Contact by email:
Director (or send email to emeriti@emory.edu) Letters to the Editor Click on the above link to let us know what you think (or send email to emeriti@emory.edu)! |
Upcoming Events
Our next Lunch Colloquium will be September 21
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Contact Other Members
Activities
Find other members to get together for shared interests, whether it is forming a book club or a photography club, or getting together to take a hike. Send email to the following link to contact member who would like the same activity! If you would like to find out about a travel destination or find other EUEC members who would like to travel with you, send an email to:
Courses
If you would like to find other EUEC members interested in taking a MOOC together, an OLLI course together, or possibly teaching together in an OLLI course, click on the following link to send an email: |
|  | | This issue of our newsletter is sent to members and friends of the Emory University Emeritus College (EUEC). I hope the newsletter will help keep you informed about our activities and help you feel connected with our members throughout the U.S. On the left are links to our website and links to contact either me or the EUEC office. With best wishes,
Gray Gray F. Crouse Director, EUEC |
 Message from the Director Today marks the first week of the fall semester. I meet with my freshman advisees this morning, Convocation is Tuesday afternoon, and classes begin in most schools on Wednesday. (One continuing problem is that in spite of all of the push for "Interdisciplinarity" on campus, schools have different academic calendars, making it much more difficult to coordinate teaching across schools.) There is a lot in this issue that I hope you will find interesting. We have reorganized our space at the Luce Center, creating some member space for reading, working, and committee meetings. The OLLI fall schedule is out. There are many EUEC members participating as faculty and it seems that OLLI is greatly increasing the number of interesting courses and other activities. If you live in the Atlanta area, you should definitely check out their catalog. In addition, I hope even more of you will try teaching an OLLI course. Jim Keller describes the course he organized last spring with great success. EUEC members continue to be very active. Some of those activities are described in this issue. I hope that many more of you will let me know what you are doing. Such reports are both interesting and also encouraging to faculty who might be contemplating retirement: retirement does not have to mean that all scholarly activities have to cease! Mike Kutner has more invitations to EUEC members for activities helping to build support for a faculty club, and the Emory University Woman's Club invites EUEC members to its activities. Mary Ellen Nessmith of the Caregiver Support Program has been very good about including EUEC members in the activities she sponsors; it is certainly useful to be aware of what her program offers. Finally, there is a sneak preview of the upcoming Lunch Colloquiums. We are hoping to webcast most of them this fall so those of you who are not able to attend in person can still participate. I am very grateful to Herb Benario, John Bugge, and Gretchen Schulz for help with proofing and editing. |
 The Emory Emeritus College Presents: At OLLI Jim Keller organized a new course for OLLI on various medical topics. Read the article below to find out about the course and the EUEC members who helped make it possible.
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Bianchi Award Reports Three Bianchi Awards were made for the 2014-2015 year. Gretchen Schulz reported on her activities for her award in Issue 3 of the newsletter. Below, award recipients John Juricek and Dorinda Evans report on their accomplishments. |
| | Faculty Activities
Two of our members report on their involvement in very interesting activities. Thanks to Donald Trump (!) the 14th Amendment has become a hot topic, and Bill Mayton, an expert in that area, has been busy educating the public. Even those of you who have been retired many years are probably aware of the increasing number of Chinese students attending American universities, including Emory. Dorinda Evans taught in an English-language program in Chengdu, China and gives a fascinating account of her experiences. The interest in such programs in China is spurred by the hope that such programs will help the students be admitted to American universities. A third member, David Eltis, has been awarded a major grant from NEH to support his continued research. Click here to read about these activities |
Reorganization at the Luce Center  Most of you are aware that as of March of this year we have had a new Administrative Assistant, Dianne Becht. Since her arrival, Dianne has been working hard not only to learn all of the processes and procedures necessary for her myriad duties but also to better organize our space. Those of you who have been to the Luce Center know that we have three rooms: my office, a large double office that Isha and then Dianne occupied, and a small office used in the past for work-study students and other temporary help. Dianne decided that the small office was plenty of space for her and has moved into that room (234), freeing up the large room (232) for member use. The large room now has a conference table that seats up to 8 and two computers that members can use if they need computer access. There is also a small library of readings relevant to retirement issues, in addition to a library of books by EUEC members (and more of those are welcome if you have one to share!). This space is also ideal if you have a committee that would like to meet or work there. We hope members will find this space useful and appreciate additional ideas for its use. |
OLLI Fall Courses Begin September 7  It is time to sign up for courses at OLLI this fall. You will find many interesting opportunities. There are 7 EUEC members participating as teachers in various courses. In addition AARP is offering free "TEK" courses on various technology areas: tablets, android smartphones, and Facebook and other social media. There is also another session of the AARP Smart Driver Course that can get you insurance discounts upon successful completion. You can find more information on the OLLI website or by reading the new course catalog.Of particular note is how many EUEC members are involved in teaching courses this fall. I found the following in the catalog. Please let me know if I missed anyone! Mike Zeiler Brooks Holifield Kamal Mansour John Bugge Herb Benario George deMan Ildi Flannery |
Faculty Club
Mike Kutner continues to work tirelessly to build support on campus for establishing a faculty club. He welcomes all EUEC members in this effort. There is another Faculty Happy Hour this fall on September 16 at 4:30 pm in the Claudia Nance Rollins Building. Click here for more details.
