UC Riverside Retirees' Association Report
April 2022 Report
Submitted by Andy Plumley, Riverside CUCRA Representative
Fundraising / Scholarships
Both the UCR Retiree and Emeriti Associations will be participating in a campus-wide giving campaign for the month of May. This campaign is targeted to UCR faculty and staff. Both associations are raising funds for UCRRA Undergraduate Student Scholarship Endowment and UCREA Graduate Student Travel Award Endowment. UCRRA awarded to two undergraduate scholarships of $5,000. Scholarship requirements include recipients being a child, grandchild or close relative to a UCR staff member or retiree and express a financial need.
We have been working more closely with Development in discussing our fund raising goals, setting the appropriate size of our endowment fund and establishing the correct fund to provide us flexibility in how we manage our operations.
By-Laws
UCRRA is reviewing our By-Laws to update them to better reflect how we are currently operating. Specific areas of updating includes:
- The board of director's positions, term limits and duties. We have had some difficulty recruiting for some positions.
- Standing committees' composition, duties and appointment process.
Retirement Center
With the UCREA, there are two initiatives we are working on for our Retirement Center. The first is supporting a budget initiative to increase our Retirement Center Director from a half- time position to a full-time position. The second is creating a physical space for the Center. A location has been identified and we have garnered support from the Provost and the Vice Chancellor for Planning, Budget and Administration. We will begin program planning this summer led by our department of Planning, Design & Construction.
Membership
UCRRA membership is 303. We are currently working on an outreach campaign to both members and non-members to provide information on the services and benefits we provide and also ask what services and benefits are desired.
Events and Activities
Events and activities sponsored by UCRRA, UCREA and the Retirement Center Director include:
- Quarterly Luncheons:
- Winter Luncheon, which was held via zoom, featured Dr. Tracy Khan, UCR Professor of Evolution, Ecology & Orgns Bio. She discussed the Givaudan Citrus Variety Collection.
- Spring Luncheon, which will be held in person, featuring Dr. Rachel Wu, UCR Professor of Psychology. She will discuss "Increasing Cognitive Abilities and Resilience in Older Adulthood."
- Mystery Book Club, sponsored by UCREA, held monthly and led by George Haggerty, Distinguished Professor Emeritus of English
- Interpretive Walks Club, sponsored by UCREA. This quarter's walk will be a tour of UCR Trees led by Andrew Sanders, Senior Museum Scientist of the UCR Herbarium.
- Retiree Recognition at Staff Assembly General Meetings, made possible through our partnership with the UCR Staff Assembly.
- Tech Tip seminars, sponsored by the Retirement Center Director, and led by UCR ITS.