I am looking forward to “seeing” everyone at the AROHE Virtual Summit and 20th Anniversary Celebration on September 22, 9 a.m.-12:30 p.m. PDT, 10-1;30 MDT, 11-2;30 CDT, 12-3:30 EDT. It is not too late to register. Details about the Summit and a link to register are provided below.

Also in this issue is a discussion of your responses to our recent AROHE Matters Communications Survey. Your input is much appreciated and will be used to improve our newsletter. Thank you!

Coming up in November at the General Business Meeting you will have another opportunity to provide input in a townhall format. We will use your feedback to help chart AROHE’s future. Please mark your calendars to attend on November 16 at 7:00 a.m. HST, 10:00 a.m. PST, 11:00 a.m. MST, 12:00 p.m. CST, 1:00 p.m. EST. Watch your email for registration announcements and information.

January brings new board members and new officers to AROHE, and we will building on feedback from the Business Meeting as we examine our strategy and plans for the next two years during our board retreat.

Best Wishes,

Bill Verdini

AROHE News

AROHE Virtual Summit & 20th Anniversary Celebration

Thursday, September 22, 2022
9-12:30 EDT, 10-1:30 MDT, 11-2:30 CDT, 12-3:30 EDT

Last chance to register!

AROHE’s Virtual Summit & 20th Anniversary Celebration is just around the corner. Join positive aging experts Paul Irving, our featured speaker, and Helen Dennis, our moderator, as they explore innovative ways that retirement organizations can promote the wisdom and experience of retired faculty and staff.

Registration fees:

AROHE members: $30 per person*
Canadian AROHE members: $25 per person*
Non-Members: $50 per person

*Anyone affiliated with an AROHE member organization is eligible for the member price. List of AROHE member organizations.

See details on the Summit webpage.

Summit Honorees:

During the Summit, we will honor and recognize AROHE’s past presidents and other early organizers who were instrumental in AROHE’s development during the early years. Click here to see profiles of our past presidents and some additional early organizers who will be attending the summit:

Past Presidents:

2002-2003-Paul Hadley (founder of AROHE), USC
2003-2004-Eugene Bianchi, Emory University
2005-2006-Eugene Bianchi, Emory University
2006-2007-Shelley Glazer, UC Berkeley
2007-2008-Janette Brown, USC
2009-2010-Barry Culhane, Rochester Institute of Technology
2011-2012-Bobby Lubker, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
2013-2014-Sue Barnes, UC Davis/UCLA
2015-2016-Patrick Cullinane, UC Berkeley
2017-2018-Caroline Kane, UC Berkeley
2019-2020-Trudy Fernandez, Florida International University

Additional Early Organizers who will attend summit:

2002-2005 AROHE Executive Director, Elizabeth (Betty) Redmon, USC
Early organizer and longtime board member Linda Pearson, Ivy Tech Community College

Summit Planning Committee

Sue Barnes, UCLA, co-chair; Janette Brown, USC, co-chair; Joyce Tenney, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, co-chair; Gray Crouse, Emory University; Elaine Fox, UCLA, Sooz Klinkhamer, Kwantlen Polytechnic University; Emil Nguyen, UC Irvine; Carol Pope, Kennesaw State University; Bill Verdini, Arizona State University.

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

Thanks for the Feedback - AROHE Communications Survey

Thanks to the 30% of retirement organizations on the AROHE Matters mailing list that responded to our recent communications survey. Here is a summary of what you shared with us.

100% are satisfied with newsletter content, with almost 56% very satisfied. 90% were satisfied with the newsletter‘s visual presentation, with 38% very satisfied.

Most respondents do not forward the newsletter to others. As the satisfactory content is worthy of consideration by a larger audience of retirees, this may be an area for improvement. For example, can the newsletter provide a method for easy sharing, forwarding of the content with others?

Preferred Newsletter Content

The following content areas were selected by 60% to 85% of respondents as content they want to regularly see in the newsletter:

Practical information about administering a retirement organization
Events and activities of retirement organizations
Retirement trends
Retirement publications and resources

Interest in Other Communication Options, e.g., Facebook

With respect to other forms of member communications, respondents were moderately interested in online member discussions and online special interest groups or topical communities. There was no interest for 60% or more of respondents in Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Instagram.