A new activity for this fall is supported by the arrangement for three dates on which faculty and staff can get food for a special rate ($7.00 !) in the DUC Dobbs Market and then eat together in the Winship Ballroom. The first date is September 10. Click here for details. These activities represent a fun way to support formation of a faculty club as well as interact with faculty from across the University. |
Emory Caregiver Support Program
Mary Ellen Nessmith in the Work-Life Resource Center has been very good in making her programs available to EUEC. Below is an announcement about a program on September 17 and attached are two flyers about other help they offer. September 17, 2015 12:00PM-1:30PM Tarbutton Hall, Room 111
Is Talking with Your Parents About Their Needs or Health Care Challenging? How Does One Start a Conversation about the Future and Safety issues with a Loved One? Would You Benefit From Some Guidance on How to Approach These Tough Conversations? This session will highlight some of the more challenging care conversations that families often have to have with elders, on topics such as: giving up driving, having to move an elder out of his home, or trying to convince the elder that he or she needs in-home help. Participants will learn some mindful caregiver approaches that can ease the stress of these conversations. If you want to find the answers to these questions and much more, then attend our upcoming workshop: Facilitator: Nancy Kriseman
Click on this link to register: |
Invitation from Emory University Woman's Club The Emory University Woman's Club (EUWC) wants to make sure that EUEC members know about the Woman's Club and that they are welcome to be members of the club. The website for EUWC ( http://www.euwc.emory.edu/) gives more information about EUWC and its activities. In terms of membership, the website states "While at one time, membership in the EUWC was restricted to Emory women faculty and wives of Emory faculty, there now are no restrictions for membership. Anyone with our common concern of the interests of 'Emory University, the community and each other' is invited to join, and to participate in any and all activities." In addition to viewing the website, EUEC members who would like more information are welcome to contact the EUWC Membership Chair, Jackie Walker ( jacquelinewalker@mac.com). The first gathering of EUWC for this year is their Annual Fall Welcome at the Lullwater House on Tuesday morning, 16th of September. Emeritus College women are very welcome to attend and learn more about EUWC. Space is limited so anyone interested should contact Jackie Walker. |
Lunch Colloquium Sneak Preview
This fall, our Lunch Colloquiums begin on September 21. You will receive more detailed information on each one in later newsletters. If you want a sneak preview of what is to come, or want to mark your calendars for the dates, you can click here to see the list of all speakers and titles. You can also visit our website to see the full description of each program in the list. We hope to be able to present webcasts of most of these--details to follow. |
The Emory Emeritus College Presents: At OLLI
 How can the Emory University Emeritus College (EUEC) collaborate more with the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at Emory (OLLI)? This was the question that Gray Crouse posed to the EUEC Executive Committee early in 2015. Of course, there had been ongoing collaboration in the form of retired Emory faculty teaching various courses over many years, people such as Herb Benario, John Bugge, et al. But Gray was looking for other kinds of collaboration. One that was suggested was a course team-taught by retired faculty from the School of Medicine. Indeed two former SOM faculty members, Virgil Brown and Geoffrey Broocker, had previously expressed interest in teaching. This idea sparked Jim Keller's interest in coordinating such a course. After obtaining agreement from Brown and Broocker, and calling a number of his friends, some of whom suggested other individuals, he had eight names and one to two topics from each individual. He was shooting for the spring quarter (April 9 thru May 28), which is eight weeks long. He then decided on a time with OLLI; however, negotiating a time with each speaker was another matter. Herding cats is what Keller termed it.
