Retiree Update Fall 2025 09/18/25

Trouble viewing this email? Read it online.

September 18, 2025

RETIREE UPDATE Fall 2025

Dear Retired and Retiring Colleagues,

September Greetings!

Here are some important events and reminders for retired and retiring faculty.

PARKING

Retired faculty are eligible for a free annual parking pass. Submit the Permit Application Fillable Form to the Transportation Office, Transportation@scu.edu. We recommend that you mark the form with the following reminder: “EMERITUS PERMIT: NO FEE.”

OSHER LIFELONG LEARNING INSTITUTE

Join us for fall courses on literature, film, theater, law, science, politics, A.I., music, and more offered by OLLI! Courses meet on campus or by Zoom. Several of the instructors are SCU faculty.

SCU MAILING LISTS

After retirement, you no longer receive messages from the "SCU-Faculty-Essential" email list. If you wish to, you may subscribe to the "faculty announcements" or "faculty discussion" lists. If you are already subscribed (as a faculty member or as a retired faculty member) and you no longer wish to receive email from either or both lists, you may unsubscribe. Learn how to subscribe and unsubscribe to these lists here.

REGALIA

Do you have academic regalia that you’d like to donate to the University? The Provost’s Office will accept your gowns, hoods, or hats if you’d like to create extra space in your closet. Bring academic regalia to Vice Provost Ed Ryan in the Provost’s suite in Walsh Hall.

EVENTS

Please mark your calendars for these upcoming events!

Retired & Retiring faculty are invited to attend the Law Dean’s Democracy Series

Sep

The Original Meaning of Birthright Citizenship: Why the Current Administration Has It Wrong

12:00pm - 1:00pm Panelli Courtroom, Charney School of Law

Featuring: Prof. Paul Finkelman, University of Toledo College of Law

Moderator: Prof. David Sloss, Santa Clara Law

Professor Paul Finkelman is one of the leading legal historians in the United States. In this lecture, he will be discussing the topic of birthright citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment. Drawing on his vast knowledge of legal history, he will argue that the Fourteenth Amendment means what it says: all people born in the United States are citizens of the United States (with very few exceptions).

Watch the Dean’s Democracy Series website for announcements of additional lectures in the series.

| Register

Human Resources + Fidelity Wellness Workshop

Sep

Top Things to Do Before You Retire

11am - 11:30am Via Zoom

Wish you had a to do list to help you prepare for retirement? Learn how to get your financial house in order and other important considerations that can impact your decisions.

Hosted by Anthony Lyle, Fidelity

More info | Register

Webinar Series on Estate Planning

Join us for a 3-part series of online conversations on Estate Planning hosted by the Association of Retirement Organizations in Higher Education (AROHE). Register independently and watch on your own computer, or join us on campus in Lucas Hall 108 (Menard Conference Room) to watch together over tea and cookies.

Presenter: Harry S. Margolis, founder of ElderLawServices

Sep

Part I: The Five Essential Documents

10am-11:30am Lucas Hall 108 (Menard Conference Room)

Learn about the core documents every estate plan should include—Durable Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxy, Will, Revocable Trust, and Medical Directive. We’ll explore their purposes, the decisions they involve, and how they work together to protect your wishes.

Presenter: Harry S. Margolis, founder of ElderLawServices

More info | Register

Oct

Part II: Trusts--The Swiss Army Knife of Estate Planning

10am-11:30am Lucas Hall 108 (Menard Conference Room)

Discover the many roles trusts can play in estate planning. From probate avoidance and tax reduction to incapacity planning and asset protection, this session will explain how trusts work, the responsibilities of trustees, and the rights of beneficiaries—plus the differences between revocable and irrevocable trusts.

Presenter: Harry S. Margolis, founder of ElderLawServices

More info | Register

Oct

Part III: Long-Term Care and Tax Planning

10am-11:30am Lucas Hall 108 (Menard Conference Room)

Understand the risks and realities of long-term care and how it can impact retirement. This session will cover the key differences between Medicare and Medicaid, eligibility rules for Medicaid planning, and strategies for protecting assets. We’ll also explore the basics of estate and capital gains taxation, including the often misunderstood “step-up in basis.”

