Retirees NewsletterP u b l i s h e d b y t h e S U N Y R e t i r e e s S e r v i c e C o r p s

Volume 2, Issue 1

Retirees Service CorpsConnecting with Our Retirees Through Service

Spring/Summer 2013

TRANSITIONS: A Tribute to Ram Chugh, Ph.D.by Curtis L. Lloyd, Vice Chancellor for Human Resources

I n t h i s I s s u e

Editor’s Note: Curtis Lloyd is a member ofthe SUNY Retirees Service Corps AdvisoryCouncil.

Dr. Ram Chugh, founding executive director of the SUNY Retirees Service

Corps (RSC), is retiring. He told the SUNYRSC Advisory Council that it’s never easyto leave an organization into which onehas put his heart and soul. But he’s happyand proud of how far the RSC has come.He has every right to be proud. But, foreverhumble, Ram credits the Advisory Counciland other key players for their roles in theRSC’s success to date. He is confident theorganization will continue to flourish.

Retirees Service Corps OriginsCarl Wiezalis, president of the SUNY

University Faculty Senate from 2005 to2009, described how in 2007 he proposedthe creation of a SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps (RSC) for retirees throughout theState University of New York. With the

blessing of Chancellor John R. Ryan andthe Faculty Senate, Carl appointed a taskforce to determine the feasibility of such a service organization and determine itsform and function.

Seeking inspired leadership for such animportant initiative, Carl asked Ram Chughto chair the Task Force on SUNY Retirees.Fortunately, he said yes. Carl was very familiar with Ram’s long history of exceptional service to SUNY, first as aprofessor at Potsdam and then as anemeritus volunteer at System Administra-tion in Albany. Carl believed that passion,coupled with energy and ability, made Ramthe ideal person to advance this project.He was right.

Ram and the Task Force membersdrafted and presented a white paper to theFaculty Senate, which became the founda-tion for the Retirees Service Corps as weknow it today. Because of his exceptionalleadership as chair of the Task Force, Ramwas subsequently appointed as executivedirector of the RSC to shepherd the organization from concept to reality.

Ram saw that once SUNY retirees lefttheir campuses, there was often no follow-up contact, and no inclusion in campusactivities or services. They were essen-tially an untapped resource with great potential. Ram was determined to promotea “retiree-campus-community” connectionand viewed the RSC as a mechanism toachieve that objective through, in part,helping SUNY campuses start retiree organizations that would allow retirees tostay connected.

Ram served with distinction as the Retirees Service Corps part-time execu-tive director from its start in 2008 untilSeptember 30, 2012, when he decided the

time was right to begin the transition to hissecond retirement. Yes, second retirement.

Ram retired from SUNY Potsdam in2002 after 32 years of service as a Distin -guished Service Professor of Economics.He served as executive assistant to cam-pus presidents for several years and lateras special assistant for public service andas director of the Merwin Rural ServicesInstitute in Potsdam. Upon retiring, Ramand his wife decided to move to Albany to be closer to their daughter and grand-children in New York City.

Ram chose to share his professionalexpertise with SUNY System Administra-tion in Albany by volunteering for variousprojects such as serving on task forcesexamining the economic and social impactof the State University of New York on thestate’s economy and Globalizing SUNY.The University Faculty Senate honoredRam by recognizing him as “SenatorEmeritus” for his service to SUNY and the Faculty Senate, including chairing theTask Force on SUNY Retirees.

Colleague RecollectionsI got to know Ram as a dedicated

volunteer at SUNY System Administrationand while we served on the retirees taskforce. I have also worked closely with him over the years in my capacity as ViceChancellor for Human Resources and as amember of the SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps Advisory Council. I am proud to call

Transitions: A Tribute to Ram Chugh, Ph.D. . . . 1Senior Services Profile: UAlbany’s Center for Excellence in Aging & Community Wellness . . . 3SUNY Retirees Biennial Conference . . . . . . . . . 3Retirement Experience: Malcolm Nelson . . . . . . 4Comments, Content Suggestions? . . . . . . . . . . . 4About the SUNY Retirees Newsletter . . . . . . . . 4Campus Profile: The SUNY Cobleskill Retiree Network . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5SUNY Retiree Volunteer Profile: Ray Lenarcic . . 6Passwords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7Do You Have a Retirement Story to Tell? . . . . . . 7AROHE 2012 Conference a Success . . . . . . . . . 8Free AROHE Membership for SUNY Campuses . 8How I Was Able to Take an Early Retirement . . . 9The Last Word: Reflections on Retirement as a New Beginning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10SUNY Campus Retiree Organization Contacts . . 11Useful Links for Retirees . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11SUNY RSC Website Home Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12

Continued on page 2

Curtis Lloyd, Ram Chugh, and Janette Brown ofAROHE.

SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

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scale have yet to be achieved, but Ram willbe there in the shadows measuring ourprogress with a stick and a carrot." ~ CarlWiezalis, Past President, SUNY UniversityFaculty Senate; SUNY Distinguished ServiceProfessor, Upstate Medical University;Member, SUNY Retirees Service Corps

A Long List of AccomplishmentsUnder Ram’s leadership, the SUNY

Retirees Service Corp made significantprogress toward several of the organiza-tion’s developmental goals:

� Administration and Governance: Ramhand-picked an Advisory Council of approximately 15 SUNY retiree membersfrom throughout SUNY and several individuals representing various stake-holders to guide the work of the RSC.

� Creating Awareness about the PotentialValue of Retirees: Ram made periodicpresentations to SUNY-wide associations,campus presidents, faculty governancegroups, unions, and other organizationsto help make campuses aware that retirees are a rich resource that remainslargely untapped. The RSC and its mis-sion have been profiled in a variety ofpublications including the Faculty Senate,UUP, Association of Retiree Organiza-tions in Higher Education (AROHE), andNational Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO)HR Horizons newsletters.

� Encouraging SUNY Campuses to CreateRetiree Programs: Ram worked withSystem Administration and several SUNYcampuses to create retiree programs to strengthen connections with their retirees. Approximately 15 campusescurrently have active retiree programs.Ram also made arrangements with the

Association of Retirement Organizationsin Higher Education (AROHE) so that individual SUNY campuses can becomemembers until June 30, 2014 at no costto the campuses.