As things were coming together two of the potential speakers had to withdraw for various reasons, but he was saved when two of the remaining speakers were willing to give two talks. Given that arrangement things went forward. Forty-five enrolled in the course. The course was advertised as " The Emory Emeritus College Presents: Eight Retired Physicians Share Their Expertise on Timely Medical Topics." Carl Hug, PhD, MD, retired professor of anesthesiology and Senior Faculty Fellow in Emory's Ethics Center, led off speaking on "Preparing for the Last Inning of Life" (topics included advance directives, deciding about high-risk intervention, withholding/withdrawing, etc.). Marilynne McKay, MD, retired professor of dermatology, followed the next week and her topic was "Speaking of Skin," leading to an enthusiastic discussion of general and specific skin conditions and their management. Geoffrey Broocker, MD, retired from ophthalmology, gave a talk entitled "Baby, Everything Isn't All Right, Out of Sight (vision loss in the aging population)" in which he discussed macular degeneration and other conditions. Virgil Brown, MD, retired professor of cardiology and former President of the American Heart Association, spoke on "How Does Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease"? He followed up the next week with a most timely topic, "Should You Take a Statin for your Cholesterol?" Participants stood in line for some time after the talk with their questions. James Eckman, MD, retired professor of hematology/medical oncology, spoke on "Genetic Disorders of Hemoglobin: Why Are They Common and Why Do They Cause Such Complex Diseases?" This talk was centered on sickle cell anemia and served as an example for understanding genetic diseases. Carl Hug returned speaking this time on "Pain Management and the Risk of Addiction" (issues included morphine and other opioids, how they act, uses and misuse, tolerance, palliative care, and hospice). And finally Mel Moore, MD, a retired oncologist, gave a talk on the seminal role immunotherapy is playing in modern oncology treatment. Needless to say, the course was very well received with over 90% of respondents giving it high marks. And OLLI was most happy and has lobbied for a similar course for the winter quarter. --Jim Keller Click here to return to top |
Bianchi Award Reports John Juricek reports: 1763 marked the end of the great war whereby the British succeeded in driving French and Spanish rivals from eastern North America. Most Indians with an interest in the outcome had supported the French. No longer able to play the British off against their imperial rivals, the formidable Creeks and other resentful Indians now had to face the overbearing victors alone. Well aware that Indians had suddenly become the foremost threat to its North American empire, the British government made a major (and long overdue) effort to relieve native grievances. The impressive reform program included the great Augusta Congress, the Proclamation of 1763, and the "Plan of 1764." It was too little, too late. Moreover, it provoked serious resistance among the colonists. Concluding that it was more important to placate the colonists than the Indians, the London government largely abandoned the program in 1768, once again allowing colonial governments effective control over Indian relations. Illicit schemes to separate more Indians from more lands proliferated. The worst of them was the "New Purchase" engineered by Georgia governor James Wright in 1773. Wright journeyed to London and eventually persuaded the British government to sponsor his plan, thereby becoming an active participant in the fraudulent scheme. Ironically, Wright's triumph (the king now made him a baronet), the New Purchase, proved to be a disaster for everyone it touched, British or Indian, high or low. Crucially, it ruined colonial merchants and traders induced to cancel debts owed them by Creeks and Cherokees. Enraged at Wright and the British government, most gravitated to the "patriot" cause. Loyalists, including Wright, were soon fleeing Georgia and the Carolinas, which became hotbeds of the revolutionary movement. The Creeks had strong reasons to favor the British in the upcoming war. Nevertheless, their fury at being betrayed by the British government in the New Purchase kept them on the sidelines until it was too late to affect the outcome. Dorinda Evans reports: A year ago, I was fortunate to receive an Emeritus Excellence Fund - Bianchi Award of $1000 to support two projects. Both are completed: the essay "American Prelude to the Abstract Portrait" which will appear as the first chapter in a multi-authored book, This is a Portrait if I Say So: Reimagining Representation in American Art, 1912 - Today, to be published by Yale University Press in 2016; and a long article, "William Rimmer's Flight and Pursuit: An Enigmatic Painting and an Iconographic Pattern," which will be published soon. In both instances, the Bianchi support was intended for illustrations, but, in the end, it was not needed for the Yale project, and I used the money entirely on eighteen high-quality color illustrations and reproductive rights for the Rimmer article. The award will be gratefully acknowledged when it is published.  