Presenter: Harry S. Margolis, founder of ElderLawServices

More info | Register

Upcoming Lectures

Oct

Aging and Cognitive Health

3:30-5:00 pm Parlors BC Benson

Back by popular demand, Patti Simone (Psychology and Neuroscience) and Andrew Evans (Neuroscience) will host a reprise session on aging and cognitive health. Drawing on scholarship in neuroscience, gerontology, and psychology, Patti and Andrew will share with us the latest research on maintaining cognitive health throughout our lives.

We request that you RSVP by following the event link below.

| Register

Feb

Finding Hope in Difficult Times

4:00pm - 5:30pm St Clare Room

Dave Feldman (Counseling Psychology) will talk about the science of hope and how we can cultivate hopefulness in challenging contexts.

We request that you RSVP by following the event link below.

| Register

Look Forward to these Spring Events

Mar

Retirement and Relationship(s) Panel

3:30pm - 5:00 pm Varsi 222

What is the impact of retirement on your relationship with your partner, your friends, your community? And what’s it like to retire solo?

Join us for a panel discussion

Apr

Creating a Purposeful Retirement Panel

11:30am - 12:45pm Varsi 222

How can we create a retirement that’s meaningful and purpose-filled?

Join us for a panel discussion

Jun

Retired & Retiring Faculty Brunch

10am - 12pm Nobili Patio

COLLEAGUE RECOMMENDATIONS AND UPDATES

Diane Jonte-Pace recommends two engaging books, one fiction and one non-fiction:

Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness, 2025.
Becca Levy’s Breaking the Age Code: How Your Beliefs About Aging Determine How Long & Well You Live, 2022.

Are you looking for a book club? Diane can recommend two:

The OLLI Reads Book Group meets regularly on campus. All members of OLLI are welcome to attend. The October book will be Ocean Vuong’s The Emperor of Gladness. Discussion is scheduled for Friday October 10, 1:30 pm. Contact Liz Salzer, Salzbaum@sbcglobal.net for details.
In addition, retired and retiring faculty are invited to participate in the Alumni Book Club. Discussions are virtual. White Mulberry, by alumni author Rosa Kwon Easton, is the current book. A Pair of Wings by Carole Hopson has been selected for October to December.

And here are a few updates from retired colleagues:

Joby Margadant, Professor Emerita of History, has completed her magnum opus, "A Sentimental Family in Tumultuous Times. The Making and Unmaking of a Liberal King of France 1750-1850." The volume will soon be published.

Francisco Jiménez, Professor Emeritus of Modern Languages and Literatures, was interviewed live via Zoom by three television programs in Mexico City—Eduardo Limón on Banda Librera, Víctor Gaspar on Canal 22, and Miguel de la Cruz on Canal 11—as well as by two radio stations: Rosa M. Ocañas on Radio Nuevo León and Sergio Guillén on Radio Fórmula. Additionally, he appeared on three podcast shows: Angélica Valés on Viajeros Literarios, Víctor Cajero on Relato a Granel, and Armando Noriega on Portal del Internet. The interviews focused on his writing, particularly his book Cajas de cartón, published by Fondo de Cultura Económica.

Francisco's work The Circuit Graphic Novel made the Bank Street Best Books list for 2025. “In choosing books for the annual list, committee members consider literary quality and excellence of presentation as well as the potential emotional impact of the books on young readers. Other criteria include credibility of characterization and plot, authenticity of time and place.”

Diane Dreher, Professor Emerita English, published Pathways to Inner Peace: Finding Connection, Inspiration, and Renewal in Challenging Times with MSI Press. Pathways to Inner Peace offers a pathway to hope in a world too often filled with stress, disconnection, and uncertainty. Blending scientific insight, spiritual wisdom, personal stories, and practical exercises, the book helps readers cultivate peace of mind and deepen connections to themselves, to others, and to the natural world.

Please let us know what you are up to. What are you reading? Where are you traveling? Do you have a new project or passion? A new publication or presentation? Please tell us, and we’ll pass it on to the group. Send us an email or click the link to a google form.

We look forward to seeing you in 2025-26.

Warm regards,

Diane Jonte-Pace, Professor Emerita, Religious Studies

Eileen Razzari Elrod, Professor Emerita, English

Retiree Liaisons for Faculty Development

Home | Privacy Policy

Faculty Development