� Manual for Starting Campus RetireePrograms: Ram developed a manual, theRSC Guide to Starting a Campus-BasedRetirees Organization, which providesinformation on the mechanics of creatinga campus retiree program and containsdescriptions of retiree programs at selected campuses. The RSC receivesfrequent requests for copies of the guide from both SUNY and non-SUNY institutions.

� Retiree Conferences: In an effort to provide educational and networking opportunities, Ram and the RSC hostedtwo biennial conferences that broughtretirees and campus officials fromthroughout SUNY together with expertsin aging and retiree issues. The RSC willhold its next biennial retirees conferencethis coming November. See the “Savethe Date” box at the end of this articlefor more information.

� Survey of Campus Retirees: In July 2010,the RSC conducted a survey to develop a baseline of information about SUNYretirees and their volunteer activity.SUNY Retiree Volunteers: A PricelessResource for SUNY Campuses andLocal Communities, published in August2011, details the findings of the survey. Amajority of retiree respondents expresseda strong desire to stay connected withtheir former campuses and colleagues.The survey also showed many SUNY retirees are willing to share their timeand talent through volunteer service. Thereport on the survey findings attractednational and international interest.

� SUNY Retirees Newsletter: Several sur-vey respondents suggested a newsletteras a means of keeping retirees informedof happenings system-wide and learningabout the experiences of their retiredcolleagues from other SUNY campuses.Ram felt an online newsletter fit perfectlywith the RSC’s goal of promoting pro-grams and activities to publicize andrecognize the contributions made by retirees to campus and community. Thefirst issue of the SUNY Retirees Newsletterwas published in November 2011.

Ram my colleague and friend. He neverceases to amaze me with his passion forand dedication to SUNY and its retirees. I am not alone in my admiration for Ram.Here’s what a few of his RSC colleagues,many of whom have known Ram longerthan me, had to say about him:

“Ram has been a delight to know andwork with for over 20 years. We first metwhile developing the New York State AreaHealth Education Centers (AHEC) and hewas instrumental and most helpful in establishing the North Area AHEC in theNorth Country, which has become a majorpipeline for young people from that regionto enter the health professions. The past10 years, since the early development ofthe SUNY Retirees Service Corps (RSC), I have had the privilege of working andsharing time with him. His enthusiasmand tireless efforts have made the RSC anationally recognized service for SUNYretirees. Fortunately, I have gotten to knowhim not just as a colleague, but truly as afriend.” ~ L. Thomas Wolff, DistinguishedTeaching Professor Emeritus, Upstate Medical University; Chair, SUNY RetireesService Corps Advisory Council

“Having known Ram for many years before his retirement from the Potsdamfaculty, I knew we were fortunate to havehis leadership as the founding ExecutiveDirector of the SUNY Retiree ServiceCorps. He formed our group, surveyed ourneeds and set us on an excellent path. Wewho are SUNY retirees are grateful andsoon the people of New York will havecause for gratitude as well.” ~ Jim Kalas,Associate Provost, Academic Affairs (Ret.),SUNY System Administration; Member,SUNY Retirees Service Corps

“Ram Chugh is one of those rare indi-viduals who has always been completelydedicated to the education of all NewYorkers. He is a gentle, humble man withvision in his mind and passion in his heartfor making this world better. As a leaderattractive to followers, Ram was the uniqueperson to help guide the Retirees ServiceCorps to reality. He will be rememberedas a prime mover in advancing the RSC to where it is today. Maximum scope and

A Tribute to Ram ChughContinued from page 1

Tom Wolff and Ram Chugh.

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SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

� Retirees Service Corps Website: Soonafter the RSC’s creation, Ram commis-sioned the development of a website(www.suny.edu/retirees) which pro-vides SUNY retirees with a wealth ofinformation, including RSC publications,a profile of SUNY retirees, retirementstories, links to all existing SUNY campus retiree programs and onlinecampus retiree directories; and links to organizations, unions, and resourcesof interest to SUNY retirees.

None of the above would have beenpossible without the tireless efforts of Dr. Ram Chugh.

What’s Next?The SUNY Retirees Service Corps team

of Julie Petti (Director, University-wideHuman Resources), Pierre Radimak (RSCCoordinator), Melissa Starman (PersonnelAssociate) and the RSC Advisory Councilwill build upon Ram’s accomplishments.

To help fulfill Ram’s ultimate objec-tives of connecting retirees with eachother and community service, the RSC,with the assistance of Carrie Pause(SUNY’s Assistant Director of Securityand Web Development) and Grace Valente(Lead Programmer/Analyst-SUNY WebShared Services), will be expanding itswebsite to include a secure online retireedirectory and online message board/resource hub that will allow retireesthroughout SUNY to interact with one another. The RSC website will also pro-vide a secure volunteer matching servicelinking interested retirees with volunteeropportunities. These exciting new features,which will be known collectively as theSUNY Retirees Network (SRN), will beimplemented over the next several months.

Ram, meanwhile, will be keeping busyand spending more time with his belovedgrandkids. We will miss having himaround the office, but he will always bepart of the SUNY family.

Thank you, Ram, for everything youhave done on behalf of the State Univer-sity of New York and our retirees. Youhave truly made a difference.

Enjoy your second retirement, my friend!

Note: Ram authored “The Last Word” column on page 10, in which he presents his “Reflections on Retirement as a New Beginning.” �

Recognizing the importance of remainingengaged in society throughout life, the

Center for Excellence in Aging & Commu-nity Wellness offers a variety of opportu-nities to older adults for life-long learningand well-being through its OASIS programsand Living Healthy NY Community Workshops.

OASIS Lifelong Learning is a unique educational program for mature adultswho want to continue to grow, learn andbe productive. Membership is free andopen to anyone 50+ years of age.

In New York’s Capital Region, the OASISprogram is housed at the University at Albany in the Center for Excellence in Aging& Community Wellness at the School ofSocial Welfare. In addition to our nationalmission, the New York State Capital RegionOASIS brings together the vast resourcesand expertise at the University, an array of community partners and our OASISmembers to create and deliver innovativeprogramming and volunteer opportunities.

