Geezer Faculties

Last Wednesday I attended a luncheon for Cornell Engineering Faculty Professors Emeriti hosted by the new Dean of Engineering Lance Collins.   The Emeritus group consisted of faculty who have retired in recent years and some who have retired perhaps as much as twenty years ago.   In the vein of there is no free lunch the Dean was looking for feedback about the future of the College of Engineering as well as informing us about the directions he sees for the College.

One of the issues that was discussed was the impact of non-mandatory retirement on the decision of senior faculty to retire.   Post 1994 tenured faculty could remained employed at their discretion at any age up to their death.   As a result there has been an aging of the faculty and perhaps a restriction on the hiring of young assistant professors with new ideas and perhaps new energy and effectiveness.   I have observed that many faculty are now continuing with their work well into their late 70's and some even beyond 80.   Many of them they are unusually productive and provide a wealth of wisdom to impart to the students.  However, in some cases they become high paid albatrosses for the system.

All of this has caused me to ponder what is the tipping point in the life of these individuals that would move them to the emeritus and retirement status.  A little bit of on line investigation shows that most faculty continue in their work because they truly enjoy what they are doing.   However, in some cases financial considerations encourage them to stay employed since they expect that their retirement income will not sustain their life style throughout the remainder of their life.    In some cases failing health tips them into the retirement mode.

I conclude that each faculty member has a unique history and situation that influences their movement to the emeritus status.   Cornell as an institution certainly provides honor for the emeritus status.   One can retire and continue to have access to office and lab facilities appropriate to the contributions you are making.   You can even participate as members of graduate student committees,  do research, write, and advise students.   So you can continue to do what you enjoy doing in a stimulating intellectual environment.  Perhaps the one thing that some people miss in the emeritus status is the power of influencing the direction of the institution by the active senior faculty status.

I chose to retire at 61, fourteen years ago.   Although I could see a productive and enjoyable future as a  tenured professor, the convergence of financial, family and health factors tipped me into the retirement mode.   Thus for the past 14 years I have had the freedom to enjoy raising a young daughter, volunteering in many church and community related venues,  supporting my wife's clergy career and pursuing an average of 75 days a year on the ski slopes.    And at the same time I have continued my Cornell connection which now provides me the opportunity to advise both graduate and undergraduate students and pursue a couple of research ares of my interest.

Post retirement life in the emeritus status is great for me.   I hope that my senior faculty colleagues find the same joy as well before they expire at their desk, in the classroom or in their lab!

Geezer Cousins -Surprise Phone Call

Since I am a geezer it stands to reason that many of my cousins are geezers too.   Today I had an unexpected phone call from one of my female cousins Dolores Tange Bowker in Newark, New York.   Her father and my mother were siblings so we are related on the Tange side of our family.   It was good to hear from her although she was reporting sad news of the death of one of our mutual cousins Roger Dennis at the age of 86.   Even more tragic was the fact his death was a suicide.   Roger was the only son of Louise Tange Dennis and Frank Dennis.  Roger was an extremely shy individual who never married and in his later years became a recluse.  He never lived away from his parents home nor enjoyed the common amenities of modern life such as indoor plumbing and the like.   After his parents died, he simply remained in the family home mostly isolated from society other than regular church attendance.   Cousin Dolores who is my contemporary would visit occasionally and tried to look after him.  When his analog TV recently became inoperative with the change to digital he simply stopped watching TV.  He was a kind and gentle soul who to the best of our knowledge may have been suffering from some unknown illness since he would not take the initiative to see a doctor.   It seem like such a tragedy to have lived such a socially isolated life.  

Five Tange Cousins -Parents Frank and Mary Tange -Dolores Tange Bowker - Standing Upper Right 

On the lighter side, it was good to catch up on various aspects of the family network that I had grown up with.  Dolores and her husband are retirees, both in their seventies.   Dick was a Cornell classmate who was in the Industrial and Relations School and now enjoys the golf scene post retirement.   From Dolores I learned of her four children and twelve grandchildren and their various activities.   Three of her children live in Newark and one lives near Rochester so the tradition of staying near where you are born continues among my more distant relatives.   I also heard of the death of an Aunt Mary Tange and of the passing of my deceased half brothers wife Bernice Bastian Goebert.   And finally I learned of the location of another cousin Linda Tange Tucker in North Carolina.

The mobility of our modern society certainly challenges my ability to keep up cousin level family connections.  Perhaps in geezerhood it is time to reach out to make more contact with my generation of cousins.   On my agenda is a project to provide a pictorial history of the Tange's and the Rehkugler's to share with my children, grandchildren and cousins.   I guess I better get to work!

Geezer Legend - Dr. F. H. Fox

2004 Edition of F. H. Fox's Age

On my commute to Cornell I travel under an old railroad bridge on Route 366 near Varna, NY.   As you approach the Varna you will see graffiti on the steel wall of the bridge.   The message written in white on black now  is "F. H. Fox is 87".   And with each passing birthday for Dr. Fox the number is updated by the third year veterinary class of the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine.

Dr. Fox is a legendary figure of the Vet College.   For many years he taught large animal medicine and surgery that required the students to make calls at various locations in the surrounding counties.   Although I never met him,  my neighbor for many years, Dr Alexander deLahunta told me many stories of the pranks he would pull on his students and  stunts the students would pull on him.  He apparently considered his birthdays as "birthday tragedies" so having his age displayed by graffiti is an appropriate ribbing by the students.   The standing joke has been going on for over 22 years to my knowledge.

