Lennox
Location: Monarch Room, 2155 Delaware Ave, Suite 100, Santa Cruz
The Minutes of the October 15, 2009 meeting were approved.
UCSC Community Online
Introduction: Katie Hund, Assistant Director of Development for the Friends Group, who works with each of the Friends groups regarding their status and relationship with UCSC. LLL is under Student Affairs.
Demonstration of UCSC Community Online by Katie
Robert introduced this social networking site on-line community. You can create groups that will allow you to post information, photographs, agendas, set up meetings, create an event and distribute notice to all the members. This might be a possible tool for the Interest Groups
This does not replace the existing UCSC website. The information contained in the individual profiles on the system is private, not shared and users are not obligated to provide any more than the basic required information.
LLL will have to provide directions to its members on how to use the website.
The following operations were demonstrated:
Log in information:
Under Groups you have to invite and people have to opt into the LLL Board community.
Recent Activity lists all activity on the site.
Posts: is where you find documents, listed by most recent. Word documents can be posted (copy and post).
How to compose a message in system, and then distribute to your list.
Photos: to add your photo browse on your own computer for a photo to post
Caption – descriptive
Tagged in this picture: click on the photo and a small box appears. Move it with your cursor to a person or highlight and type in the name. This name will appear in the info box below the photograph. If you click on the name the person will be highlighted in the photograph.
Class Notes: Lists information that is populated in your profile sections. This feature applies to UCSC alumni.
The Front Page highlights:
Spotlight
Featured Blogs
Hot Topics (for discussion boards)
Events
University Relations Gift Fee
Historically at UC Relations there was a 3% gift fee charged on every gift received by the University collected to cover University Relations overhead. Previously all of the Friends Groups have been exempt from this fee. Now starting July 1, 2009, Friends Groups will have a 6% gift fee on all gifts received. With this new gift fee charge comes some new benefits to the Friends Groups: the Online Community system tool now provided to Friends groups and Liability Insurance now covered by the University. Robert asked if the Liability Insurance includes Directors Liability Insurance. Katie will look into this. Audie asked about carpool coverage for drivers. All OLLI money will be charged 6%, but not reflected on financial statements to LLL (will be already deducted).
Osher Update
Robert had little to update. Kathleen has informally advised the Osher Foundation of our vote and the University is working on the related application. In January or February 2010 we should see the first money from Osher ($62,500 less 6%). Publicity for the grant from the Osher Foundation will be done through the University, via their established protocol. Mark asked if we can review the application before it is submitted and Robert will make the request.
New Program Chair for LLL
Chris Le Maistre was appointed to assist Mary Hanlan as Program Chair to take over for the next year. The appointment was approved by the Board, with appreciation. Robert asked the Board members to provide a description for each of their jobs. For example, the Membership Directory process is vague due to a change in the Membership Chair. Providing the sort of job description that Mary prepared will help insure continuity and consistency in the future.
LLL Member Information
The question of the LLL protocol for member privacy was discussed. UCSC speakers and departments have made requests to talk to the membership, and/or for access to email addresses of members for solicitations. At the Younger Lagoon visit by the Adventurers Group (Sandy’s group) this came up again. Someone from the UCSC Development Department attended the meeting and gave a 5 minute talk and distributed brochures. The problem is worsening and anticipated that future speakers will also want to talk to the group. Mary requested direction from the Board on how to handle the situation. Steve through it was okay for the speakers to give their pitch. David thought a 30 second introduction prior to the speaker might work. Mark mentioned that speaker feedback has consistently been that the group has always been supportive and that the Board policy should be explained. Chris mentioned it is part of the professor’s job. Dusty mentioned that members in general find the approaches distasteful.
Mary moved that requests for development presentations by departments or department spokespersons be limited to bringing materials to be available at the meeting. The motion was Seconded and Passed.
New Interest Groups
Dusty reviewed a new Interest Group suggestion. A new group, proposed first as a series, to be led by Jean Slotkin, called “Conversational Book Writing” to facilitate communication with dementia or cognitive impairment. “Use The Kitchen” will be the text, the group may create more books, and she intends to invite speakers in the field of dementia. The group will begin in February. This is not a caregivers’ support group but rather about using the book Jean wrote to test out those ideas. She lives in San Juan Baustita and will need to find a location for the class in Santa Cruz County.
The Hauks Great Decisions Group in the Spring. The Hauks are worried about the $10 cost for the series and want to waive the $10 fee for that series since the group will have to purchase the $18 Great Decisions book. Dusty feels we should try to accommodate the series leaders. The new Interest Group classifications eliminate the Series $10 charge. The series category was determined because it is a time limited meeting. Robert suggested that perhaps some series could be free. Chris said we need to find the rational so members will understand the policy. Steve suggested we use “fee waived” when applicable for now. Mary moved that we waived the fee for this particular series, seconded by Nancy, passed.
Bobbie Walner, a new member who is on the staff of the public library, wants to do a focus group of seniors in January and would like to make an announcement at the meeting on Sunday. Robert will mention the library project at the General Meeting and point out where to find Bobbie and her materials.
Igna has had the opportunity to meet the person who distributes all materials to the libraries and they have agreed to distribute LLL brochures to all the libraries.