In two semesters annually, OASISclasses offer challenging programs in thearts, humanities, health and wellness,technology, and volunteer service. OASIScreates opportunities for people to con-tinue their personal growth and servetheir communities. OASIS programs areavailable in three communities in NewYork State: Albany, Rochester and Syracuse.

We invite you to learn more aboutOASIS by visiting the OASIS national web-site, http://oasisnet.org, or download ourlatest course offerings in the Center forExcellence in Aging & Community Wellnessmagazine, Making the Connection, spring2013 edition, at http://ceacw.org.

Our Living Healthy NY CommunityWorkshops program offers six-week workshops that teach practical skills whiledealing with chronic conditions such asdiabetes, heart disease, obesity, andarthritis. If you or someone you care forhas one of these conditions, the LivingHealthy Workshop can help you learn thetools for better self-management.

The way the program is taught is whatmakes it effective. The sessions are livelyand participative: Workshop participantstalk, share practice skills and learn togetherover the six weeks. Mutual support andsuccess build the participants’ confidencein their ability to manage their health andmaintain active and fulfilling lives.

Check out our Calendar of Events onthe Center’s website, http://ceacw.org, forthe next wellness program in your area. To find a workshop outside of the CapitalDistrict of New York, please e-mail theLiving Healthy Program at LivingHealthyNY@albany.edu for a listing of statewideprograms. �

SAVE THE DATE!The SUNY Retirees Service Corps (RSC) plans to hold its third biennialretirees conference on Thursday, November 14, 2013 at SUNY System Administration in Albany. It will feature demonstrations ofthe SUNY Retirees Network website and discussion of its exciting

potential. Watch the SUNY RSC website (www.suny.edu/retirees) for details. Additional information on the conference will be in the fall/winter issue of theSUNY Retirees Newsletter. We hope to see you in November!

Senior Services Profile: University at Albany’s Center for Excellence in Aging & Community Wellnessby Kathleen Schoolcraft, Program Coordinator

November14

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SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

Now, in retirement, I echo what anEnglish friend told me when she retired:that she was so busy she didn’t know how she’d had time for work. There arecertainly no dull moments. I travel a bitmore than I used to, though I’ve alwaysbeen a Roads Scholar. I go to Yellowstoneevery summer. I am now free to headsouth for warmth in mid-winter, and mylady Joyce and I do that, in the lovelyFlorida Keys. I remain active in severalgroups. UUP takes up a lot of my time, and,as always, seems a superb investment of time and energy. UUP is as diverse asSUNY, and it has stretched my circle offriends and my consciousness in the bestway. I still lead my own singing group andwill until I can croak no more.

Always a reader, I find I now have timeto catch up on all the good books I had little time for while a full-time teacher,particularly fiction. My specialty was dramaand poetry, especially Renaissance Englishpoetry and drama. I still read there, but Iam also loving Jane Austen (“MansfieldPark” is a HOOT!) and Margaret Drabbleand Margaret Atwood and David Mitchelland Ivan Doig and the list is endless. I alsokeep up with environmental books andpopular science, and I continue to writeand publish on such topics.

A friend dropped in today and asked how Iliked retirement and said she couldn’t waitfor it. I told her I wish I could have waited—I do miss teaching and the company ofyoung people—but as another wise oldcolleague once told me, “Retirement holdsno terrors.” If you’re healthy and more orless sane, it’s great fun. And one morething I have discovered. When I was a littlekid, my parents made me take naps. IHATED them and rarely slept and couldn’twait to get back up and roaring, or reading.I now take a nap probably every other day.That little kid I used to be was wrongabout naps; young and strong and stupid,what did he know?? They’re heavenly andI have time for them now. �

Editor’s Note: The SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps asked retirees to share their retirementexperiences, such as planning for retirement,how they spent time after retiring, and anythoughts they would like to share with thosethinking about retirement. We are pleased tofeature the story of SUNY Fredonia retireeMalcolm Nelson, Distinguished TeachingProfessor of English Emeritus, in his ownwords.

My decision to retire was gradual andpractical. I have always loved teaching

literature, had done it for half a century,and I was in no hurry to leave that behind.My health was good, my energy level high.But one thing moved me toward a decisionto go: my hearing had begun to fail. Fortu-nately I had the support of an excellenthearing clinic at SUNY Fredonia, and amnow on my second generation of high-techhearing aids—but they are no substitutefor young ears. My style of teaching wasalways like a tennis match—back and forth,volleying at the net—and that got muchharder to do when I had to ask students to repeat what they’d said. So, at about70, I began to consider retirement.

A gracious administration and my fineEnglish department colleagues allowedme three years of quarter-time teaching to ease into retirement: half-time in theFall, off in the Spring. I can’t express howwonderful that was, and I recommend it to anyone who can make such a deal. (It also helped me to finish my latest book,TWENTY WEST, just before retirement.) I would also make one other suggestion:don’t go ‘til you’re sure you want to.

Retirement Experience: Malcolm Nelson

More SUNY Retirement Stories are available at:

http://www.suny.edu/retirees/retiree_experiences/experiences.cfm

Joyce Haines and Malcolm Nelson About the SUNY Retirees NewsletterThe SUNY Retirees Newsletter is designed to share information abouthappenings at various campuses andSystem-wide which are of interest toretirees. The newsletter is put togetherby the SUNY Retirees Service Corps(RSC) with the assistance of the following people, who constitute the Editorial Committee:

Dave DeMarcoDegree Planning Project Director, SUNY System Administration

Anne DonnellyMember, SUNY Retirees Service CorpsAdvisory Council; Professor of Biology(Emeritus), SUNY Cobleskill

Jim KalasVice Chair, SUNY Retiree Service CorpsAdvisory Council; Associate Provost,Academic Affairs (Ret.), SUNY SystemAdministration

Curtis LloydVice Chancellor for Human Resources,SUNY System Administration

Julie PettiDirector, University-wide Human Resources, SUNY System Administration

Pierre RadimakEditor, SUNY Retirees Newsletter; Coordinator, SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps, SUNY System Administration

The RSC welcomes content submissionfrom retirees and campuses for inclusionin the newsletter, which will be issuedtwice annually (spring/summer and fall/winter). For more information, contactPierre Radimak at retirees@suny.eduor (518) 320-1354.