His legendary status also goes beyond his reputation for humor.  Many of his students who have gone into veterinary practice give testimonials regarding his perceptive diagnostics skills that were passed on.   In 1990 a scholarship was established by his former students to honor his contributions to teaching veterinary medicine.   One can Google F. H. Fox to get additional interesting details.

Best wishes to Dr. Fox.  I look forward to seeing those numbers keep on increasing with each "birthday tragedy".   I think he would enjoy being classified as a "tough old geezer".

Maintenance Work

After about 5 years of avoiding a complete physical by a internist doctor, on the advice of my urologist I am engaged in an "annual" physical.   I suppose that since I am in the geezer status that an annual physical might be a good idea.   However, it doesn't seem to be like the process of my car inspection or getting an lube job.   Blood work, EKG, echo sound heart examination, probing and poking and all sorts of procedures seem to be an endless chain of requirements.   And I have no physical complaints at the moment.   Fortunately, I have not needed any medications to this point and intend to keep it that way if I can.   Anyway, I am now shot up for tetanus and the flu and who knows what's next.

I hope that I am in the last round of doctor visits for a while.   I am pleased with my new doctor since she seems to listen to me and certainly is genuinely concerned for all aspects of assuring healthy living for me.   For those that have chronic illnesses I am certainly sympathetic to their plight of frequent medical attention and the use of medications.

The best advice that I hear from some of my Cornell colleagues is to, "Keep on smiling".

Activation Energy

I recently finished reading Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell and once again find myself challenged by his ideas about the causes of social epidemics.   Essentially he explores the conditions necessary for new waves of social, business and other behavior to become epidemic in society.    What is it that causes the rapid sales of gadgets, growth in a particular drug use,  or maybe the epidemic of tattooing or body piercing?   His thesis is that epidemics in the most general sense are the product of peoples behavior as mavens, connectors and salesmen.   Mavens are the ones who keep up with the latest events, products and ideas.   Connectors are the widely connected individuals who have so many folks in their network that when they adopt or talk about a new trend, literally their ideas go viral in society.   Salesmen are the people who are the enthusiasts that hype the rest of us.

Today I read about a new trend for coffee shops to eliminate Wi-Fi access.   Apparently some coffee shop venues have determined that Wi-Fi is detrimental to their businesses.  People camp out for hours nursing a single cup of coffee while occupying valuable space and consuming free power for their laptops.   Is this the beginning a new social/business epidemic?   I wonder when we will reach the tipping point where most of the coffee houses have eliminated free Wi-Fi access?    For me the idea of reaching a tipping point is analogous to activation energy in a chemical reaction.   A chemical reaction needs a certain level of activation energy to cause a cascade of reaction to completion.   Therefore, I  will be watching the Wi-Fi access scene in coffee houses to see if enough coffee shops turn off Wi-Fi to precipitate most of the coffee shops eliminating the service.

Information Geezers - Cornell

Today was moving in day for the Cornell Class of 2014.   Students and parents from all over the nation began arriving early this morning ready to start the great adventure of a college education.   For many years the Cornell Association of Professors Emeritus and the Cornell Retirees Association have manned information booths on the campus perimeter roads.   These volunteers provide directions and assistance to the starry eyed students and the sometimes somewhat tense parents.   We help them navigate the process of registration and moving into the dorms.    Hopefully our cheerful welcome and reassuring directions smooth the way for both student and parents.

I have been volunteering for a two hour stint at one of the welcoming sites for most of the 14 years of my retirement.   It is one of my most rewarding and enjoyable volunteering opportunities.   I  also enjoy injecting a little humor into an enthusiastic welcome.   We had an ideal day of sunny skies and comfortable temperatures and through the leadership of Professors DeBoer and Pardee, the procedures worked well and we had one of the smoothest moving in days I can remember.   We are a constant quality improvement group and each year we try to implement new wrinkles to enhance the process.
I hope my male colleagues aren't offended by the geezer designation.   And the surely the ladies should be identified as "gazelles".   See part of the Pleasant Grove crew below.

Left to Right: Cindy Noble, Bill Pardee, Mary Ellen Cummings,  Herb Voelcker, Tob DeBoer

Cross Cultural Living

The Arroyo Family

A memorable and special joyous day on Sunday.  Stepdaughter Michelle was married to Pedro in a delightful and meaningful ceremony under the tent at the Ben Conger Inn in Groton.   I had the pleasure of walking her down the aisle and providing the Corinthians 13 reading.   I was even able to accomplish the first dance with her without much of a stumble on my part.  A beautiful bride and handsome groom who were completely enthralled with this magnificent time in their lives.   Wife Nancy officiated with exceptional skill, grace and joy.

Our two families originate from quite different backgrounds although you might say we are all immigrants to America.   Pedro's family originated from Spain and although he and his five brothers and one sister grew up in Ithaca, NY, his parents originated from Spain and now in retirement  live in Madrid.   Our family in its various branches arrived in North America from 100 to 200 years ago.   Regardless of our origins we have mutually enjoyed learning from one another and appreciating a variety of musical, cultural and intellectual  traditions.   It is indeed stimulating to intersect with other ways of viewing and enjoying the world.  I look forward to the joy of getting to know our new son-in-law even better and perhaps I now have a reason to learn to speak Spanish since we have a family member and his siblings who are native speakers.