UNIVERSITY AT ALBANY RETIREE SURVEY RESULTS Question 1--Have you ever visited the Emeritus Center website? 39% said yes, 61% said no. Question 1a--What would you like to see covered on the website? 95% want to see news of the Emeritus Center events. 88% want to see news of University events of interest to Emeriti. 79% want to see news of the activities and achievements of other Emeriti. 38% want news from other Emeritus Centers in the SUNY system. You are currently receiving the description of our Programs through email. Programs will soon be available on the site also, starting with our forthcoming Fall 2008 Program. How to define University events of interest to Emeriti? As a first step, you will soon find on the site a few selected events that seem especially relevant. We will take it from there. When you, as an Emeritus, have something of which you are especially proud (a new book, an important article, an especially meaningful activity of any kind), please send a short message to Ray Ortali at ray@indieadvisor.com, and he will place it on the site. We have begun to connect with other SUNY Emeritus Centers, with the help of Ram Chugh, recently appointed Chair of the University Faculty Senate Task Force on SUNY Retirees Service Corps. Our site will soon include a summary of their most interesting activities. Question 2--Which is your current living situation? 71% live in the Capital District all or most of the year. 13% spend part of the year in the Capital District and part of the year away. 16% live outside of the Capital District all or almost all of the year. Question 3-How many times have you attended each of the following one-shottypes of Emeritus Center events? 16% attended the Film Forum 3 times or more 10% attended the Memoir Writing Group 4 times or more. Am really sorry I missed the films; would like them to continue I am looking forward to more Film forum- like activities We hope to attend more programs and film forums next year My vision is too poor for films Hope to join Memoir Writing this year I have written a memoir about my professional life. To be published I attended the grand opening and have also participated in programs that have been offered through OASIS with Emeriti faculty A core of a few faithful turn up for each of these. It would be interesting to find out why the considerable number of other emeriti living in the capital area never attend. The Film Forum will continue! We will also offer a series of 5 classes entitled Opera 101, in cooperation with OASIS. The Memoir Writing Group will meet again with Iliana Semmler in the Fall, and Bill Reese will lead another Group focusing on philosophical problems today. Question 4a. For each category below, please indicate how likely you would be to attend each of the types of program. 77% are somewhat likely/very likely/definitelygoing to attend lectures. 68% are somewhat likely/very likely/definitelygoing to attend entertainment events (film, music, art shows, get-togethers, etc.) 54% are somewhat likely/very likely/definitelygoing to attend other events. SUGGESTIONS: Current world and local issues Debates on political, ethical, philosophical, and/or environmental issues General interest topics, not specialized research subjects Getting the most out of retirement Historical/pol.science On successful aging, brain health Opera classes, travel Photography workshop Political analyses Future of higher ed, assessment of academic program goals and how assessment should be used Would be very helpful to have a calendar and brief description of events ideally in early fall, late December, early spring so I could plan more easily. Calendars are being prepared (you are going to receive the Fall calendar as an email very soon), and will also be placed on the website so you can consult them any time. Our Fall 2008 and Spring 2009 programs already integrate several of the suggestions above. Your other suggestions will be discussed at one of the forthcoming meetings of the Emeritus Board. Question 4b Same question about ongoing programs. 25% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in joining a writing group. 41% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in joining a book club. 57% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in joining a political discussion group. 36% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in joining another type of group. SUGGESTIONS: Children books Health, wealth, travel, history Poetry writing group Impact of technology,topics of research, freedom of speech/writing, composition of student body, nembers in humanities vs. sciences/business and implications of change. All these suggestions will be discussed at one of the forthcoming meetings of the Emeritus Board. Question 4c Instructional programs. 48% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in computers and Internet programs. 39% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in community services and volunteering opportunities. 48% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in programs for aging. 55% are somehat likely/very likely/ definitelyinterested in other opportunities for Emeriti. SUGGESTIONS: FitnessO pportunities to speak on my field to new audiences. Our Speakers Bureau doesn't seem very effective in this Topics on history in general We all know we're old and we're intelligent enough to get info on aging. Why rub it in? Study groups on subjects like Asian politics or flora and fauna of Agrica things like that could be interesting I miss the opportunity to hear about topics in the sciences. Our Conversationseries (offered once a month on Tuesday at 4 pm) has been conceived to provide opportunities for Emeriti to speak on their own field to new audiences. Although our program for the whole year is almost complete, we would especially welcome members of the scientific UAlbany community (Emeriti or not) to have a conversationwith an audience often made up of humanities-oriented Emeriti. Don't hesitate to contact us if you are inclined to initiate such a conversation. All suggestions are welcome! Question 5 What time(s) of day would you be most likely to attend Emeritus Center events? 56 % gave early to mid-afternoon as their first or second choice. 54 % gave late morning as their first or second choice. 53 % gave late afternoon as their first or second choice. 24 % gave early to mid-morning as their first or second choice. 16 % gave evening as their first or second choice. 4 % gave weekends as their first or second choice. 