Winter 2024

A Message from President Ed Fitzgerald

The fall semester is over, and I hope that everyone had a great holiday season. Spring is coming soon!

We had a well-attended fall program of speakers. They included Rex Smith, Provost Carol Kim, and a book club with Eugene Garber. The spring program is already underway, and features Paul Miller's movie TImbuctoo and Rockefeller Dean Julie Novkov. For Ed's complete message go to President's Message.

(Left - Photo of Edward Fitzgerald)

All 2021 - 2023 Speakers Were Recorded, Videos Now Available!

Did you miss one of our speakers in the Fall 2023 semester? Our website's has a chronological listing of all the talks. There you will find links to our YouTube channel with Zoom recordings for most of our presentations dating to September 2021.

Emeritus Center Developing Proposal for Life Long Learning Courses

In keeping with the Emeritus Center’s mission to encourage emeriti to continue pursuing the University’s mission of teaching, research, and service, and the University’s announced intention to become a national leader in healthy aging, the Board has been working on a proposal for the creation of a lifelong learning institute at UAlbany. Here's a summary of the lifelong learning proposal.

(Above - Photo of Healthy Aging Adults from Hope Trust)

In Memorium - Grayce Burian

(Above - Photo of Grayce Burian with William Kennedy, courtesy of Writers Institute)

In November, we lost Grayce Burian, a founding member of the Emeritus Center Board of Directors and lifelong patron of theatre and the arts in the Capital Region. For more on her amazing life, see our memorial article.

Emeritus Center Board Elects New Officers for 2024-25

In January, the Board of Directors elected a new slate of officers. James Van Vorst takes over as President as Edward Fitzgerald steps down to become Vice President. Dean Knapton is the secretary, and David Wagner the new treasurer. Scott Birge takes over as Program Chair. (Below - Photos, From Left - James Van Vorst, Dean Knapton, David Wagner, Scott Birge)

Emeriti in the News

Laurie Beth Feldman, Distinguished Professor of Psychology Emerita, returned to Belgrade, Serbia in June 2023, supported by a Fulbright Specialist Award. It was the site of her dissertation research 40 years before. Here is more information about her Serbian experience. (Above - Photo of Laurie Feldman in Belgrade)

Rachel Dressler, Associate Professor Emerita of Art History, recently published an essay on the Bayeux Tapestry in the online, open-access journal Different Visions: A Journal of New Perspectives in Medieval Art. Here is more information about her retirement story. (Above - Photo of Rachel Dressler and Duncan)

Other emeriti have also been newsworthy. For more information, click on More Emeriti in the News

Recent Retirees

In Memorium

Three Voices Grants Programs

Don't forget that the Emeritus Center has two Three Voices small grants programs. The first is to support emeriti research, teaching, or service post-retirement. Examples include publication costs for scholarly books or articles, travel to conferences to present your scholarship, teaching materials, and fees associated with community projects relevant to your professional expertise. The second is to support UAlbany academic and administrative units that offer programs that may be of interest and value to UAlbany emeriti, including lecture series, panel discussions, community outreach programs or exhibitions. Click on the highlighted links for more details.

Preview: The Schedule of Speakers for Spring 2024

Our spring semester program of speakers has been finalized. Highlights include Paul Miller and his film "Searching for Timbuctoo (NY)" about a community of black and white abolitionists in upstate NY in 1846, Rockefeller Dean Julie Novkov on "Current Politics and Constitutional Law", and Leonard Slade reading from and discussing his book "Best African-American Poems: Past and Present". Here is the complete Spring Program.

Humor Corner

As Carol Whittaker of our board of directors says, every newsletter needs some humor! These wise and witty quotes from the world’s oldest people offer some much-needed perspective and reinforce the words of the Roman philosopher Seneca: “Life is long if you know how to use it.” Click here for 12 Funny Quotes From Centenarians. Spoiler Alert - Most are women!

(Above - Photo of Queen Mother Elizabeth by Evening Standard/ Hulton Archive via Getty Images)

And There's More: Visit our Website

And there’s so much more to be found on our website including a list of Board members and updated announcements. Be sure to visit our website often for updates.