Eugene/Springfield Governing Council Meeting Minutes
October 22, 2025
Present:
Sandra Gladney, Susan Walcott, Margot Zallen, Sherri Lange, Todd Gauthier, David Kolb, Betty Wood, Juanita Devereaux, Steve Stoynoff, Marcia Robeson, Steve Koller, Deb Sorensen, Rick Steers, Gordon Nagai.
Guest:
UO Associate Vice Provost Deborah (Deb) Keyek-Franssen
Absent:
Kate Nelson, Jim Ruderman, Marilyn Callahan
The meeting was called to order by Susan Walcott at 2:00 pm. She introduced our guest.
Associate Vice Provost Deb Keyek-Franssen gave a brief presentation on her background, areas where she plans to focus in her new position, the work her team is doing in CPE and online learning, and how she will support the OLLI-UO organization. She invited us to be involved as she and her team work together. A lively Q&A followed.
The minutes from the August Council meeting were presented.
MOTION to approve was made by Juanita, David seconded, and they were approved unanimously.
No September minutes were presented since the annual meeting was held in lieu of a Council meeting.
New officers for the Council were then elected, with MOTIONS for each position:
- For President, Susan nominated Sherri Lange, Margot seconded, with unanimous approval.
- Sherri asked for nominations for Vice President. Steve K. nominated Jim Ruderman and Marcia seconded the motion, which passed unanimously. (Jim was absent but had given his permission for the nomination.)
- Sherri asked for nominations for Recording Secretary. Steve K. nominated Deb Sorensen and Betty seconded the motion, which passed unanimously
- Susan nominated Sherri to be Finance officer and Rick seconded the motion, which passed unanimously.
CPE and OLLI-UO Staff Report
- Sandra informed the council that the OSHER Annual Report is being worked on and will be brought to Council for review at the November meeting. She also reported that due to transitions in staffing and other projects, the First Quarter Financial report is not yet completed but should also be available for an upcoming meeting.
- Regarding the staffing situation in front office, Sandra reported that there are vacancies and occasionally the front desk is not covered. The short staffing issue is being worked on and should be resolved soon.
- Todd pointed out that door signs are being used again so people will know what’s going on in the building each week. This covers in-person and hybrid sessions.
- Zoom only sessions will continue to be listed on the website and in email reminders.
- Todd also told the Council about adjustments to the microphone situation in the classroom. Previously attendees were asked to come to the front of the room to use a standing mic with questions and comments. The new plan is to have a person (often a program committee member) move around the room with a hand-held mic so people can ask questions or make a comment without the need to leave their seats. This appears to be working very well so far.
New Business
- Sherri brought up the issue of membership, including attracting new members and bringing back previous members, as well as retaining existing members each time their dues payments are up for renewal. Betty, as membership chair, says their primary function is to retain members.
- ACTION Rick will lead an ad hoc task force to discuss this issue and come up with suggestions for the Council, with the help of Betty, Steve S, and Jan Beckwith. They will focus on generating ideas, data gathering, organizing the ideas, and developing recommendations related to member satisfaction and retention.
- Sherri suggested that learning more about our members would be helpful, finding out how they have been involved at OLLI, what their professional and volunteer skills are, as well as how they might want to be involved. Sandra reminded the council that the monthly membership report includes information the person provides when they join/renew, and this is sent to membership committee and council every month. Sherri encouraged council members to consider how this information can be used to increase membership.
Continuing Business
- Sherri reminded us that we have formal council member guidelines, and she suggested it would be good to also have structured guidelines for committees. This already exists in the Policies and Procedures handbook, so we should review that as a starting point. Steve K reminded us that the bylaws and P&P address this and that committee chairs are also on the council. Rick suggested we have an ad-hoc work group to review this topic, talk with committees and come up with suggestions. After discussion:
- MOTION: Margot moved that a committee be established to review committee structure. Betty seconded, and the motion was approved unanimously.
- Sherri appointed Betty, Gordon, Steve K, and Margot to work on this task force.
- The Outreach committee (looking outside OLLI) now has a vacancy, with the resignation of Kate Nelson. There are currently 4-5 people on the committee. ACTION Steve K & group will review continued functioning of the committee, including managing the EXPO, activities such as booths at local functions, and external presentations such as at Cascade Manor. Sherri agreed with Steve K that reformatting, with a set structured group, might be the best format for this committee. This topic will be discussed further at the next meeting.
- Sandra reminded Council that public relations and the coordination/organizing of outreach are very important and are not the purview of our Volunteer group. Instead, they are the workers who make things happen at the EXPO and other levels, helping and supporting. Tasks such as reaching out to Rotary and similar groups should be done by an Outreach committee. She reminded Council of the importance of committee coordination, to help members be clear on roles and to guide staff in how they collaborate with members on the work and resources.
Committee Reports
- Committee reports were listed in the agenda for member review.
- Betty said that Rick and Todd have created a survey for lapsed members and she will report back next month. Gordon asked if the questionnaire could be done anonymously, and Todd said yes because it’s a very short survey.
- Todd reported that we have an increase in members in PDX and that it is possible that a program committee might be created there soon.
- Juanita said SIGs are growing and working smoothly.
The meeting adjourned at 3:28.
Respectfully submitted,
Debra Sorensen Recording Secretary
