UC Retirees Association at Berkeley

April 2021 Report

Submitted by Patti Owen, President, UCRAB

The University of California Retirees Association at Berkeley, UCRAB, has a Board of Directors that meets once a month for ten months of the year, and it normally has four luncheons during the year. However, during the Pandemic the luncheons have been eliminated and other activities cancelled or postponed. We will, however, continue to have quarterly speakers.

In March we hosted, via Zoom, a speaker from the Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive (BAMPFA). Dr. Elaine Yao is the Associate Curator of the Eli Leon Living Trust Collection of African American Quilts. Her topic was "Following Rosie Lee Tompkins: Reflections on the Exhibit." The quilt exhibit has been hanging at the museum since February 2020 and featured quilts by Rosie Lee Tompkins, a local quilter who lived in Richmond. We had over 130 participants which has led the Board to start discussing how to have a hybrid model of luncheons and Zoom.

The UCRAB board has voted to eliminate dues and to have "universal" membership, effective July 1, 2021. As a result, the By Laws are currently under revision to reflect this decision. They are also being revised to accommodate the need to have voting conducted via telecommunications, as well as, by in person voting. The By Laws will be voted upon at our June business meeting.

In March, UCRAB supported the Berkeley Retirement Center's participation in the campus's Big Give fundraising event by donating $1500 to be used as a challenge match. This money, when combined with other similar donations, significantly increased the amount of funds raised for the Center's general fund.

As with the other retiree associations, Covid has required many changes in how business is conducted and has illustrated how dependent UCRAB has been on the Berkeley Retirement Center for data, mailings, information, mail collection, etc. We want to thank Director Carey Sweeney and Associate Director Camille Koue for their support.

Download PDF version of the University of California Retirees Association at Berkeley report.