It was decided at this point to continue this meeting next Thursday at 10:00 a.m. at Inga’s house.
Senior Health Fair at Dominican – Lois suggested that we have a table at the fair with brochures about LLL (10 a.m. to 2 p.m.), Saturday, November 21st. It was agreed that we will do this. Lois has volunteered, as well as Audie, Chris and Dusty.
LLL Brochures
Brochures – a short run will be done for brochures for the Dominican Health Fair (estimated 300 attendees) and the Cabrillo LLL group. The brochure will be worked on a little more before the final run. A run of 200 will be ordered. Alphagraphics will do the printing.
Osher $12,500 additional monies. unbudgeted
The 2009-2010 Budget was prepared based on the anticipation of $50,000 from the Osher Foundation as well as forecasted income and expenses. Since then the Osher Foundation has made another $12,500 available to OLLIs. David prepared a list of items that the additional monies could fund.
His recommendations to consider include the following allocations:
$2000 to prepare a second brochure
$3000 to double the advertising budget
$ 500 for course expenses
$2000 to send two people to the OLLI National Conference
$5000 as a place holder for buy equipment, for example, a portable DVD projector screen
$12,500
This proposed budget update will be submitted to Osher. MSP
For the next meeting we need to bring ideas for volunteer activities.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m. and will be continued next Thursday Nov. 19, at 10:00 a.m. at Inga Hoffman’s house.
UCSC Lifelong Learners
Board of Directors Meeting
11/19/2009 Continuation of Board meeting begun on 11/12/2009
Present: Nancy Mead, Dusty Miller, Kathy Cairns, David Copp, Audie Henry, Irene Lennox, Robert Franson, Alverda Orlando, Chris Le Maistre, Mary Hanlan, Mark Gordon, Inga Hoffman, Steve Zaslaw, Florence Orenstein, Lois Widom, Patty Stumpf
Absent: Corinne Miller
Location: Inga Hoffman’s house
Membership Issues:
Who does what issues?
Lots of duplicate checks being received. Kira provides a list of new members and renewals to Florence requesting follow-up on some of the payments regarding wrong amounts or how to apply the amounts paid. Member contact regarding their payments has been handled in the past by the Membership chairperson. Options are apply the funds to the Sylvia Miller Fund, return the check or shred the check. This process will continue and Florence will copy Robert on any resulting correspondence. Kira will be asked to send her questions to both Florence and Robert (for his information only).
Jan Jaffe has volunteered to come on the Membership Committee and as her first assignment to contact all the people who had not renewed. She prepared a survey of the former member’s responses and will email the results to Florence. Florence would like another member on her committee. Pat McVeigh is a possible person and Robert will follow-up with her.
Greeting New People
There were no labels for members, only for new people at the last General Meeting, due to a label shortage. There were also a lot of new people at the meeting, flooding the membership table. Additional staffing at this table appears to be necessary. Igna volunteered to help out. Mark assigned himself to be outside the door greeting people and thinks possibly two people at the door might be more efficient and may smooth the process. Following a new member’s visit at the Membership Table, Board members can take the role of host and hostess and help them navigate the room as well as make some introductions. At the next meeting there will be two people at the table plus David. Mark will assemble a team of greeters and will work with Florence to make this possible and incorporate the ideas mentioned at this meeting.
The suggestion to give all new members a button. The cost is $1.00 each. This will be tabled for further discussion at the January meeting. Steve will include a mention in the next newsletter – are you a “Button Head”?
Senior Health Fair at Dominican Hospital
Bill Patterson has made a beautiful poster for the Senior Health Fair at Dominican on Saturday, November 21 from 10 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Lois is coordinating the staffing of the table. Florence requested that LLL Membership forms be included at the table as well as the new brochure.
The Membership Directory
The new directory is at the printers. Florence is getting the labels and will pick them up tomorrow afternoon. They will be returned to UCSC on Monday and mailed from there.
Publicity
We had some publicity for the last meeting on the UCSC website, print in the Good Times, the Cruzio calendar, the UCSC calendar, the Santa Cruz Weekly was missed. We had a lot of online presence but little print presence. Robert requested authorization to proceed with two ads in the Santa Cruz Sentinel before the January meeting ($152.72 for 2 inch column ad). General discussion approved of this expense.
Mark mentioned that name recognition is important and that we need an overall plan to coordinate this. We have no Publicity chairperson. Robert thinks we just need to get our name out there via individuals who are willing to sign up for particular news outlets and they would establish the relationship with each media outlet. It is a lot of work for not a whole lot of benefit but we don’t have a lot of name recognition in the community. Irene volunteered to handle the Santa Cruz Weekly. Lois suggested we push the 25th anniversary event and the new Osher affiliation. The publicity for the Osher affiliation will be driven by the Osher Foundation and UCSC. NPR was mentioned as a good venue as well as the Community Station. Nancy and Jack Mead knew about LLL prior to coming to town through a real estate agent. This is a possible resource.
Robert would like someone to draw together these various ideas. Branding is important and will have to include Osher once the deal is closed.
