UC Retirees Association at Berkeley
April 2022 Report
Submitted by Patti Owen, President and
Barinder Dhillon-Flanagan, CUCRA Representative
Due to the pandemic, activities of the UC Retirees' Association at Berkeley (UCRAB) have continued, for the most part, to be conducted via Zoom. In October, we had a Zoom lecture by a professor of Integrative Biology on the biomechanics of certain animals (geckos, cockroaches, and squirrels). Until March, we conducted our monthly board meetings via Zoom. However, in March, we met in person for a business meeting and lunch at The Faculty Club on campus. This was the first time half of our board had met in person, and it clearly changed the dynamics of the discussions. We will continue this practice for the near future.
We are planning our first in person gathering for June with a luncheon and speaker. We will be interested to see how many individuals are willing to meet in person, but recognize that the continuing concerns about the pandemic may impact the numbers. We are also starting to plan for the annual Renegade Retirees' Picnic in July at Tilden Park in the Berkeley Hills. Last year we had over 70 participants, and it is open to retirees from Berkeley, UC Office of the President, and Lawrence Berkeley National Lab.
UCRAB is in the process of developing a strategic plan. We hope that this process will provide us with direction of what we want to be as an organization and to develop an annual action plan to carry it out. In the past, the association has been mostly focused on social events such as luncheons and day trips. We would like to expand our activities to include outreach to campus organizations or campus projects. For example, we have recently been in contact with the campus Emeriti Academy to determine how retirees might contribute to students and staff through their already established structure.
We once again want to thank Cary Sweeney and Camille Koue of the Berkeley Retirement Center for all of their support to UCRAB. They make our work possible.