UCLA Retirees Association

Submi<ed by Judith Tuch, UCLARA President and CUCRA Representa(ve

During the past six months UCLARA has continued to offer various programs and ways for members to stay engaged with UCLA and each other. UCLARA is a stand-alone organization that partners closely with the UCLA Emeriti Association (EA) and the UCLA Emerito/Retirees Relations Center (ERRC).

Board Meetngs and Events: While most Board meetings are virtual, the Board met in person in October 2023 and March 2024. This mix of virtual and in-person meetings makes it easy for members to attend meetings who live a considerable distance from campus. We have 21 members on the Board and have concluded our nominations process for the 2024-2025 year with four new members.

Membership: Membership numbers have increased to 1085 thanks to the efforts of the Membership/Marketing Commi<ee. We are a dues-paying organization with $25 regular and $35 affiliate memberships. For an additional $10 a spouse or significant other can be added. This will be the second year we have offered recurring memberships through our Wild Apricot/Personify software.

Newsletter: UCLARA publishes a quarterly newsletter, UCLARA Connections. The newsletter is sent electronically to all members and posted on our website. We mail approximately 60 copies quarterly to members who do not have an email address. Past issues are available on the website back to 2000. An illustrated cookbook published in 2022 is also available to members online.

Programs and Events: The Program Committee offers both virtual and in-person events. Virtual programs are offered at no cost to make it possible to reach a wider number of members. During FY 2023-24, members have enjoyed 21 programs. UCLARA continues its collaboration with the EA to offer After Lunch Programs of conversations with professors; six programs have been offered to date. Hikes are now offered monthly to a devoted group of hikers. One yearly event that is popular with retirees is the Annual Holiday Party. Attendees support the UCLA Student Food Closet by bringing food cards to this party. Other popular programs included a visit to Jet Propulsion Laboratories in Pasadena and a visit to the Cheech Marin Museum and the Mission Inn in Riverside. Many of the virtual programs are recorded and available online. UCLARA has started collaborating with the UCLA Faculty Women’s Club on joint programs. Program attendance is managed through an online system which has attendance, payment, and confirmation capabilities in addition to membership components.

UCLARA, EA, and the ERRC have collaborated on the first ever joint art show, the Sylvia Winstein Emeriti/Retirees Arts and Cra]s Exhibit, which is scheduled for May 21, 2024, at the UCLA Faculty Club. Twenty-five artists (11 UCLARA artists and 14 EA artists) will exhibit their work.

UCLARA members enjoy partcipating in virtual and in-person programs sponsored by the ERRC. Two well attended recent programs included in-person visits to the UCLA Planetarium and a UCLA residence hall tour and lunch.

Campus and Community Relatons: We have contnued the practce of invitng campus administrators to Board meetngs to explore ideas and opportunites for partnerships and collaboratons between the RA and the campus. Michael Beck, UCLA Administra6ve Vice Chancellor, attended the April 2024 mee6ng; Dr. Shalom Staub, Director of Community Engagement Programs, joined the February

2024 mee6ng to talk about the UCLA Strategic Plan; and David L. Tuyo, President of the University Credit Union, joined the November 2023 meeting. These conversa6ons result in new ways of partnering across campus. Articles about these conversa6ons are published in the quarterly newsle:er and on our website to keep the membership up to date.

On a yearly basis, UCLARA has funded Career Staff Development Scholarships. This year, UCLARA increased the funding of these individual scholarships from $500 to $750. The number of scholarships funded varies from year to year with an average of eight per year.

For 2023-24, UCLARA projects contributing approximately $7,000 to various campus initiatives; the specifics will be approved at the May Board mee6ng.

Supporting Current UCLA Staff: In its second year of collabora6on with two campus mentorship programs, re6ree par6cipa6on has increased in both the College of Le:ers and Science ACE Mentorship Program and the AMG ProShare Program. The Board is ac6vely exploring addi6onal opportuni6es to collaborate in mentorship programs and scholarship support.

To mark the 10th Anniversary of the Career Staff Development Scholarship Endowment, UCLARA conducted a successful anniversary solicita6on over the holidays to raise the principal balance of the endowment from $83,422 to $100,000.

Other Active UCLARA Commitees: The Travel Chair serves as an excellent resource for retiree travelers and has reported that there are many repeat travelers for the programs. A recent After Lunch program brought both the Travel Chair and the UCLA Alumni Travel Program Director to an in-person travel conversa6on. The Chair continues to offer virtual sessions to promote the nineteen travel opportuni6es in 2025.

The IT Commi:ee con6nues to improve and update the website and maximize the use of Personify/Wild Apricot. UCLARA con6nues to experience challenges with system support from Personify/Wild Apricot. If other associa6ons use this so^ware, it might be advantageous to discuss issues and challenges with the software.

The Historian is organizing the UCLARA paper archives currently stored in filing cabinets in the ERRC office. The goal is to determine how much historical documentation should be digitized and how much will be stored off site. Electronic documents are stored on Box.

The UCLARA President participates in the UCLA Chancellor’s Honorific Naming Committee. This commi:ee will propose a listing of the total number of initial honorific namings for the current decade.