Comments, Content Suggestions?We value your input and want to

hear from you! Please drop us a line at retirees@suny.edu if you have anythingyou’d like to say about this issue of theSUNY Retirees Newsletter or if you havesomething you’d like to see us include infuture issues. Whether it be events listings,retiree accomplishments, an In Memoriumsection, or other type of content, let usknow and we’ll see what we can do! �

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Campus Profile: The SUNY Cobleskill Retiree Networkby Anne Donnelly, Professor of Biology (Emeritus)

Editor’s Note: Anne is Facilitator of theCobleskill Retiree Network and a member of the SUNY Retirees Service Corps (RSC)Advisory Council.

I was a member of the Task Force on SUNY Retirees, created by the SUNYUniversity Faculty Senate and System Administration in 2007, and chaired byRam Chugh. The Task Force recommendedthe creation of a SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps (RSC) with the mission of creatingawareness among the campuses about thepotential of SUNY retirees and develop ingprograms to utilize this rich resource forthe good of our campuses and our com-munities. The RSC, which was created in 2008, encouraged the formation ofcampus retiree groups and developedguidelines to help make them a reality.

On January 30, 2012, we at SUNYCobleskill started the above process andhad an initial meeting with representativesfrom campus Human Resources, Adminis-tration, and the Alumni Association to cre-ate the SUNY Cobleskill Retiree Network.The Network was envisioned as an infor-mal organization that would be open toCobleskill retirees from all job classifica-tions, including faculty, administrative,auxiliary services, classified support staff,etc., as well as their spouses and partners.

Human Resources offered to send aletter of invitation to all living retirees. Thatresulted in a modest response and by April2012 our Retiree Distribution List grew to36 retirees, most of whom were local.

By May we brought the Chief Informa-tion Officer into the mix, and he offeredthe use of a summer intern to work on theproject. The Alumni Newsletter ran an article about the COBY Retiree Networkand all retirees were included in that mail-ing, again inviting participation of thosewho would like to stay connected to theircampus and colleagues while giving backto their campus and community. Ourmembership rose to 43.

We met again in November to addressthe stall in our progress and to plan for thelarge number of retirements that wouldsoon occur. We wished to have a processin place whereby retirees would be invitedto sign up and be given a packet outliningthe generous resources, benefits andprivileges available to Cobleskill retirees.The campus Information Technology Services (ITS) office helped me with dis-tribution list problems and other computerissues. From that meeting, everything fellinto place.

Benefits available to SUNY Cobleskillretirees:� Electronic bulletin board access � Campus e-mail account � Retirees and Emeriti link on thewww.CobyConnection.org web page,which lists information of particular interest to retirees, including:

� � Projects that could use retiree volunteer participation

� � News from retirees—moves, accomplishments

� � Retiree illnesses and deaths� � Free campus parking pass� � Campus photo ID� � Ten percent discount at the College

Store � Use of campus facilities including library,weight room and pool

� Limited information technology assistance� Discounts for ordering computers (I became the first retiree to purchase acomputer through our discount benefitplan.)

� Registry so retirees can make connectionsand form affinity groups

� Invitation to campus events� Link to the SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps website

In December, I attended each of thecelebrations held in honor of retirees from2010 through 2012 and actively recruitedthe soon-to-be-retired.

E-mail is our principle mode of com-munication. Retirees must actively opt into the Cobleskill Retiree Network and canchoose to discontinue membership at any time. There are no formal meetings,officers or dues. Retirees register onwww.CobyConnection.org and select the“Retirees and Emeriti” link.

As a SUNY sanctioned organization,Cobleskill Retiree Network members arecovered under the SUNY umbrella for participation in SUNY events once theyhave signed a volunteer form in the campus HR office.

In return for hosting the Network organization, SUNY Cobleskill envisionsretirees staying connected and serving theCollege in whatever way they choose. Forinstance, retirees can help out by givingtours, mentoring and recruiting students,giving guest lectures by invitation, teachingnon-credit classes through the SCHOOLprogram, or participating in alumni events.

SUNY Cobleskill Retiree Network volunteers in action.

A Campus Colleague’s Perspective onthe SUNY Cobleskill Retiree Network

� They are an amazing group and are what I personally call the campus’ walking book ofknowledge. These retirees bringthe connection of so many areason campus and experienced so many campus changes in their collective years. Theirknowledge and dedication toSUNY Cobleskill is endless. �Lois E. Goblet, Assistant Vice President forCollege Advancement; Executive Director ofthe Alumni Association

Continued on page 9

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SUNY Retiree Volunteer Profile: Ray Lenarcic

During my tenure at Herkimer CountyCommunity College, in keeping with

my belief that students should be involvedin activities designed to benefit communi-ties served by the college, I organized,with their input, scores of projects rangingfrom fund raisers (e.g., for the AmericanRed Cross; American Cancer Society; and children suffering from cancer) to aVietnam veterans’ advocacy organization(Save-A-Vet), to scholarships and memo-rials in the memories of area veterans(e.g., a memorial for combat nurses in Little Falls), to a children’s Christmasclothing program (Adopt-A-Child). Over30 years, the students raised in excess ofover a million dollars and had a significantimpact on the quality of life in MohawkValley communities.

After retiring in 1997, I found myselfclimbing the walls for lack of somethingmeaningful to do; bowling, softball andgolf, while enjoyable, weren’t cutting it.Then, in October of 1998, I read an editorialin the Utica Observer-Dispatch dealingwith the problem of hunger in the area,and the rest, as they say, is history.

In January of 1999 I organized theHerkimer County Hunger Coalition. Ourinitial objective was to help the county’sfood pantries in meeting their needs for an ever-increasing clientele. To that effectwe raised the money necessary for theformer to provide ample, nutritious mealsfor the latter and initiated a PR campaignto convince the public that it could have adirect impact on alleviating the hungerproblem in the county.

The result was a coordinated effort bythe Coalition, people and pantries whichpaid the following dividend: in 1998, approximately 56,000 meals were dis -tributed to pantry clients; since 2008, anaverage of 500,000 meals per year havebeen handed out. Additionally, the Coalitionhas, among other things, financed the establishment of a new rural pantry in Van Hornesville, helped modernize andexpand another (Kuyahora), and developeda mobile pantry system. Every part of thecounty (population approximately 62,000)is covered regarding the provision of foodfor individuals at risk of hunger.

