Retirees Association Meeting Minutes and Archive

PRESIDENT’S REPORT

August 19, 2026

ATTENDING: Clark Hickman, Bernard Feldman, Connie Jeffries, Sue Baber, Mimi Duncan, Tom Eyssell, Joel Glassman, Mike Murray, David Garin, Kevin Smith (Alumni), Jennifer Jezek-Taussig (Alumni & Engagement).

ABSENT: Dave Ganz, Faith Lucas, Susan Moody

I proposed to the Board a Resolution to reconstitute the selection committee of the Retirees of the Year Award to include only those members of the Retirees Association and to eliminate our practice of inviting representatives of the Faculty Senate and Staff Association. Members will be selected by the Chair of the Nominating Committee who is the Immediate Past President. This Resolution passed unanimously.

I proposed a one-time Lifetime Achievement Award on behalf of the Association to honor former Chancellor Blanche Touhill that would be given at our Annual Meeting on June 4, 2027. I have formed an ad hoc committee to craft this award, including justifications and all aspects of tangible components of the award, e.g., plaque, certificate, or some appointment symbol of recognition. The ad hoc committee consists of Curt Coonrod (chair), Tom Eyssell, Joel Glassman, and Dave Ganz.

I have appointed Curt Coonrod, a member of the UMSL Retirees Association, to the UMSL RA Board of Directors. He is appointed to fill the vacant expansion seat approved by the membership at last June’s Annual Meeting. His term will run until June 2027 at which time he may be elected to a full two-year term.

It was recommended by the Board that I provide a link to published obituaries for those appearing in our In Memoriam section of our newsletter. I will provide such a link for those that have one.

The Board decided that, instead of requesting can-good donations for Triton Pantry at our Holiday Luncheon, that we solicit cash donations for the Pantry instead. Jennifer Jezek-Taussig indicated that the Pantry gets more use out of cash donations that actual food donations.

Mimi Duncan volunteered to work with Kevin Smith and Jennifer Jezek-Taussig in securing volunteers for the Welcome Desk at the new Richter Family Welcome Center. Mimi has already begun culling a list of retirees seeking volunteer opportunities on campus.

I asked Faith Lucas to renew the $5000 Certificate of Deposit that renews on August 23.

Committee reports follow in this document.

Clark J. Hickman

President (2026-2027)

UMSL Retirees Association

RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS

August 19, 2026

Proposed by the President:

WHEREAS the UMSL Retirees Association sponsors an annual Retiree of the Year Award to one deserving retired Faculty member and one deserving Staff member, and

WHEREAS the organization representing Retirees at the University of Missouri-St. Louis is the UMSL Retirees Association, and

WHEREAS the body most qualified to set criteria and judge the qualifications of potential nominees is retirees themselves, and

WHEREAS campus Chancellor Award recipients are judged by a body of their peers and not by groups or individuals not affiliated with the purpose of their Award, and

WHEREAS the Chancellor’s Office has recently indicated that it looks to the Retirees Association to notify that Office of the Awardees selected on their criteria.

THEREFORE, be it resolved that the Board of Directors of the UMSL Retirees Association will henceforth select the Faculty and Staff Retirees of the Year Award recipients by a committee composed of members of the UMSL Retirees Association, as appointed and chaired by the Immediate Past President of the Association.

RESOLVED this 19^th day of August 2026 at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

*PASSED UNAMIOUSLY BY THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS AUGUST 19, 2026*

Treasurer’s Report to the UMSL Retirees Association

Board of Directors Meeting

submitted 08/19/2026

Balance as of last report (06/05/2026)

Item Amount

FCCU Checking

$9,253.75

FCCU CD (matures 8/23/2026)

$5,000.00

FCCU Savings

$1.00

Total FCCU Accounts as of 06/05/2026

$14,254.75

NEW INCOME:

6/11/2026

dues paid by check

$ 30.00

Total New Income since last report:

$30.00

NEW EXPENSES:

6/12/2026

check 1005 Glen Echo CC, Spring luncheon

$ 3,024.91

Total New Expenses since last report:

$3,024.91

UMSL RA Account Balance as of 08/19/2026

$ 11,259.84

Membership Committee Report
Meeting date: August 19, 2026
Submitted by: Mimi Duncan, Committee Chair

Updated Marketing and Mailing file

Volunteer Information from 2026-2027 Membership Spreadsheet

Another Outreach to SharePoint and Non-Renewals in October

Utilize UMSL Calendar for RA Events

Contact in Provost’s Office for Former Employees

Discuss matching both the Alumni Association Membership Drive form and RA Spreadsheet

New Organization name:
- UMSL Vintage Partners…UMSL ViPs, formerly known as UMSL RA

Communications Committee report for 8/19/26

Microsoft has discontinued MS Publisher in their MS Office suite. Publisher is the program that has been used for producing the UMSLRA newsletter since 2020. For some reason, the company will make existing files created in Publisher unusable. Fortunately, all our newsletter files have been saved also as PDFs.

To continue using Publisher it is recommended to purchase a stand-alone, older version of MS Office, specifically MS Office 2021. The advice is that MS Office 2021 should not be loaded on the same computer as the MS Office 365 subscription as it can cause problems with upgrades that are periodically made to the program with the 365. I currently subscribe to MS Office 365 on my PC.

To solve this problem, I have purchased a refurbished HP laptop for $350 and will purchase a 2021 stand-alone version of MS Office to load on that machine. The cost is approximately $40 for that program (will report on actual costs after it’s purchased).

Deadline for articles is October 1. I will be working with Kevin to see if I am able to use the UMSL Update for submitting articles.

PLANNING & EVENTS COMMITTEE

August 19, 2026

Brain Health, Seminar by Ann Steffan, Ph.D. will be held September 24 from 9-10:30 in 426 Woods Hall.

The RA is invited to participated in the Dedication/Open House of the Richter Family & Welcome and Alumni Center on September 24 at 6 pm.

The fall outing will be “100 Years of Cardinals Baseball,” a docent-led tour at the Missouri History Museum in Forest Park at 10:30 am on Tuesday, October 20.

2^nd Seminar: The Manhattan Project in the St. Louis Region, Including ZIP Code 63121. Christen Commuso, Tuesday, November 10, 9:00-10:30 am.

RA Holiday Luncheon, Glen Echo, Friday, December 4, 2026.

Retiree Association Meeting Minutes Archives:

Note: If a Month/Year listing is not identified as minutes from a "Meeting" (eg. Mid-year General Meeting), the linked minutes are from a Retirees Association Board Meeting. Earlier archived files are in PDF format.