UC Irvine Retirees' Association
April 2021 Report
Submitted by Bernadette Strobel-Lopez, UCI CUCRA Representative
Activities & Programs:
The UCIRA continues to work closely with our UCI Center for Emeriti & Retirees (CER) on all programming and activities. Through CER, ZOOM and Webinar offerings such as Medicare Basics, Fidelity Workshops and Eye Institute lectures have proved most valuable during this time. ZOOM office hours with UCI's Health Care Facilitator to answer Open Enrollment questions were provided. The online 2020 Annual Reception honoring all UCI Emeriti & Retirees with Chancellor Gillman as keynote speaker proved successful and refreshing for retirees confined to their homes.
UCI Board Members spearhead other programs and partnerships that have been well received:
- Monthly socially-distanced, outdoor hikes, walks and bike rides have continued to gain in popularity.
- Participating in the UCI Alumni virtual book club at no charge.
- Presenting an online overview to answer questions regarding acronyms (CER, UCIEA, UCIRA, UCRAYS).
- Partnering with campus departments to present topic specific online offerings to our retirees, such as "Political Secrets of the Nutcracker" and a lecture on COVID 19 - "Moving Beyond the Pandemic".
- The UCIRA also sponsored a popular online UCI Campus Wellness Workshop Series: Yoga, Meditation, Power of Daily Routine and "Cooking Along With the Chef" in which viewers could participate or view how to make lemon chicken soup with herbed matzo balls and roasted asparagus salad with sage crunch!
Volunteer/Giving Back/Scholarships:
As in the previous year, the UCI Retirees & Friends Team supported UCI's "Anti-Cancer Challenge" virtual walk/run/cycle event (raising ~$7K) where all proceeds directly benefited UCI Chao Comprehensive Cancer Center. We are contributing to the UCI Fresh Basic Needs Hub on campus that assists those with food needs.
The UCIRA continues to support the UCI Staff Assembly Scholarship which assists current staff in achieving their education goals.
Our UCIRA Legacy Scholarship is in its third year assisting new freshman and new transfer students who are related to UCI retirees, staff or faculty.
Association Membership and Benefits:
The UCIRA dues-paying membership has remained steady (~600) with an increasing number of new retirees joining regardless of the pandemic.
Once UCI resumes parking on-campus again, UCIRA members will again have access to complimentary parking by showing their UCI Retiree ID. Members are often also offered discounted pricing on programs that require a fee.
Status of UCIRA Board Meetings:
Monthly meetings continued via ZOOM during the prior year. Recently socially distanced Board meetings have resumed at outside venues.
Plans for next two years:
We will continue to seek creative ways in which to engage and entertain our retirees online. In- person offerings will follow as pandemic restrictions ease. Given success of online offerings, many will continue to be offered after pandemic restrictions have been lifted.
We plan to do all we can not to go crazy and rip our hair out!