In addition to waging war against hunger,we decided to branch out with an empha-sis on helping children and veterans. Theresults:

� Children’s Programs: The Gram LorraineChildren’s Christmas Program has provided over the decade an average of1,000 children in need from eight countyschools a minimum of four items ofclothing each (e.g., winter coats, boots,etc.) and a toy, book or game of theirchoice. Sponsors pour an average of$100,000 per year into the area economy.

We also organized the Uncle Frank Back-to-School Program providing hundredsof the same students with outfits,footwear, backpacks and supplies.

� Fire Prevention: In the wake of the deathsof six McLeod children as a result of atragic house fire in Little Falls, the coali-tion raised money to purchase Sparky theFiredog Robot, one of the most effec tiveand enjoyable means of teaching childrenabout fire safety. Also, we created a Halfand Half Fire Prevention Coloring ActivityBook for second- and third-graders inevery school in the county.

� Children’s Involvement: We wanted tointroduce our elementary and secondaryschool pupils to the joys of volunteering.Among the results is the annual MarchAll-County Elementary School FoodDrive (which, over the years, has col-lected thousands of dollars worth offood for our seven pantries). OtherCoalition initiatives involving the “littlekids” included phone cards for woundedwarriors, fund raisers for OperationMend, Zion House, Kiwanis’ OperationEliminate, the Haitian and Katrinatragedies, etc. High School students in Little Falls, Frankfort and Mohawkparticipate annually in Memorial DayFood Drives in the memories of menfrom their communities who were killedin action (KIA) in Vietnam.

� Veterans’ Causes: In 2009 we formedthe Cpl. Michael Mayne Cookie Corps.Cpl. Mayne from Burlington Flats wasKIA in Iraq. To honor his memory we interested some 50 volunteers in pro -viding a variety of goods (e.g. cookies,drinks, toiletries) to the Cpl. GregoryHarris Hospitality Room at Syracuse’sHancock Airport. To date, over 9,000servicemen and women have benefitedfrom their efforts. Also in 2009, weformed Operation Candy Cane. Its purposeinitially was to collect warm clothing andstuffed animals for Afghan children andcandy (over a ton) and handmade cardsfor troops in Kabul. Subsequent opera-tions benefited the 10th Mountain Divisionat Fort Drum and local vets at severalsenior citizen facilities.

Continued on page 8

�Many SUNY retirees volunteerin their communities. Ray Lenarcic,Professor of History (Emeritus)at Herkimer County CommunityCollege (HCCC), is one such indi-vidual. Ray doesn't just volunteer,he takes it a step further andcreates volunteer efforts for himself and others. I am proud of my friend and colleague forwhat he has accomplished in thecommunity. This is Ray's story of volunteerism in his ownwords. �Joan Prymas, Professor of Math (Emeritus),HCCC; Member, SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps Advisory Council

Ray Lenarcic with daughter Jennifer and wifeKay at award ceremony in his honor.

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SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

Passwords

I n the Brooklyn of my youth, passwordswere common coin amongst the 10-year-olds. They were the Open Sesame to adoor which housed Mounds Bars andGoobers Milk Chocolate & Fresh-RoastedPeanuts. Guess the right password andthe candies were yours.

Today, passwords are still common, but the demographic has dramaticallychanged. Candies are no longer the reward; instead, the door opens to com-puter sites that otherwise would remaintightly shut.

Understandably, password requirementswould not have been needed were it notfor the frequent use of the computer indealing with personal financial matters.Thus, I can well understand why MerrillLynch wants you to enter your passwordbefore you withdraw $10G for your plannedHawaiian vacation. Or why Umpqua Bankwill insist on your password before trans-ferring cash from their friendly ATM machine to your waiting hands.

But the ubiquitous use of passwordshas spread like a virus. Facebook demandsit before you can search for your highschool prom date; Oregon Health & Science University (yes, I live in Oregonnow) wants it before you can confirmyour physical therapy appointment; Amazon.com wants it before you canorder the salty but sagacious book youjust heard reviewed on NPR.

These demands would seem reason-able enough if you could just enter yourbirthday or your poodle’s name. But strict password rules on almost all sitesprohibit this.

Because of complex instructions whichmust be closely followed, only certifiedMENSA members can remember their

don’t use personal data even if it mayseem less accessible: i.e., your passportnumber. I even learned that there is apassword-checker site. If you are stilleager to send that teddy bear gift (despitethree password rejections), you can typein your next choice and see if it passesmuster.

After the checker approved my complex20-digit password, I ordered the teddybear online and felt part of the new cyber world.

What I learned from this experience isthat despite the hassles that passwordspresent, I can see some advantages: Itkeeps your working memory active. Successful password creation might even work better than Biotin. It keeps your level of frustration high, thus dis-couraging you from entering sites that are not really important to your life: i.e.,Facebook. This will carve out free time forfinally reading Proust. It makes you moreaware of your aging brain. This mightallow you some guilt-free indulgencessuch as downing a high-calorie dessert,or sleeping in an extra hour or two.

Comments? Contact me atsiviakaye_prof@me.com �

passwords. Thus, the rest of us have torecord them somewhere. We’re admon-ished not to keep them in our computerfiles because a hacker can get to them withlittle effort. [I keep mine on 3x5 recipecards which now fill two boxes! There’sno room for how to prepare osso buco,but as compensation I can order that saltynovel, or track fellow Brooklyn Collegegraduates, or call Apple to learn why mycalendar pages didn’t move on to 2013.(Do they know something that I don’t?)]

Apart from keeping physical track ofyour passwords, you must rememberwhich password opens which door. Donot think that one terrific password whichmeets all security requirements will suffice for your needs. We are told thatcyber-criminals steal passwords on websites that have low security (i.e., Zappos.com) and then use these to entermore secure environments (i.e., banking).