The History Project
Budget information had been requested at the October meeting. Quotes have been provided by AlphaGraphics 250 history booklets $1,280. with color, 28 pages. Cost overruns are anticipated including a price increase. Alverda requested a budget of at least $1500. Robert suggested we proceed with the idea that we will have the Osher funding in place and that the project should not be considered a low budget/penny pinching exercise. A decision regarding distribution of the book – free versus selling will need to occur. Distribution will occur at the May meeting. What ever we do should be spiffy. Chris suggested this could be part of a New Member’s packet sent to all new members. It was suggested that we earmark $5,000 for this project. We need a mock-up of the book presented at the January Board meeting, as well as a mock-up of the May meeting format to aid in planning. Mark will prepare the meeting mock-up. The History Committee will work on the book mock-up. There is a need for graphic artists which could be mentioned in the Newsletter, requesting volunteers. Editorial review by long time members was encouraged. Mark suggested a 20 to 30 minute talk by three of these members at the May meeting.
Interest Groups
Dusty announced a new hiking group with longer hikes once a month for 4 to 5 hours led by Nancy Thomas.
Noel Fishman wants to have a group which would be a Santa Cruz Symphony group that would give our members the same privileges as the Symphony League. It would cost $50 per concert and would include the pre-events. The Symphony Board is meeting today and this is on their agenda. There is much more to explore about this arrangement.
New interest groups continue to bubble up and the Board supports investigations of these ideas
Classes
Buster Keaton series – the Congregational Church has the necessary AV equipment but are not anxious to host the series due to a constraint on parking availability with the Child Care Center. Lois has been investigating various locations. One possibility is the UCSC Conference Center on Ocean Street. Chris Le Maistre will follow-up on the pricing at this location. It is anticipated that the enrollment will be at least 100 members. The Santa Cruz Bible Church on Frederick Street is another possibility and they have been contacted, although we have received no response. We are not going to use the University AV equipment. The price is included in the location quote. Lois will make a decision based on her investigation.
Volunteers
Robert reviewed the list of names of people who volunteered at the last meeting. It is a good list with lots of possibilities for help.
We need a list of things for volunteers to do for the organization so we can steer them to appropriate jobs.
Carpooling/Parking issues
Mary suggested that the future directories include a designation as to the area where the member lives (i.e., A for Aptos, W for Westside Santa Cruz, etc.) Steve said we can sort the membership list by zip code and then ask a volunteer to help organize carpool groups. Dusty emphasized that jobs for volunteers need to be specific. Some people can not attend because they can’t get up the hill. Also we may want to provide a notice to members who might need transportation and who to call, plus possibly a ride up the hill. Nancy mentioned that there is additional parking up on top, past Cowell College. Sooner or later we will need a new location.
January Lecture
We should be able to hold the meeting in the current location in January, however it is going to be a problem in the future. Robert suggested we be prepared to revert to the use of the meeting room including the use of the University AV equipment. When this happens we will have to stop using the tables and just have chairs, with some tables around the rim of the room for those who need them. The flow at the last meeting for refreshments was not the best but there was a lot of conversation in the line. Cold coffee was part of the problem. Two lines and two urns of coffee will be tried at the next meeting. The Membership Committee needs to talk to Amy so that she can work with the caterers to clear up these sorts of problems. Nancy suggested we may need to hire a student to oversee the set-up.
Volunteer ideas
It was suggested that we have a sign up list for people new to LLL who don’t know anybody. Calls have been made in the past and have been effective.
August publicity for membership was more effective that previous earlier mailings.
The meeting dissolved at 11:50 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
UCSC Lifelong Learners
Board of Directors Meeting
October 15, 2009
– 10:00 a.m.
Present: Florence Orenstein, Chris Le Maistre, Audie Henry, Irene Lennox, Robert Franson, David Copp, Nancy Mead, Amy Hamel, Lois Widom, Inga Hoffman, Mark Gordon, Steve Zaslaw, Mary Hanlan, Kathy Cairns, Alverda Orlando, Patty Stumpf
Location: Inga Hoffman’s lovely home
Minutesapproved m/s/p with one correction in the following section:
October Meeting – Osher Proposal voting
“…..Ballots will be accepted provisionally by from members who are not on the list, and then validated after the meeting.”
Osher Conference Review– Mark Gordon and Patty Stumpf
The conference was held in Park City, Utah on October 10-12, 2009.
A report to the Board is attached with the minutes.
The Osher Foundation announced an additional $25,000 support to each OLLI to be used to allow groups to support something new in their programs. The OLLI National Resource Center announced that they have received a preliminary grant from the National Science Foundation for the development of a Science Technology Engineering and Math (STEM) program to explore science education for older adults. If planning grant succeeds they will get a 5 year grant.
Membership VoteBalloting will occur as members enter the General Membership Meeting on Sunday, October 18. A Membership Table will be set up for new members to register. Board members will help with the polling. Once the members have voted the general meeting will convene.
Winter Courses– Lois
The following courses are lined up:
Miram Ellis –History of Early Opera, Spring, late March
John Dizikes – American and English Poetry, 3 weeks
Todd Newbury – Birdwatching Todd will complete the last class that got rained out and perhaps do a second class, depending on the long range weather forecast
Bob Goff – Buster Keaton, March, 4 weeks
Michael Warren – Shakespeare, March, length and topics to be determined
Coeleen Kiebert – Chinese Art and Culture, end of January, 2 sessions
Robert Kraft – (Astronomer – world famous) Beethoven class – still in the works
Lois is looking for a location with a big screen for the Buster Keaton course. Need to explore different venues for locations. Mark will work with Lois on the media facility search.
