UC Retirees Association at Berkeley
April 2023 Report
Submitted by Patti Owen, President
The UC Retirees' Association at Berkeley (UCRAB) continues to be impacted by COVID. Last fall we sent out a survey to members asking about their comfort levels of returning to in person meetings and luncheons. As expected, most felt most comfortable continuing with Zoom lectures and outdoor activities. We also asked for ideas for future activities and trips which we will resume next year. We have not yet resumed our quarterly luncheons. We elected not to return to our prior location due to safety issues related to the homeless population in downtown Berkeley. Unfortunately, identifying another location that is cost effective is proving difficult.
In November, Professor George Breslauer gave a talk about the conflict between Russia and Ukraine which was timely and well attended. We have not scheduled any subsequent speakers since the Berkeley Retirement Center offers a wide range of Zoom lectures. One of those lectures was on the New Deal Project. As a follow-up, UCRAB organized a tour at the Rincon Annex in San Francisco to see a set of WPA murals which depict the history of California. The tour was followed by a Dim Sum lunch at a nearby restaurant. Going forward, we are planning our annual retiree picnic at Tilden Regional Park along with the other retiree associations.
UCRAB has been interested in identifying volunteer activities on campus for retirees. We reached out to the Assistant Vice Chancellor of People and Culture and had a lively conversation with him. We will follow up with him on some of the ideas that came out of that discussion. On April 22, over 20 retirees volunteered at Cal Day, the campus’s open house for new admits and their families. The retirees had the chance to work alongside the student ambassadors who enjoyed that connection.