For thirty years, scholars have interpreted American artist William Rimmer's enigmatic painting, Flight and Pursuit (1872, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; shown above), in such conflicting ways that there has been no consensus. As a consequence, it is left open to the viewer's interpretation, which is troublingly ahistorical. My article interprets this picture of one man chasing another-- the second one being a transparent echo of the first-- as an allegory of man's conscience in a state of sin, and buttresses the argument with historical documentation (including Rimmer's writings), visual analysis of the work itself, and construction of its pattern-revealing role in Rimmer's oeuvre. Consistent with the famous art critic John Ruskin's preference, with which Rimmer agreed, the picture cultivates a general effect of mystery. Yet the image can be identified by the second figure who carries an emblem: the sword of Conscience. The picture's religious perspective and recognition of man's dual nature as part animal and part spirit can also be found as a recurrent theme in other work by the artist. Click here to return to top |
Faculty Activities
William T. Mayton Simmons Professor of Law, Emeritus
EUEC Member Bill Mayton and Stanford Professor Bernadette Meyler participated in a podcast with the National Constitution Center's Jeffrey Rosen. You can click here for a link to the podcast. Dorinda Evans
Professor of Art History, EmeritaEUEC Member Dorinda Evans reports on her teaching experience in Chengdu, China, this summer:  Having agreed to teach for five weeks with the ONPS ("On the Path to Success") summer school at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu, China, I had some apprehensions but, in the end, would recommend the experience, particularly to anyone who enjoys a degree of adventure. Like similar other groups, the ONPS team (with various teaching sites) is cashing in on the fact that so many Chinese students are seeking an education in U.S. universities. It offers them American courses in a condensed, summer school format, for transfer credit and at a lower price than they would pay for the full-term course in the U.S. Two key problems presented themselves at the outset. Although we professors (from Ohio State, Washington University, Dartmouth, Stanford, etc.) submitted our syllabi and text requests far in advance, there were no texts when we arrived. In addition, many of the students, enrolled in U.S. and Canadian colleges and universities, could hardly speak or write in English.
I learned what many of you probably already know. The word is that certain American universities "such as Perdue" will accept nearly any Chinese student who pays full fare. In China, most students cannot pass the university entrance exam, but they can get accepted to American colleges and universities, whose reputations are not known abroad, and then return to China "gold plated" (as they say) in terms of their ability to get jobs. Chinese students can even pay $4500 to have someone else apply for them. These people submit the application, essay, and even fake letters of recommendation to U.S. institutions. However, the Americans haven't been entirely fooled and these wealthy students might be tested on their English when they arrive.
It was a fascinating experience -- from the classroom building bathrooms that had porcelain-lined holes in the floor as toilets to the many chances to eat highly spiced Sichuan food and such culinary delights as duck's tongue, pig's feet, chicken's feet, and cow's stomach lining. Actually some of the food, such as the many soups, was quite tasty. We had to get used to being stared at occasionally as the only Westerners on the streets, but the Chinese people I met were very friendly and generous. ONPS provided "cultural tours" on the weekends and gave us too many presents to bring back.
The teaching load was three courses so it was fairly intense. As for the students, some were sufficiently motivated so that it was a rewarding experience, but, on the whole, they tended to be lazy -- lazier than American students. They overloaded courses and then expected us to accommodate them with less homework. Repeatedly I heard about how spoiled they are as the one child in their families. I think this is definitely a factor in their behavior, if not the main reason.
I also heard favorable remarks on Emory's reputation (Newsweek listings) while there and met two undergraduates in Chengdu. My one Emory student, by the way, was one of the best and hardest working. All had high opinions of Emory.
David Eltis |
Emory University Emeritus College The Luce Center
825 Houston Mill Road NE #206 Atlanta, GA 30329 |
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new book. Published in July by the University Press of Florida, it is titled 