In the past a small gift has been given to the course instructors - $20 per course
M/S/P that a gift certificate be given to each instructor for $100
Osher Update – MOUOriginally there was a MOU drafted between LLL and UCSC. It was carried forward by the LLL members and UCSC staff and sent to the University for approval and concurrence. Vice Chancellor McGinty, who would be the Grant Holder of Record, has declined to sign the MOU.
Kathleen Hughes met with VC McGinty to discuss the points Robert felt were important to LLL and she agreed to these points. A letter from her office will be forthcoming stating these points and the support of the University. Note: This letter was received prior to the General Meeting and is attached with these minutes.
A MOU and a letter agreeing on something are both considered contracts and such, a letter from VC McGinty will suffice as assurance that the relationship between LLL and UCSC will not change as a result of LLL becoming an OLLI.
No action is required at this time from the Board. Robert is fairly confident that he will receive the letter prior to the membership vote on Sunday.
MSP That Robert has a Vote of Confidence from the Board to proceed with the interests of the group on this matter.
Newsletter– Steve
November newsletter publication will be postponed to include courses for January, an announcement of the vote, and an article on 25th Anniversary.
New Interest Group Proposals
Philosophy Interest Group to be led by Paul Seever
Monthly opportunity to discuss topics and issues in philosophy
Membership 6 – 12, monthly meetings in members’ home
MSP that this group be accepted
Great Decisions – Dick and Gwen Houk
8 weeks long – 10 participants
Discussions based on a Briefing Book ($18-25 for book)
This might be a Short Series category this year and an Interest Group next year.
The Board gave approved to go forward with this group. The Houks will discuss the new series at the Sunday meeting.
Membership Update– Florence
Kira, at the STARS office, is providing great support to the Membership committee and it is much appreciated.
Friends Group Meeting– Robert
UCSC discussed their first fundraising campaign and hope that the people in the Friends Groups will be part of the donor pool. Liability Insurance for events is now streamlined to allow groups to get coverage. In the past, Friends Groups have been exempt from the 6% fee the University has levied on all gifts. However, after July 1st, a 5% fee will be levied on all gifts, including those given to support Friends Groups.
Book Costs for Scholarships
Currently $600 per year, distributed through the STARS Office, but it is unlikely that this covers all the student’s book costs. MSP that the Scholarship Committee research how effective the book awards arrangement managed through the UCSC Bookstore is working.
LLL History Project– Alverda
In 1997 – 98 a Travel Group was mentioned in the LLL Newsletters. The interest groups reflect the members and their interests.
Publicity for the MeetingsKatherine Faris has publicity services available for LLL and the contacts to various media outlets. We can contact her for guidance and suggestions and she would definitely be a good resource. Nina Bouley has volunteered to handle our publicity notices and will be asked to take on the role.
Cabrillo College LLLThe group is winding up as of the end of the year, due to the cut off of funding for staff support. They have asked for an article from LLL to include in their newsletter. Nina is going to write an article. Audie attends the meetings and will make an announcement that we welcome new members.
Proxy Votesreceived to date will be counted after the Board Meeting is adjourned.
MiscellaneousLois – needs an announcement regarding the Dizikes concert coming up November 8th at 2:00 p.m. followed by a surprise birthday party for John. A special art exhibit at the Smith Gallery will accompany the exhibit. An announcement will be included in the November newsletter if it gets out on time.
“Ear to the Ground” feedback: At a Women’s Club Meeting a woman mentioned that she found that LLL was really unfriendly. She attended a meeting and wore a name tag with a star on it indicating that she was new. Not one person came up to her during the meeting. Lois reminded us that we need to reach out to all new members. Red badges indicate new people. We need to be especially aware at both meetings and interest group activities to extend ourselves to welcome the new people to LLL.
Volunteers for SundayBoard Members will meet people at the door and direct them to the voting area. Board Members will also staff the voting area.
The meeting adjourned at 12:10 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
UCSC Lifelong Learners
Board of Directors Meeting
September 10, 2009 - 10:00 a.m.
Present: Florence Orenstein, Chris Le Maistre, Audie Henry, Dusty Miller, Robert Franson, Nancy Mead, Inga Hoffman, Mark Gordon, Steve Zaslaw, Corinne Miller, Mary Hanlan, Kathy Cairns, Lou Rose, David Copp, Alverda Orlando, Patty Stumpf
Location: Inga Hoffman’s home
Update on Osher Memorandum of Understanding
Some editorial changes were made to the MOU, which were itemized in the Special Meeting Minutes of August 28, 2009, on page one and it was sent to Kathleen Hughes at UCSC for the Chancellor’s review. Kathleen considers things ready to go on the University’s side.
Membership report:
Florence reported that we currently have 256 re-renewals, but no number is available for new members. Membership cards and acknowledgements will be mailed tomorrow. Compared to last year’s renewal rate, at this time we are way ahead at this time. An early August mailing seems to have prompted the higher early renewal rate.