A recent attempt to purchase a giftteddy bear online prompted this screenmessage before I could begin to choosehis holiday outfit: “Before ordering yourteddy bear, you must create your own password, 12 digits minimum. Use non-standard upper casing, creative spelling,personal neologisms, and non-obvious numbers and symbols (using $ for S is too obvious.) The result should have nomeaningful tie to your life.”

I created several passwords but eachwas rejected—I assume for its simplicity.The teddy bear could not be ordered untilthe password was approved. I went onlinefor help with this 21st century problem.Amazingly, I learned that there is “pass-word checking” software used by cybercriminals which automatically checks for common letter to symbol conversions(i.e. changing “and” to “&” or “to” to “2”). I further learned that passwords should be changed often. You are advised to setautomatic reminders to change your pass-word on email, banking, and credit cardwebsites—at least every month! Therewere other admonitions as well: don’tspell words backwards. Obviously thesleuths are onto this neat trick. Don’t usekeys that are neighbors on your keyboard:“qwerty; 123456”. And the most obvious:

by Sivia Kaye, Professor of English(Emeritus), NassauCommunity College

Do You Have aRetirement Storyto Tell?One of the objectives of theSUNY Retirees Newsletter isto share activities of SUNY retirees. We know many ofyou are doing great things inretirement. Your story can inspire others. Share yourand/or a colleague’s retire-ment story by contacting theSUNY Retirees Service Corpsat retirees@suny.edu.

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SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

AROHE 2012 Conference a Success

At the 10th Anniversary

Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Edu-cation (AROHE) Conference in Chapel Hill,North Carolina last October, more than140 retired faculty and staff from the U.S.and Canada, retiree organization directors,and college administrators representingalumni, development, and human resourcesgathered to network, share successfulpractices, and attend interesting and valuable lectures, workshops, and socialevents.

Titles of the many presentations andworkshops at the three-day conferenceincluded: “What Makes for a SuccessfulEmeritus College,” “Jump Start Your Volunteer Program,” “Workplace WellnessPrograms for Aging Academics,” “Educa-tional Efforts of Retiree Organizations,”and “AROHE’s Databank of SuccessfulPrograms.”

Conference evaluations were outstand-ing, supporting AROHE’s claim that theentire event would be packed with usefulinformation, innovative ideas, and enoughdiverse content to keep everyone engaged.

AROHE was honored that University of North Carolina System President andMrs. Thomas W. Ross invited conferenceattendees to their home for the openingAROHE conference reception. Their warmand welcoming hospitality generated anatmosphere of collegiality that continuedthroughout the conference.

AROHE was also honored that theAmerican Council on Education (ACE)presented at the conference, sent threerepresentatives, and joined AROHE as anactive member. The American Council onEducation is the nation’s most visible andinfluential higher education association,excelling in its role as a convener of highereducation associations and agencies.

The AROHE conference was inspira-tional, informative, and collegial. Threeculturally different universities served assponsors: the University of North Carolinaat Chapel Hill, North Carolina Central University, and North Carolina State University. For three nights, a differentcampus hosted a unique dining and cultural experience. They offered gracioussouthern hospitality throughout.

This stellar conference was spearheadedby the AROHE past president, BobbieLubker, and her colleagues representingthe three North Carolina Universities:Frank Abrams, Andrew Dobelstein, andArthrell Sanders.

ABOUT AROHEThe Association of Retirement Organi-

zations in Higher Education (AROHE) is aninternational network that supports retiredfaculty and staff as well as colleges anduniversities in the creation and develop-ment of campus-based retiree organizations.By sharing current research, innova tiveideas and best practices, AROHE pro-motes campuses’ connections with theirretired faculty and staff. To find out more,contact AROHE at info@arohe.org. �

� Shelter: For several years the Coalitionhas helped in placing homeless familiesby providing funds for security depositson apartments.

Additionally, in 2005 I had the opportu-nity to develop Veterans Memorial Park on the campus of HCCC. The park’s show-piece is a black granite wall bearing thenames of several hundred HerkimerCounty veterans.

In 2009 I shared with my friends anidea for a Fallen Stars Memorial Project.With their help, on Memorial Day of that year we unveiled the Fallen Stars Memorial Mural which features the names,ranks, branches of service, hometownsand most importantly, faces, of the menand women from New York State whohave died in Iraq and Afghanistan. To datethe mural has traveled some 9,000 milesthroughout the state.

The initiative also involves projects inmemory of each of the fallen, projects designed to improve the quality of life ofarea communities. An example is the Cpl.Mayne Cookie Corps. Thus far over 400projects have been completed, several developed by elementary schools. Eachproject sponsor receives a specializedcertificate.

My spare time is divided among mydaughters Carrie and Jennifer, my fivegrandkids, writing holiday children’s stories and essays for the three area papers, the local Lions Club, and playinggolf with my wife. Since she’s retired, Kayhas been actively involved with many ofthe aforementioned projects.

Retirement has afforded us the timeand opportunity to engage in the most rewarding experiences of our lives. And if blessed with continued good health, we look forward, with great anticipation,to many more. �

by Janette C. Brown,Executive Director,Association of Retiree Organizationsin Higher Education

Free AROHE Membership for SUNY CampusesThe Association of Retirement

Organizations in Higher Education(AROHE) signed an agreement withSUNY System Administrationwhereby individual SUNY campusescan join AROHE at no cost to thecampuses.

The membership is good throughJune 30, 2014. We hope most SUNYcampuses will take advantage of thisspecial offer. For additional informa-tion on this agreement, contact theSUNY Retirees Service Corps at retirees@suny.edu. To learn moreabout AROHE, visit http://arohe.org.

Ray LenarcicContinued from page 6

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SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

How I Was Able to Take an Early Retirement

At the end of the fall 2010

semester, I tookadvantage of the early retirement programoffered by the New York State TeachersRetirement System through Nassau Com-munity College, where I was a professorin the Mathematics/Computer Science/Information Technology Department. I hadjust turned 54 years old and completed 31years of service.

How was I able to quit at such a youngage? I actually started a retirement planover 30 years ago. Despite some setbacksand detours, I was able to stick to that retirement plan. I am enjoying the rewardsof my wise financial decisions.

I have listed below the most significantfinancial decisions I made throughout myadult life that impacted my ability to takean early retirement.

