UC San Diego Retirement Association

The UC San Diego Retirement Association (UCSD RA) continues its active roles, both as a stand‐alone organization and in close partnership with the UC San Diego Emeriti Association. The two organizations share facilities in the UCSD Retirement Resource Center. The UCSD RA and Emeriti Association welcomed Larissa Loggiano as the new director of the UCSD Retirement Resource Center in March replacing Vania Bailon. Larissa comes to the UCSD from the YMCA with a career focusing on membership and outreach. In addition to Larissa, the RRC has an additional full-time staff member, Jen Homrich, who serves as the Chancellor’s Scholars Program Coordinator and part-time Chancellor’s Scholars (undergraduate students) who assist with administrative and programming tasks.

As reported in the Fall the UCSD RA moved to a new location on the west side of campus and has settled into its new offices. The space has access to a conference room, classrooms which are utilized by the Chancellor’s Scholars and for UCSD RA programs, and an outdoor space used receptions and events.

UCSD retiree Larry Hull has volunteered to be the new webmaster for the CUCRA website which is hosted by UC San Diego.

Membership: Membership of the UCSD RA currently stands at 2,736 members. Dues for single annual and single life memberships remain at $30 and $300, respectively. Dues for couple annual and couple life memberships remain at $40 and $400, respectively.

Board Meetings: The UCSD RA Board meets virtually monthly with sub-Committee meetings occurring on the same day as the Board meeting.

Newsletter: The Retirement Association Gazette is published monthly and includes details about upcoming activities, requests for volunteers, a President’s Message, and a calendar of events. The UCSD RA also publishes a weekly events calendar email “Next Week/+ at the UCSD Retirement Association,” listing events for the coming two weeks. Members register online to receive follow-up event information. The UCSD RA offers three list‐serv choices, one for all campus flyers plus UCSD RA and benefits news, the second for UCSD RA and benefits news, and the third limited to the distribution of the Gazette.

Volunteers: The UCSD RA has a large group of active volunteers who typically contribute more than 1,000 hours of service each year. This year a variety of volunteer events are offered: Chancellor Scholar Program Networking nights, mentoring opportunities, a Holiday Food Drive, a Marine Holiday Toy Drive, Food Bank events, and knitting of NICU Preemie caps.

Programs and Events: The Program Committee organizes numerous activities, both virtual and in-person, including the following themed series for 2024-25: Discover UC San Diego, Discover San Diego Theatre, Maritime/Water Series, and Let’s Do Lunch. There are also educational seminars on aging and financial topics, distinguished lecture series, and food demonstrations plus a book club. Program offerings range from 15 to 20 each month. An online RSVP system generates a confirmation email to each registrant, and a roster of event attendees for check in and when applicable for sending the Zoom link.

When possible UCSD RA programs are recorded and shared on the Retiree and Emeriti YouTube Channel (REYT). Access to these informative and/or entertaining videos is open to the public. The UCSD RA has more than 280 videos on its channel with viewership surpassing 50,000. Members can explore the REYT via its many playlists with video recordings grouped by area of interest or specialty.

Mentorship Programs: UCSD RA provides $7,500 annually to the Chancellor’s Scholarship Program, a mentorship and leadership development program for students who are recipients of the Chancellor’s Scholarship. Several UCSD RA members are actively involved as mentors with the Emeriti Mentor Program, working with approximately 80 freshmen and sophomore Chancellor’s Scholars, and 80 upper division scholars.

The UCSD RA also makes a $2,000 award for continuing education to Nursing / Health Sciences employees.