There was a discussion regarding record keeping and memberships, and the way in which Kira keeps track of the memberships which have expired, particularly rolling memberships. People who join after April are considered a member for the current year and for the following year as well (2 free months). People who join before April get a renewal letter in June.
To clarify the membership policy, the following was MSP:
Membership in LLL ends on September 1st. If you join any time after September 1st up until April 1st your membership expires in that year. If you join after April 1st your membership will roll over to the following year.
Speaker Program for 2009 – 2010
Mary said that she will not be our program chair next year and recommended that we look for her replacement in January or February at the latest to facilitate early invitations to possible speakers. Early contact with potential speakers makes filling the calendar much easier.
It was suggested that we advertise this position in the November issue of the Newsletter so Mary will be able to mentor her replacement.
The April 2010 meeting will be held in the Event Center instead of Room 150 to accommodate the anticipated larger crowd when Dr. Sandra Faber speaks.
There was a discussion as to protocol during the informal question and answer period following the scheduled speaker’s talk (after the meeting is over). Mary will ask and warn the speaker in advance that some members tend to monopolize the time and ask whether they would like her assistance during the question period.
Budget for 2009-2010
David presented a comprehensive comparison of current year to prior budget information as well as a summary of scholarship funds as of 7-1-2009.
2008-2009 Review
Explanation of Unclassified donations – in the income column:
UCSC does not provide a breakdown of the income categories. Our own LLL record tracking is used to calculate the amounts. Unclassified amounts that can not be tied back to a particular category are classified as a donation, since all payments to LLL are considered donations.
The $22,456 amount is from UCSC accounting records and is solid.
Eight meetings were held in 2008-2009 but we were only charged for 6 ½ meetings. Room rental rates have been increased from $200 to $250.
- Account disbursements – Scholarship accounts are separate
- There are 4 funds + the endowment
- There are limitations on some of the funds:
- General Fund and the petty cash fund can not be used for food
- The Regents Fund is used for refreshments at the General meetings
- Regents Fund can be used for anything but is not a donation tax wise
Lou posed the question about possible recruitment gatherings – will they be considered a party? We want the members to contribute something to the cost of the event. Does the money raised from these gatherings go in to the general fund or Regents account? Robert will email Corinne the questions posed by these types of events.
Osher money would go into a new fifth fund.
Endowment Scholarship Interest Fund: interest monies earned (4.2% of the endowment corpus) can only be used for scholarships. Balance is now approximately $10,000.
Silvia Miller Fund deposits have been made using unspecified money received. Suggest that we have a motion of what to do when the donor does not specify where they want the money to go. In 2008 – 2009 donations + interest earned $561.00 which was then moved to the Scholarship Fund for the Spring Quarter scholarships. David will adjust the budget to $2878.00 to reflect 19 scholarships in the Spring Quarter.
It was M/S/P that unidentified contributions will be deposited into the Silvia Miller Fund at the end of the fiscal year. (Passed with one abstention.)
20+20+20 for a total of 60 scholarships could be made in 2009-2010 academic year based on the fact that we already have the money available in our funds.
FY2009-2010 Budget
6% growth factor from 2008-2009 was used based with a target of 375 members at the end of the year as the basis for budgeting income. The Budget anticipates a $1,880.00 deficit.
An acknowledgement of appreciation was made by Robert to Lou Rose, our resigning Treasurer, who will officially leave the Board after this meeting.
MSP: To adopt the 2009 – 2010 Budget as presented.
Scholarships
Florence reported for Shirley Forsyth that the committee met yesterday. 24 applications were received and reviewed compared to 49 applications last year. Out of the 24 applicants, using the committee rating system, 20 met the qualifications, and there were several outstanding applicants. The Scholarship Committee recommends 20 scholarships at $200, with an increase in the amount to $250.
MSP: Accept the recommendation from the Scholarship Committee of 20 applicants at $200 with the possibility of increasing the amount in future quarters.
Corinne agreed to conduct a survey with the current recipients along with the STARS students to see what they are spending on average for books. This information will be used to determine what percentage of their book costs are covered by the scholarships. Currently we don’t know what percentage of book costs are covered by our scholarships.
The issue of how best to allocate the funds to the students will come back to the board in October to discuss the best and most effective way to get the money to the students. Robert, Mark, Corinne, Shirley will work on this presentation.
New Interest Group Possibilities
Dusty announced that there is a possibility of a Social Science Interest Group but it needs a co-leader to assist. Jan Jaffe, the group leader, can recruit from the interest group members once the group is formed.
September Meeting Update
Dusty reported that there were 10 couples who paid $25 for the Interest Groups instead of $25 each. What is the best way to notify these members? It was decided to explain new policy and the dilemma via personal contact (email) to these people based on our mistake in communicating the new fee structure.
October Meeting – Osher Proposal voting
Anyone who has paid their membership dues will be eligible to vote at the October meeting, including those who join that day. We have been advised that properly documented proxies can be accepted for the vote even though our by-laws are silent on the subject.
Robert will work with Kira to get the most current list of members two days before the October meeting. We might be able to hire Kira for the day of the meeting for the review of membership status. Ballots will be accepted provisionally by members who are not on the list and then validated after the meeting. Our by-laws do not specify that the vote be by secret ballot – it can be by a show of hands.
