UC RIVERSIDE EMERITI ASSOCIATION REPORT

OCTOBER 2008

A week after Commencement in June, when campus parking eases, UCREA members enjoyed a lunch, now becoming a standard third annual event, with members of UCRRA, who arranged for both menu and speaker. Our joint quarterly newsletter, Towertalk, contains columns by the presidents of each group, and we trust is distributed to all our opposite numbers. Dues are collected separately, however, and UCREA may well have to increase dues from $10 a year to $12 or $15, since our $1500 allotment covers a bare 50% of expenses, but would prefer to do so in concert with its sister organizations.

Each autumn the chancellor hosts a lunch for all emeriti, spouses, survivors, and selected administrators. Past winners of the UCREA Outstanding Emerita/us award choose the next honoree on the basis of CUCEA’s Biobibs. They recommended changing the qualifications to candidates who retired five or more years ago, who had a consistent record of achievement, and who could submit a bibliography or c.v. or all activities since retiring. The head of UCREA serves as master of ceremonies, the chancellor describes the state of the campus, the current chair of the honoree’s department does the introduction, the honoree explains his or her work, and the UCR Music Department enhances the festivities. Lunch, including complementary wine, will take place November 24, 2008.

UCREA puts on its winter lunch in February, its turn to arrange menu and speaker, to which it invites UCRRA. There once was a business meeting at the winter gathering; we now have a devoted group that may succeed in generating a slate of candidates for the offices other UCEAs have. At present, the group serves as advisor to its president, Dericksen Brinkerhoff, author of this report.