UC Irvine Retirees Association

Activities & Programs:

The UCIRA is excited that as of mid-November, the UCI Center for Emeriti & Retirees (CER) is fully staffed again.  After almost five months of only 1.5 staff we are back to full programming.   We continue to work closely with CER on programming and activities, and our board president regularly attends UCIEA Executive Committee meetings.

Our monthly in-person walks, hikes, and bike rides continue.

In November, 466 UCI participants completed the 2024 CUCRA Retiree Survey.

In January we held our annual membership drive and increased our membership by 49 new members for a total of 652 active Association members.

In January, UCIRA board members Judi Franz and Marianne Schnaubelt attended Lunch with Leaders and shared their experiences in retirement with the UCI Staff Assembly.

Led by Professor Tracy Kahn, in January we toured the Givaudan Citrus Variety at UC Riverside.  We had an opportunity to walk through various types of citrus trees and even got to sample available citrus fruit.  Before boarding the homeward bound bus, we enjoyed lunch on campus.

 In February we enjoyed a docent-led exhibit of Titanium Art by Aka Chen at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana.

 On March 1, UCI celebrated its Homecoming event, and CER had a booth that provided information to attendees.

April 2 – Langson Institute and Museum Tour - this popular museum at UCI offers many examples of  modern and contemporary California art in its permanent collection along with the current exhibit Common Ground: Early 20th-Century Artist Communities in Southern California which is on display through May 17.

 April 15 – UCI LIFTED (Leveraging Inspiring Futures Through Educational Degrees).  Professor Keramet Reiter will be offering a Zoom Presentation about this program.  It is the first in-person bachelor’s degree completion program in the UC system.  Piloted at UCI, this program enables incarcerated individuals to apply to transfer into UCI as juniors and earn a BA while serving their sentence.

New Programs and Partnerships:

University Advancement is hosting a new monthly Coffee & Conversations offered on the last Tuesday of the month.  The focus is on retired emeriti and staff and gives them an opportunity to meet others and socialize.  In addition, a Retiree Spotlight of both faculty and staff is a new feature being added to the newsletter.

Volunteering and Giving Back:

Marianne Schnaubelt, is the recipient of the inaugural Outstanding Retiree of the Year Award.  Marianne is both a past President and current Board member of both the UCI Retirees Association and the Council of UC Retiree Associations.  In addition, she is a member of the UC Irvine original graduating class and part of the Golden Anteater Society.  With her wealth of knowledge, we are proud to have her serving on the UCIRA with us.

The UCIRA Legacy Scholarships – We are pleased to increase our scholarships to incoming freshmen and transfer students for the 2025-26 academic year.  We will be awarding $5000 each to three freshmen and $4000 each to three transfer students for a total of $27,000.

On April 22 UCIRA we will be promoting the ninth annual UC Giving Day to all members and retirees.

The list of perks available for UCI retirees who are PAID members of the UCIRA continues:  Discounts on membership at the Anteater Recreation Center, library access, department discounts, Life Resources program, and complimentary UCI campus parking for a day pass.  Retirees continue to be eligible for 50% discounted parking for monthly passes and to keep their UCI email.