Proxies have to be sent out with the meeting notice by mail and then mailed back in by a certain date. We might need these votes to assure that we do have a quorum. The quorum is defined as 1/3 of the membership, and a 2/3 vote is required to change the by-laws.
A postcard will be used as a Turn out the Vote tool and to advertise the October speaker.
Robert plans to follow the same General Meeting format as last year, starting at 10:00 a.m. in the Stevenson Event Center with a Social/Coffee Time, followed at 10:20 a.m. with the General Membership meeting which will end at 11:00 a.m. The Lecture/Presentation portion will follow at 11:15 a.m. in Room 150, concluding at 12:15 p.m.
LLL History Project
Alverda brought us up to date on the work of the committee, which consists of
Florence, Nancy, Mark and Alverda. Alverda is ready to start writing and wonders what format should be used? Some sort of document is anticipated to summarize the history of LLL over the last 25 years. A narrative record is tentatively planned and from that a brochure will be prepared. Alverda will prepare a budget request for the October meeting for related expenses
A discussion ensued as to how to incorporate the work of the LLL History Project Committee into the May meeting, which will also mark the 25th year Anniversary of LLL. The committee is trying to get pictures of all the previous Board Presidents for the celebration. The May meeting might combine the rich history of LLL with the news of our future of affiliation with the Osher Foundation. It was suggested that Mark Gordon might be our featured speaker since he has already given a similar presentation to the Soroptomists Club.
MSP: to rely on the History Committee as the feature the May meeting.
Other suggestions for the May meeting included inviting current and previous scholarship recipients to the meeting.
Miscellaneous
The inclusion of LLL activities on UCSC Events calendar has not been possible because we do not have a university email address. We need a UCSC account to get an email address. Corinne offered to follow-up with this Catch 22 situation.
Next Board Meeting will be Thursday, October 15 at 10:00 a.m. at Inga Hoffman’s house.
The meeting adjourned at 12:05 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
UCSC Lifelong Learners
Special Meeting Minutes
August 28, 2009 – 10:00 a.m.
Present: Florence Orenstein, Lou Rose, David Copp, Audie Henry, Irene Lennox, Chris Le Maistre, Robert Franson, Stephen Zaslaw, Corinne Miller, Inga Hoffman, Alverda Orlando, Dusty Miller, Nancy Mead, Lois Widom, Mark Gordon, Mary Hanlan, Patty Stumpf
Location: Inga Hoffman’s home
Memo of Understanding with UCSC
Review of meetings with UCSC staff
Nancy Mead gave a summary of the discussions held with the UCSC staff reviewing and finalizing the MOU. Very few modifications were made to the draft, specifically the mention of the STARS participation and that the Institute’s initial budget would be directed to STARS.
Discussion of Budget, Osher Foundation Grants and Endowment Money
There was a discussion to clarify that LLL would control the Osher grant awards of $50,000 per year for two, possibly three years, and not the University. Disbursements are solely at the discretion of LLL. It was pointed out that Osher will be a good advocate for LLL due to presence on many of the UC campuses. The University will take a Gift fee of 5% on each $50k payment and the possible $1,000,000 endowment, which is their standard procedure. The Osher Foundation is working on new contract stipulations to universities for allocation of endowment monies in both an up and down markets whereby some principal can be paid if the endowment principal drops. Additionally, it was concluded that there was nothing within the MOU to prohibit renegotiation at a later date , should it be necessary.
The issue of Parking classified as “In-kind Support” when LLL has been paying $25.00 for signs to be placed in the Stevenson lower parking lot on Sunday mornings was discussed. Since STARS arranges this for LLL and it is not generally available, the service is considered In-kind Support. The fee is quite nominal considering the usual cost of parking on campus.
The following revisions to the appendix to the MOU entitled “Services provided by UCSC” were decided upon:
·
Item 7. will be reworded to be more specific.
·
Various corrections in wording and typos will be submitted to Robert for updating by the individual members and not addressed here.
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Item 4. Legal Support – clarified that this is for the organization, not individual members.
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A request was made to show separately the organizational benefits vs. individual member benefits
It was MSP unanimously by the Board to proceed with the MOU with the modifications and clarifications previously mentioned. This will be the document with that we will be going forward with the University. Feedback from the University regarding the draft MOU has been favorable.
Does the Board recommend to the general membership that we accept this Osher proposal?
A straw vote of was taken of the members which indicated that all were in favor of making such a recommendation.
It was MSP unanimously that the Board of UCSC LLL recommend to the membership that we move forward with the Osher grant and change the by-laws in accordance with the Osher requirements.
September Meeting schedule
There will be a short business meeting followed by a presentation by Dusty for Interest Groups and Short Series at the September meeting. Individual group leaders will not present to the group as a whole, but members will be directed to the individual group sign up tables. Lois mentioned that email addresses from members are not always correct. Special attention will need to be taken to lessen this possibility when members sign up for interest groups
When the 2009-2010 year starts in September there will be a new fee of $10.00 for the Short Series (from $7.00) Members who paid the lower fee prior to September will not be charged the difference.