Lastly, a comment by one respondent is a relevant message for all AROHE members, i.e., “Please encourage member organizations of ALL sizes and levels to contribute information about their organization and programming to the AROHE newsletter.”

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

Retirement Organization News

National Estate Planning Week - October 17-23, 2022

National Estate Planning Awareness Week , October 17-23, 2022, is an opportunity to remind retirees about the importance of estate planning. The awareness week is an ideal time to offer an educational program; provide information on a website or in a newsletter article.

National Estate Planning Awareness Week, established in 2008 by the House of Representatives (HR1499), promotes awareness about estate planning and its role in financial wellness. As stated in HR1499,” . . . careful estate planning can greatly assist Americans in preserving assets built over a lifetime for the benefit of family, heirs, or charities.” Estate planning includes end-of-life decisions such as advanced directives; long-term care; wills; executors; taxation and legal fees; and planned giving.

Many AROHE retirement organizations offer estate planning information. For example, the My Confidential Documents booklet is distributed by the University of Southern California (USC) Emeriti Center. The publication is available on the Emeriti Center website along with other related documents at https://emeriti.usc.edu/category/family-support/ The Berkeley Retirement Center, University of California-Berkeley, offers a variety of information and makes use of AARP materials such as Valuable Documents at Your Fingertips and a six part course, Taking Charge of Your Future: Planning for Long-Term Care.

Be it an article in a newsletter, a reading list, and documents on a website, or a one-time speaker, National Estate Planning Awareness week can be an opportunity to encourage retirees to consider their own estate planning. Resources to raise awareness of estate planning are plentiful, following are a few places to start.

AARP, https://aarp.org offers a variety of information, books, and YouTube videos.

National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Estate Planning and Probate [article], https://www.naela.org/Web/Consumers_Tab/Consumers_Library/Consumer_Brochures/Law_Topics/Estate_Planning_and_Probate.aspx

National Institute on Aging, Get Your Affairs in Order [click on pdf at bottom of page], https://order.nia.nih.gov/publication/getting-your-affairs-in-order

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

Estate Planning and Other Financial and Legal Seminars - University of Minnesota Retirees Association

One of the strengths of the University of Minnesota Retirees Association (UMRA) is its member-initiated special interest groups. We have groups for family history, hiking, photography, reading, travel, armchair travel, and financial and legal issues. Led by UMRA member and business school professor Andy Whitman, the Financial and Legal Issues Group annually presents a series of seminars on financial and legal topics conducted by local experts. They are open to all UMRA members and can be attended virtually or in-person.

This fall’s lineup includes three seminars. First up is “Tax Efficient Distribution to Family and Charities,” about gifts to family, qualified charitable distributions, and other ways pass on wealth. Late in the fall there will be a seminar on end-of-year tax strategies, called “Elections, Forgiveness, and Taxes, Oh My!”

In between there will be a comprehensive estate planning seminar, led by attorney Matt Guttman. The seminar will cover wills, living trusts, and beneficiary designations. Among the issues discussed will be the pros and cons of wills versus trusts, what funds should be included in a trust, what a good trust document looks like, health care directives, and the complexities of beneficiary designations.

You can view the previous year’s version of the estate planning and other seminars on the Financial and Legal Issues Group page on the UMRA website. For more information, contact Andy Whitman awhitman@umn.edu or Ron Matross, 2022-23 president, University of Minnesota Retirees Association (UMRA), r-matr@umn.edu, 651-646-5755 (home), 651-895-9980 (cell).

Personal Estate Planning Kit

Developed by the Stelter Company for its clients, many of whom are AROHE members, this four-session workbook is designed to help you understand the benefits of smart estate and gift planning. Each client site has the Personal Estate Planning Kit available on the homepage of their planned giving sites. You can link to the kit on the University of California, Davis Planned Giving website.