� Career Choice: Upon graduating collegein 1979, I had some good job offers. I didnot take the highest paying one, but Ichose a career of public service in education with a generous pension planand lifetime health benefits.

� Followed a “Pay Myself First” Philosophy:What I mean by this is before I ever spenta penny from any paycheck, money wentinto a 403(b) tax-deferred supplementarypension plan. I never missed the cashand it grew into a substantial amountover the years. Also, I never felt guiltyabout spending the rest of my paycheckbecause I knew I was putting moneyaway before I got my hands on it. In theend, it was the supplemental retirementaccount that put me “over the top” in termsof being able to take early retirement.

� My Kids’ College Education: I sent mydaughter to a SUNY school. My son wasfortunate enough to attend a federal military academy. What that meant to mefinancially was that I did not put a lot ofmoney away for college expenses nor

did I take out college loans. Take it fromme: my kids did very well with publiccollege educations without breaking the bank.

� Pre-Nuptial Agreements: I weatheredtwo divorces and came out financiallyintact because of well thought-out pre-nuptial agreements. The pre-nupshelped avoid costly attorney fees andprotected my (and my ex-spouses’) personal assets.

� Avoiding Debt: Other than mortgages, I tried to avoid racking up any consumerdebt. I wasn’t always as successful as Iwish I had been. However, I think if I didavoid the credit card debt I accumulated,I could have retired four years earlier.Now, I have no debt other than a smallmortgage on my home.

� Establishing a New Career: Let’s face it: at age 54 I wasn’t going to sit in a rocking chair all day. I still wanted towork even though I didn’t have to. I havegiven myself a great opportunity to explorenew options. I leveraged my academiccredentials, my love for travel, and myexperience in writing to start a newbusiness. I have written a best-sellingtravel book, “The Traveling Professor’sGuide to Paris.”

I take small groups on tours to Europeand Peru/Machu Picchu. In the two yearssince retirement my business has grownto a point where I have hired more tourguides, and I am speaking at meetings and travel trade shows. My profile has appeared in newspapers and magazinessuch as The Wall Street Journal, HealthyAging Magazine, and Arthur Frommer’sBudget Travel Magazine. I am in demand as a speaker at travel trade shows and forvarious civic organizations. I am workingon more travel guides and I run my web-site, www.travelingprofessor.com.

Another important part of my retire-ment life is giving back to those who arenot as fortunate as me. It is rewarding todonate my time and resources to helpingthe poor people of Bolivia through a charitable organization called Quaker Bolivia Link (see www.qbl.org).

My advice to those planning to retire inthree or 30 years is to put a financial planin action now.

However, finances are only part of thestrategy. Find something you are good at,something you like to do, then leverageyour personal qualities and credentials totransition into a long, healthy, happy andproductive second career in retirement. �

by Stephen C. Solosky,Professor Emeritus,Nassau CommunityCollege

Retirees are now meeting regularly to sort and identify thousands of unlabeled photos in time for SUNY Cobleskill’s 100th anniversary. The photos will be includedin an Alumni Association publication capturing the campus’ rich history since open-ing its doors in 1916.

Many current alumni ask about the people who have meant much to them whilethey were students at Cobleskill, and often it is staff and professionals, not only faculty, who have touched their lives.

The Cobleskill Retiree Network will give the campus Alumni office a means ofcontacting retirees to inform and encourage their presence at campus and alumnievents. The Network also provides alumni and retirees an opportunity to reconnect,and facilitate retirees reconnecting with each other.

For more information on the Cobleskill Retiree Network, feel free to contact me at donnelal@cobleskill.edu or (518) 234-7502. �

The SUNY Cobleskill Retiree NetworkContinued from page 5

Editor’s Note: Ram Chugh was executivedirector of the SUNY Retirees Service Corpsfrom its creation in 2008 until retiring fromthe position in September 2012.

Retirement and reinvention are conceptswith which I am personally familiar.

I recently retired as part-time executivedirector of the SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps (RSC), an organization I helped create. That rewarding experience grewindirectly out of my desire to offer my professional experience to SUNY SystemAdministration after moving to Albany following my March 2002 retirement fromSUNY Potsdam after 32 years of service.

I worked on several SUNY projects atSystem on a voluntary basis. Among themwere projects jointly sponsored by SystemAdministration and the University FacultySenate, including task forces on the creation of a Rational Funding Policy for SUNY, Enhancing SUNY as a GlobalUniversity, and the SUNY RSC.

My retirement from the Retirees ServiceCorps was a difficult decision. However, Ileft knowing the organization was in goodhands and close to realizing its ultimateobjectives of connecting retirees witheach other and community servicethrough the RSC website.

I am currently working on special projects for SUNY System Administrationso, in a sense, I have come full circle.Working at System Administration overthe past few years has been quite reward-ing. I consider SUNY System as my secondprofessional home. Having greater flexi-

The Last Word_____________The Last Word_____________

bility in my schedule now gives me moretime to pursue my other interests and invest time with my family—especially mygrandchildren, the pride and joy of my life.

Additionally, and perhaps most impor-tantly, I consider retirement a time for reflection and introspection. It is a majormilestone in my life. It is like approachingthe mountain top from where I can lookdown below to the years of my strugglesand accomplishments beginning with mychildhood. It is a good time to look backand at the same time look forward to newbeginnings.

For example, during my full-time work-ing life, I focused my energies on meetingthe expectations imposed on me by myemployers, my family, myself, and so on.During those years, I tried to meet andconform to the standards and expectationsset by the world outside of me, not by myinner self. I was caught up in the desire to stand out by doing things which wouldhelp me get promotions, recognition, and approval from others, including mysuperiors, students, peers, and my family.In the process, I became a prisoner in the vicious cycle of ever-increasing expectations.

Retirement offered me a unique opportunity to get out of this self-createdprison. Instead of meeting the standardsand expectations set by the outside world,I now look inward and set my eyes on attaining inner equilibrium. I focus onmaking the last phase of my life richer bydoing things which give me inner peaceand tranquility. Achieving inner peacethrough reflection, meditation and servicehas been quite blissful for me.