The last hour of the meeting will be a presentation to the membership about the Osher Foundation in Room 150. Robert will prepare and deliver a PowerPoint presentation to the group, followed by a question and answer period.
The membership vote to become an Osher affiliate will be in October, not at the September meeting
October Meeting Issues
The LLL Quorum requirement is 1/3 of the membership that is entitled to vote (joined or renewed by the time the vote is taken). California Corporation Code (CCC) §18330(d) provides for this quorum when the bylaws are silent on the issue, as ours are. This has been verified by legal advice received from UCSC. A 2/3s vote is required by the members at the meeting (1/3 of the members need to be present with a 2/3s vote in favor of any changes to the by-laws).
There was a discussion about accepting proxy votes at the October meeting. Proxy votes would have to be properly documented, but no authority for proxy is provided in the CCC. Vote can by either by mail or a vote at a meeting. After lengthy discussion it was concluded that the level of logistics required to insure fairness and accuracy would be difficult.
This led to a discussion of balloting possibilities and determining the membership cut-off date for voting. One possibility would be to provide printed ballots at the October meeting based on a list of members provided by STARS. The need for some sort of cut off date for voting was discussed, but no decision was taken.
The possibility of mailing ballots to each of the voting eligible members was discussed. We would have to know that the member received the ballot which presents multiple verification difficulties with return receipt ballots, etc. This does not seem like a feasible option.
Meeting attendance is usually 80 – 125 people. To achieve a quorum we will need to have at least 120 eligible voting members present (dues current). Robert will investigate the legal issues of proxy votes to see if there is a manageable way to provide this option to the members.
Mark Gordon volunteered to be in charge of a “Turn out the Vote” Committee to rally the members to the ballot box.
Proposal for a new Short Series presentation by Dusty
A Saturday morning Short Series has been proposed on Meditation beginning on October 23 and led by Alice Tarail. The Meditation session will be followed by a walk after each meeting (no religious slant). The proposed series length is 5 weeks.
It was MSP to include the Meditation Series as part of the LLL Short Series offerings this fall.
Board Members and Interest Group Leaders Pot Luck Dinner
Pot Luck Dinner is scheduled for September 20th from 5:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Club House, Aptos Knoll Mobile Home Park, 600 Trout Gulch, Aptos, where it has been held for the past few years.
John Dizikes and his wife, Ann, and Bob Goff, and his wife, Eleanor Littman, have responded that they will attend.
Irene will let us know what to bring in good time, via phone calls. Irene has planning is under control.
26 people have responded to date of the 80 invited.
Invitees: People on Honorary List, Members of the Board, IG Leaders and past Presidents and Corinne, Kira, Amy and Kathleen.
Audrey needs a set-up and clean up committee – let her know if you can help with either need. Plan to arrive at 3:30 p.m. if you are on the set-up committee.
National Osher LLL Conference in Park City Utah Invitation
The Osher Foundation has extended an invitation to LLL for 2 members to attend as their guests at their annual OLLI National Conference on October 12-14 in Park City, Utah. The conference is titled “Building a Community of Learners: Osher Lifelong Learning Institute 6th National Conference”. Our group will be represented by Mark Gordon and Patty Stumpf.
Signature Card Authorization for the incoming Treasurer
Bank bureaucracy requires a formal motion from the Board to allow David to add his name to the LLL banking signature card. A request for a motion authorizing David Copp’s name be added to the signature card for the LLL bank account was duly MSP.
New LLL Brochure
A new brochure needs to be designed for LLL. The Osher Foundation does not mind if we take a year to re-brand ourselves so we can continue using the LLL name for now. Mark Gordon, Stephen Zaslaw, Florence Orenstein and Chris Le Maistre have offered to work on the brochure. Chris will lead the group.
Next Board Meeting
The next Board Meeting will be on Thursday, September 10th, at 10:00 a.m. at Inga Hoffman’s house.
Agenda items will include the 2009-2010 Budget to approve, a possible Scholarship report, and a
LLL History project update by Alverda.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:55 a.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
UCSC Lifelong Learners Executive Committee Meeting Minutes(7/1/2009 – 1:30 p.m.)
Present: Nancy Mead, Dusty Miller, Florence Orenstein, David Copp, Patty Stumpf, Lou Rose, Lois Widom, Robert Franson, Stephen Zaslaw (Absent: Mark Gordon)
Location: Robert’s house
Osher Grant Application
$20K payment to University
a. Review of budget information provided by Corinne. Robert reported that she left out both benefits (25% of salary) and overhead (48% of salary + benefits). Correcting for these omissions, the total cost of program staffing and administrative support provided by the University comes to $18,846. He also pointed out that empirical studies have shown that time estimates made in this manner and after the fact typically underestimate the time spent by up to 25%. He therefore estimated the cost of support to be about $23,558. Robert also offered two other comparisons: (1) Chris Le Maistre estimated the cost of hiring an Office Manager in the University setting to be $74,000; and (2) taking average wage and benefit cost figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Robert estimated that one full-time employee would come to $56,899 (excluding the cost of providing space, telephone, computers, etc.)."
b. Discussion re: yearly commitment to STARS of $20K. Contacts with the University would be retained vs. hiring someone. $20K seems to be a bargain, especially considering that the University funding constraints. LLL would lose money for the scholarships without the funding from Osher.
c. Review of budget summary presented by Lou Rose.
