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The Elderbears
promote rights of retirees
(November
2005 Issue)
By Pamela Berard
When Lewis P. Lipsitt, Ph.D., retired from regular teaching in
the psychology department at Brown University in 1996, he made a
discovery. "In talking with a lot of my colleagues who also retired,
I discovered there was a lot of disenchantment about the steps they
took toward retirement and the kinds of conditions that prevailed
in their lives since retirement.
"I'm a psychologist, so I know as people get older many people
do tend to get depressed," he says. "I assumed it was an age-related
phenomenon at first, but then I came to realize: These are people
who are quite content with their occupation, they are pleased with
their lives and professional accomplishments. They were, in general,
happy people turning sort of depressed. So the more I started to
explore it, the more I found what I really didn't expect - namely,
that these retired people were beginning to feel sort of rejected
by the very institutions that they had served for many years."
With that in mind, Lipsitt - who has been at Brown since 1957 and
is currently professor emeriti of psychology, medical science and
human development and research professor of psychology - formed
the Elderbears in 2002.
The Elderbears (the Brown mascot is the bear) advocates for emeriti
and promotes their serviceability to the community.
The need for retirees to have workspace on campus and health insurance
are among the issues the Elderbears are taking up with administration.
Approximately 200 retirees within driving distance and a 15-member
executive committee comprise The Elderbears.
Lipsitt says upon retirement, some professors must give up their
office, keys and access to the mailroom, phone or fax, even though
they remain involved with the university as emeriti.
"What I found especially poignant in the case of professors is
that many of them had started working for whatever institution they
were working for at a rather low salary, and feeling they were comfortable
with a low salary because they were doing what they wanted to do,"
he says. "Nonetheless, they felt, many of them, as if they had been
'walked to the door' (at retirement) … almost like they are being
booted out."
Lipsitt says none of those things happened to him. He still has
office space in the psychology department at Brown and access to
amenities. "But I wanted to help. I wanted to apply what I know
as a psychologist to the problems of retirees as I saw them."
Lipsitt says this situation is not unique to universities; retirement
privileges vary from workplace to workplace.
At Brown, there is a complete loss of health coverage upon retirement.
"We've been arguing for a change in that policy," Lipsitt adds.
"We're trying to get the university to supply at least a partial
subsidiary. … We are doing friendly negotiations."
Elderbears promotes the use of retirees in campus activities including
substitute teaching, lecturing, mentoring or sitting on committees.
"The university gets quite a bit back from us," says Lipsitt, who
is planning to head to the West Coast to lecture to Brown alumni
associations, pro bono.
The Elderbears is negotiating for campus headquarters. "We need
a modest amount of space in order to function as a group on behalf
of the university," Lipsitt says.
Lipsitt points out that Yale University has a "model" space. The
Henry Koerner Center for Emeriti Faculty opened in 2003, made possible
through a University gift from Lisbet Rausing and Joseph Koerner,
class of 1980.
Patricia Dallai, executive director, said the Center has office
space for 14, event and seminar rooms, computers and other amenities.
Emeriti may become fellows of the Center, which currently has about
175 fellows.
"People appreciate the opportunity at the end of their career
to meet with colleagues from other departments and other schools,"
says Dallai, noting that there is also a lot of mentoring that takes
place between emeriti and junior faculty.
The center hosts speaker series, art exhibits, poetry readings
and Friday film screenings. "It is evolving," Dallai adds.
Jane L. Carroll, assistant dean of the faculty at Dartmouth College,
says when she took her office seven years ago, one of her first
projects was to find ways to keep emeriti faculty involved on campus,
because they wanted to be.
"I've become a point person, so they have someone with whom they
can address concerns and turn with questions," she says.
Emeriti maintain a parking sticker, library access and e-mail.
"When we have the space, we give them an office," says Carroll.
The College has a database of 92 emeriti. Many teach courses or
help students with projects. Other emeriti remain active in research
and their fields. "I think the old image we have of people going
out to garden just simply isn't true anymore," she says.
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