As a result, I now use my retirementyears to do such things as renewingfriendships, visiting my ancestral places,mending relationships, meeting family andsocial needs, and traveling to religious andother places I always wanted to visit. Oneof the things I did after retirement was toorganize a family reunion. Our family inIndia had grown from two (our parents) in

1923 to over 100 in 2004. At the reunion, I met close family relatives I had nevermet before. Getting to know them gave me a new sense of identity and connectedme deeper to my roots. That added newmeaning to my life, something that hadn’thappened before retirement.

I now take time to engage in activitiesthat are spiritually enriching. I feel that retirement has been a turning point in mylife where I now engage in a deeper reflection about the “meaning of life” thanI did at any other age. I am now guidedmore by my inner compass than the outerone. How a person adjusts to retirementand the activities one pursues varies fromone person to the other. Everyone has tofind their own blend of activities to engagein to attain inner peace and equilibrium.While one cannot run away from the out-side world, the key is to develop a happybalance between inner and outer needs.

Here are some pointers for a fulfillingretirement based on my own research andexperience:

1. Be prepared to expect the unexpected.Go with the flow, as they say.

2. Read the book, Who Moved My Cheeseby Spencer Johnson, MD. It helped megreatly.

3. Keep busy. Stay connected. Find meaningful work, whether paid or not.

4. Stay spiritually and physically healthyby following your doctor's advice, meditation, exercise, and eating right.

5. Take care of your financial and estateplanning ahead of time—such foresightfrees your survivors from a lot of hassle when you’re gone.

6. Count your blessings.

Once all is said and done, hopefully wewill be able to echo these words of wisdomfrom Norman Vincent Peale: “One of thegreatest things you will ever be able to sayin your lifetime is this: I have realized thepotential that Almighty God put into me.” �

Reflections on Retirement as a New Beginning

SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

10

Ram Chugh, Ph.D. DistinguishedService Professor(Emeritus)

Editor’s Note: There are approximately 15SUNY campuses with a retiree organizationor retiree program of some sort. Below arethe contact persons for several campus programs. The SUNY Retirees ServiceCorps is providing this information in theevent that representatives of these programswant to network with their counterpartsand as a resource for campuses or retireesinterested in starting their own retiree program or organization.

STATE-OPERATED CAMPUSESUniversity at AlbanyGeorge Hastings, PresidentUniversity at Albany Emeritus Center BoardHastings@nycap.rr.com(518) 439-6917

Binghamton UniversityCorinna KrumanBinghamton University Retiree Services Coordinatorckruman@binghamton.edu(607) 777-5959

University at BuffaloJack BakerUniversity at Buffalo Emeritus Centerbakerja@buffalo.edu

SUNY CobleskillAnne Donnelly, FacilitatorSUNY Cobleskill Retiree Network donnelal@cobleskill.edu(518) 234-7502

SUNY GeneseoDonald Lackey, CoordinatorGeneseo Emeriti Associationndlackey@localnet.com(585) 243-0901

SUNY New PaltzAlan Dunefsky, ChairNew Paltz Faculty Emeriti Groupdunefska@newpaltz.edu(845) 257-3986 (O), (845) 338-2680 (H)

College at OneontaFrances Bliven, PresidentRetired Faculty,Administrators & Professionals Association at SUNY Oneontafbliven@stny.rr.com(607) 432-1825

SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

11

SUNY OswegoVernon Tryon, PresidentSUNY Oswego Emeriti Associationvernon@tryon.com(315) 343-9692

SUNY PlattsburghSarah Reyell, Health Benefits Administratorreyellsg@plattsburgh.edu(518) 564-5062

SUNY PotsdamCarol Rourke, Assistant to the Presidentrourkecm@potsdam.edu(315) 267-2128

Stony Brook UniversityDave Smith, WebmasterStony Brook Emeritus Faculty Associationdrsmith36@optonline.net

Upstate Medical UniversityJohn C. Farruggio, Administrator“The Retiree Associates” ProgramBenefits Manager, Upstate Medical Universityfarruggj@upstate.edu(315) 464-4942

COMMUNITY COLLEGESHudson Valley Community CollegeWilliam Muller, Member“Keepers of the Flame” Programw.muller@hvcc.edu(518) 449-4974

Suffolk County Community CollegePeter Herron, WebmasterRetiree Association of Suffolk Community College rc39pete@optonline.net

Westchester Community CollegeBarbara ChristesenAlumni Communications CoordinatorWestchester Community College FoundationBarbara.Christesen@sunywcc.edu(914) 606-6559

If your campus has a retiree programthat is not listed above, please reach outto the SUNY Retirees Service Corps at retirees@suny.edu and share your pro-gram name and contact person so that wemay include your information in the nextSUNY Retirees Newsletter.

Useful Links for RetireesGOVERNMENT AGENCIES

Medicare Information:http://www.medicare.gov/

Social Security Administrationhttp://www.ssa.gov/

The New York State Commission on National and Community Service/New Yorkers Volunteerwww.newyorkersvolunteer.ny.gov

New York State Office for the Aginghttp://www.aging.ny.gov/

National Institutes of Healthhttp://www.nih.gov/

U.S. Department of Health and Human Serviceshttp://www.dhhs.gov/

LEARNING AND LEISURE ACTIVITIES

New York Capital Region OASIS http://www.oasisnet.org/Cities/East/AlbanyNY.aspx

Osher Lifelong Learning Institute atStony Brook University http://www.stonybrook.edu/spd/olli/index.html

Road Scholar Adventures in LifelongLearning (formerly Elderhostel, Inc.) http://www.roadscholar.org/

Rochester OASIS http://www.oasisnet.org/Cities/East/RochesterNY.aspx

Syracuse OASIS http://www.oasisnet.org/Cities/East/SyracuseNY.aspx

RETIREE ORGANIZATIONS AND ASSOCIATIONS

AARPhttp://www.aarp.org/

Association of Retirement Organizationsin Higher Education (AROHE) http://www.arohe.org

National Council on Aging http://www.ncoa.org/

NY StateWide Senior Action Council http://www.nysenior.org/

SUNY Campus Retiree Organization Contact Information

SUNY Retirees Newsletter Spring/Summer 2013

www.suny.edu/retirees

Below is a picture of the SUNY Retirees Service Corps website home page. Come visit us at www.suny.edu/retirees!