Lou expressed the view that we owe it to our members to be sure about the costs presented, and pointed out that the $20K figure would be nearly half of what we would receive from Osher. He also asked what the figure is intended to cover: (1) Everything the University does for LLL, including intangibles and in-kind support; (2) Everything STARS staff does for LLL; or (3) Everything that University staff does for LLL, including both STARS and UR, as well as others. Robert answered that the objective is to cover (3), everything University staff do for us. The $20K figure is not intended to cover intangibles and in-kind support. Those are the University's contributions to the project. If we were to pay for those items there would be nothing left to put in the grant application under the heading of the University's contributions, and Osher would not approve the application.
See attached “Lists outlining staff and in-kind services” at end of minutes, page 3
d. MSP to go ahead with the grant application as it now stands. 1 abstention
·
Timeline
a. Need to decide whether or not to pursue the grant application/proposal
b. Robert will submit proposal to UC for vetting before leaving on his trip.
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Vetting process
a. Goes to the University (they are the contracting party with Osher, not LLL) Money goes to the endowment set up at UCSC and is disbursed by LLL
b. $1 million dollar cap with some universities has been sorted out by Osher. If endowment drops below $1 million, endowment will still be paid. 4.2% annual distribution to LLL less $20K to STARS.
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Calls to other Osher Institutes
Nancy will continue to call other Osher Institutes to follow-up on some recommendations from the Osher Foundation
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Newsletter article
Mark or Robert will write the article
Interest Group Program
Change to ‘passport’ fee
a. Change in previous procedure. New category to be defined to cover film course, Dusty is working on the perfect name for the new short series offerings and workshops (finite in duration). Fees have not yet been determined.
b. Passport fees will be for Interest Groups only
c. Newsletter will include a new sign-up coupon (see below)
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List for Newsletter and Website
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Article for Newsletter
a. Dusty will write the article for the “new look” of interest groups this year.
b. First membership meeting is September 13, 2009
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New category: Short Series & Workshops (see notes above for this discussion)
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New forms
Being designed by Dusty, Steve, Lois and Robert
September Meetings
First Board meeting will be at Inga’s house. Thursday, September 10
·
Membership Meeting on Sunday, September 13:
Social hour/opening
Room 150, PowerPoint presentation —Osher Q&A
Interest Group signups
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Board/Interest Group Social on Sunday, September 20, 2009
Memorandum of Understanding
Who is lead?
Nancy Mead will follow up with Corinne re: MOU status. Chris Le Maistre will be asked to help out with this memo. LLL agrees to become an Osher affiliate.
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What is process?
We submit a letter to UCSC
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Deadline? Board approval?
Other Issues
August Board meeting
a. Review Osher application and decide whether or not to recommend to the general membership.
b. It was agreed that a meeting to review the application in late August is desirable. Date to be determined – Robert will let us know
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Members’ questions about Osher—possible blog?
Opportunity for members to discuss Osher concepts and any issues. Robert has already set up a blog. It is located at
http://ucsc-lll.blogspot.com/
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President’s letter – Robert has written the letter and will provide to Florence. It includes a separate sheet describing the changes to the interest group program.
·
Welcome letter (new members)
Florence sends a personal letter to each new member.
Meeting adjourned at 3:20 p.m.
Minutes submitted by Patty Stumpf
Attachment:
Lists outlining staff and in-kind services that UCSC provides to LLL (from the grant application)
Program staffing and administrative support
- Answering enquiries from members and prospective members
- Receiving mail and processing membership applications
- Maintaining membership database and records
- Space negotiations, room reservations, and room contracts
- Orders food and media services
- Accounts management, ledger reconciliation, petty cash reconciliation
- Invoice approvals, honoraria payments, catering approvals, and purchase order initiation
- Insurance negotiations
- Creates book award flyers and coordinates book awards
- Provides mailing services
- Produces annual reports
In-kind support
- UCSC STARS provides a home on campus for Lifelong learners.
2. The University provides meeting rooms. During the past year the Stevenson Event Center was made available for the monthly general meetings at a subsidized rental rate; the lecture hall (room 150) was made available for our monthly lectures without cost. Classrooms are available for courses when suitable scheduling can be arranged to avoid conflicts with University courses.
3. The University’s liability insurance covers Lifelong Learners’ operations.
4. Legal counsel is available when required.
5. University professors (current and emeriti) volunteer their time for lectures, courses, and tours. Their willingness, as University staff members, to serve in this capacity is a very valuable benefit to Lifelong Learners, which generally does not pay honoraria.
6. Members of Lifelong Learners are invited to various University social events, notably the annual Chancellor’s party and the “Desert Extravaganza” put on by STARS for re-entering and transfer students.
7. Members may register for credit classes with the benefit of a concurrent enrollment subsidy.
8. Members may use library and other University facilities.
9. Another university benefit includes use of the UCSC physical education facilities with the purchase of a Wellness Card. This benefit (with an additional discount for seniors) includes use of a daily locker and towel service.
10. The University provides information technology support, including e-mail list-servers for mailing electronic newsletters.