0 % gave dinner time as their first or second choice. SUGGESTIONS: With high price of gas, like to do several things in Albany each time I drive that far I like to combine with other reasons to be in Albany Combine late morning and/or early afternoon with social lunch For lunch time, one could easily bring a lunch Noon and bring sandwich would be nice Not too late during the day, especially in winter Dinner time would move up to first choice if we had a pot luck dinner before the event. Some of this depends on which day o the week. We had anticipated at least some of these suggestions. Most Emeritus Center events take place in early or mid-afternoon: Tuesday at 2 pm for Board meetings, Tuesday at 4 pm for Conversations, Friday at 2 pm for films, and Monday at 2 pm for our new series of opera classes in November. Bringing a sandwich at lunch timeis an interesting alternative that the Board will discuss soon. Question 5b (For Emeriti who have indicated they live outside the Capital Region all or part of the year): Would you be interested in any of the following options? 63 % are interested or might be interested in an on-line Discussion Group. 25 % are interested or might be interested in an on-line Book Club It should be noted than 19 individuals only responded to that question. Others may have been put off by the difficulty to arrange such off-line discussions, especially is one is not familiar with using her/his computer online. Question 6 Are you interested in receiving emails telling what your fellow Emeriti are up to? 70% said yes, 30 % said no. The question is somewhat similar to Question 1a, to which 79 % Emeriti responded: Yes, I'd like to see news of the activities and achievements of other Emeriti on the website.What to send as an email and what to place on the website is a serious question that faces not only UAlbany, but businesses all over the world. Here is a reasonable response: Send emails as often as necessary (but not too often!), and place on the site everything that deserves to be archived and make it easily accessible. That's what the Emeritus Center will attempt to do. Question 7 What is your most current contact information? Most of the Emeriti who responded to the Survey provided that information. We had (painfully!) collected the email address of many of them, and we check and recheck them each time we send a new message. Many Emeriti are not aware of the problem however, and the returned messages usually provide only cryptic information: domain name system error domain not found error from remote server permanent fatal error user unknown account is full: quota exceeded We will attempt to correct these types of error, hopefully with the help of a qualified UAlbany specialist. Most of those who responded to the Survey also provided their home address, but most still prefer to be contacted by email. The University does not have an up-to-date list of addresses for Emeriti. Both the printed Directory and the online Directory are unfortunately totally inadequate. This is because Emeriti were never urged to make corrections to their entry in the online Directory, and most would not have the faintest idea about how to proceed. The result is that offices that were vacated several years ago (with their corresponding telephone numbers, and sometimes the email addresses) are still in the Directory. We plan to do something about the problem, again hopefully with the help of a qualified UAlbany specialist. An annually updated directory of Emeriti with phone numbers and email addresses is sure to be welcome(a response to Question 8 below). The fact that the University does not have a reliable address list for Emeriti can create serious difficulties, as examplified by the recently modified Parking Policy. Such a new policy could not be implemented if most of the concerned people had not been notified. You are aware of what the Emeritus Center did to help solve the problem, since you have received our recent message on the subject dated August 23, 2008 and entitled Parking policy A clarification. We were pleased to be able to help. Question 8 What kind of services would you like the UAlbany administration to provide Emeriti beyond the ones you currently receive? A key suggestion We, as Emeriti faculty , still have a great deal to contribute to the University based on our experience. However, there are no avenues to do that. The latest offer to serve on Faculty Senate committees is not very appealing. However, serving on task forces on specific topics and search committees would be very nice! Parking policy Must restore the special parking which was taken away recently. For most Emeriti at their age there is a real need for this Straighten out the current parking debacle An organization that represents Emeriti not just in providing programs but in giving assistance in solving problems such as the parking situation. We were pleased to be able to do just that. See above. Others Funding for professional travel;availability of supplies, like paper; repair/maintenance for computers Adequate office space, I stopped coming to campus when my office space was as big as my mud room at home Any important changes in health care coverage Cut the fat andget rid of at least 50% of the petty bureaucrats who want to re-invent five year plans Assistance with library privileges in non-SUNY libraries. Question 9 Is there anything else you would like to tell us about the Emeritus Center? It's noticeable that some of the most active members are faculty who originated abroad or have lived abroad extended periods. It would also be nice to know who among our band is ill or has died. If ill, whether they can receive visitors at a nursing home or hospital, and the names and addresses of these institutions. We encourage Emeriti to share with us this type of (sad) news. We will, in turn, share it with the Emeriti community. About our facility Great idea. Lovely facility Good facility I am pleased that we have the Center!...If I were just now retiring I would make the Center my second home Keep up great programs The concept on the Emeritus Center is a wonderful one I think the Emeritus Center is a very valuable service and hope it will continue to be made available to Emeriti I think you are doing a good job Only that I'd love to know more about it!...I'll try to visit soon I'd like a larger place to meet. Thank you! Thank you! (We must do something right.) Finally, its probably fitting for all Emeriti to remember that their Emeritus Centerwas created two years ago by the late President Kermit Hall. We will celebrate our second anniversary on Friday, November 7, 2008. All Emeriti are cordially invited. Interim President George Philip will be present. Stay tuned.