In business since 1962, The Stelter Company is an integrated marketing agency that provides nonprofits with the insights and strategies needed to optimize revenue across the development portfolio. They work with more than 1,300 clients across the country—including higher education, health care, environment, arts and culture, human rights, cause and community-based nonprofits. Learn more at www.stelter.com.

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

In Memoriam

Carl (Bert) Albert Huether

AROHE mourns the passing of Carl Huether, emeritus professor of biology at the University of Cincinnati (UC). Carl became involved with AROHE through his transformational presidency of the UC Emeriti Association, which culminated in the establishment of an Emeriti Center. When Carl stepped down from the presidency, the center’s Acting Executive Director Pat Mezinskis declared that he had “moved us forward with his vision, dedication, and unwavering persistence to get things accomplished. He leaves a truly wonderful legacy.” Carl devoted that same vigor, commitment, and enthusiasm to the mission of AROHE. He served two terms on the board (2015-2018) and continued to serve on AROHE committees after his Board service was completed. His special focus was the development and support of emeriti colleges and centers, and he was also engaged in investigating the value of university-based retirement communities. We at AROHE who were his friends and colleagues will never forget his unflagging energy, his can-do attitude, and his great generosity. Click here for Carl's obituary.

Gretchen Schulz

Gretchen Schulz, an active AROHE contributor and one of the pillars of the Emory University Emeritus College (EUEC), died suddenly at home on Tuesday, August 30. She was the program chair of the AROHE 2018 conference held at Emory and co-chair of the program committee for the AROHE 2021 virtual conference. Gretchen was always a warm and welcoming presence who shared her knowledge and creative ideas at AROHE conferences and webinars. In working with Emory’s Colloquium programs, she was often the EUEC’s first contact with faculty in departments throughout Emory College and the University. Her enthusiasm and energy made her a goodwill ambassador as well as a leader in making the Emory Emeritus College the success it is today. Gretchen often described her ideal life as “School Forever!” and, in achieving that goal for herself, she brought the rest of us willingly along. Gretchen will be fondly remembered and deeply missed by her many friends and colleagues at Emory and AROHE.

Trends

10 Myths About Aging

It is important to understand what is and isn’t a normal part of aging. Many people make assumptions about what it’s like to grow “old” and how older age will affect them. Research has shown that you can help preserve your health and mobility as you age by adopting or continuing healthy habits and lifestyle choices. Read all 10 myths about aging from the National Institute on Aging.

Resources

National Grandparents Day - September 11, 2022

On the first Sunday after Labor Day we celebrate National Grandparents Day. This year the date falls on September 11. Like Mother’s day and Father’s day we also have a whole day dedicated to our grandparents. Grandparents and children have a special connection that is proven to both make grandparents live longer, and also make children more emotionally resilient. Grandparents Day is an opportunity to treasure that connection and spend some quality family time together. To learn more, go to Grandparents Day — The Full History and How You Can Celebrate (nationaltoday.com).

Reflective Corner

As we grow and change, we understand things
and the people who have influenced us in new ways.

May Sarton

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

Come Join Us in Transforming Retirement

Since 2002 AROHE has supported both institutions and individuals by transforming the experience of retirement – the preparation, the transition, and post-retirement programming – into a smooth and productive life-course change.

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

Tell Us Your Story

Your colleagues benefit from hearing about your programs and activities to aid active and retired faculty and staff to prepare for, transition to and enjoy their next life chapters. The next issue of AROHE Matters in November will highlight, among other items, surveys of retirees to learn about their continuing engagement and contributions. Share your story with our newsletter editor, Patrick Cullinane, at pcullinane@berkeley.edu by October 17. 2022.

About AROHE

AROHE's mantra is "Transforming Retirement."

AROHE is a nonprofit association that champions transformative practices to support all stages of faculty and staff retirement, their mutually beneficial engagement, and continuing contributions to their academic institutions. By sharing research, innovative ideas, and successful practices, AROHE emphasizes the development and enhancement of campus-based retiree organizations and programs which support this continuing engagement in higher education.

Click to return to the Issue Highlights.

Thank You to our Sponsors

AROHE is grateful to these companies, and to all of our virtual conference sponsors. Their generosity allows us to continue fulfilling our mission of transforming retirement in higher education.