2022-2023 Annual Reports
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PRESIDENT’S REPORT
FOR 2022-2023
It was a pleasure to serve as your President this past year (October 2022 – October 2023). First and foremost, I wish to thank all members of the Executive for their cooperation and hard work in making this past year a successful one. We performed all our activities in a hybrid mode with members able to take part either in person or on-line. We hope to continue going forward in the same mode as it allows flexibility to all members to attend even if they are not able to attend in person for any reason.
In this regard, I wish to thank Jeff Wallace, Amanda Priddy Bowron, Colleen Bangs and Ahmed Bayram who have done a fantastic job in supporting us with IT, and I wish to acknowledge Carole-Lynne Le Navenec and Jocelyn Lockyer for making certain that Zoom was available for both the meetings of the Executive and the monthly general meetings of the Association.
Thanks to the untiring efforts of Jocelyn Lockyer and her subcommittee, speakers representing a wide variety of topics made presentations at the monthly meetings. More details are provided in the report from Jocelyn Lockyer.
Following motions passed at the 2022 AGM, the name of the Emeriti Association has been changed to the University of Calgary Retirees Association and its scope broadened to include all University retirees, including staff and academics. Modified Constitution of the Association was adopted at the AGM; so that now any member after paying membership fee for twenty years becomes a Life Member.
Efforts are being made to make all retirees aware of the formation of the U of C Retirees Association and invite all retirees to become members. Unfortunately, attracting retirees to become members of the association has been slow so far, but we hope that more and more retirees will consider joining.
It is proposed to hold a planning session of the Retirees Association Executive during Fall 2023 to discuss various items including the revamping of the Association’s communications with its members and outreach to all retirees.
It was gratifying to be able to get back to in-person social events in December 2022 and June 2023.
New donations and the matching funds from the University to the Association Award for Indigenous Students has resulted in an increase of $ 25,000 this year. Thanks to all who contributed their financial support.
The Executive continues to do an amazing job in keeping this Association viable with LAR, newsletter, guest speakers and the like. Thank you again to all who serve us.
Om Malik, President 2022-2023
September 2023
Past-President and Graduate College Report, 2022-2023
With regard to the Graduate College, three recent graduate students presented at our Wednesday afternoon meeting in November, 2022. It went very well. In March, 2023 six members of the Executive attended a dinner and talk to the Graduate College students at the Big Four Building in Calgary. Elise von Scheel from CBC Calgary was the guest speaker and she talked about the upcoming provincial election. A new interim head for the Graduate College is Dr. Clifton Cunningham.
Hopefully, our group and the Graduate College can continue to work together to try and evolve a mentorship group for these students who may wish to involve themselves in such an endeavour. Fortunately, there is a full slate for the Executive commencing at the AGM in October.
John Latter
Past President and Graduate College Rep.
Membership Report
Membership report (Sept 1, 2022 – Aug 31, 2023)
2025-2026 Memberships: 1
2024-2025 Memberships: 2
2023-2024 Memberships: 9 (not including 66 life members)
2022-2023 Memberships: 193 (not including 66 life members)*
2021-2022 Memberships: 235 (not including 27 life members)
2020-2021 Memberships: 239 (not including 23 life members)
36 new Emeriti in 2023 – 4 have joined UCRA for 2023-2024
15 Emeriti have died in calendar year 2023 (1 was a Life member (Chellas), 2 were members last year)
24 Emeriti died in calendar year 2022; 2 were EA LIFE members (Bernadette Curry, George Lane), 3 were members (John Tyberg, John Klassen, Lee Handy)
*NOTE: 40 individuals have paid 20 or more years of dues and were awarded LIFE membership after the October AGM.
Arvi Rauk Sept 3, 2023
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Annual Financial Return 2022-2023
Arvi Rauk September 11, 2023
UCRA TreasurerRetirees Association - 2023 AGM Financial Report (1).pdf
PROGRAM COMMITTEE REPORT
Annual Report to University of Calgary Retiree Association on Program Activities, 2022-23
Programs are held monthly with the exception of December and June when the lunches are held and July and August.
Regular programming during 2022 – 23 consisted of:
September 2022, Katheryne Perri Edwards, Malcolm Edwards, Professor Emeritus, Music; & Richard Heyman, Professor Werklund School of Education who make up The Mostly Broadway Trio for their ‘annual’ presentation of The Many Faces of Love
October 2022, Penny Werthner, Interim Provost and Vice-President Academic, Vision and Goals for the Provost’s Office
November 2022, Graduate College Presentations by
- Razieh Alba, PhD Student, Curriculum and Learning specializing in Art Education Creating Space for Indigenous Storytelling: Two-Eyed Seeing in Post-Secondary Art Education
- Ruth D. Alli, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering Dry reforming of Methane: A means to reduce carbon emissions
- Ali Abidi, PhD Candidate, Educational Research (Learning Science) Examining the Quality of English Language Arts Performance Assessment Tasks for Developing Students’ Academic Language Proficiency
- Julia Imanoff, PhD Candidate, Faculty of Nursing Exploring the Impact of Psychologically Traumatic Births
January 2023, Philip Langill, Associate Professor, Department of Physics and Astronomy and Director of Rothney Astrophysical Observatory, The James Web Space Telescope: How it works, the Canadian contribution and what we have learned so far.
February 2023, Reed Ferber PhD, ATC, Killam Laureate, Professor and Associate Dean (Research), Faculty of Kinesiology, New Considerations for Using Wearable Technology Outside the Laboratory: Is Your Smartwatch Actually Smart?
March 2023, Gavin McCormack, Associate Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences, Cumming School of Medicine, Walkable City Design for Promoting Health and Well-being and Alex de Barros, Professor, Dept of Civil Engineering, Advances in transportation safety technology
April 2023, Lisa Young, Professor, Department of Political Sciences, Alberta Politics
May 2023, Alex Ramirez-Serrano, Professor, Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and Director of the UVS Robotarium Laboratory, Development of Advanced Aerial and Multilegged Robotic Systems for Urban Search and Rescue Operations Inside Confined Spaces
Special Tour, November 2022, Michelle Hardy, Curator, Nickle Galleries, Libraries and Cultural Resources, Prairie Interlace: Weaving, Modernisms and the Expanded Frame, 1960-2000
Thanks go to Colleen Bangs and Amanda Priddy Bowron, Advancement Office who have provided extensive support to ensure space, logistical support and a grant for our programs.
Prepared by Jocelyn Lockyer, Professor Emerita, Cumming School of Medicine, on behalf of and with thanks to the Program Committee Elaine McKiel, Gerrit Voudreau, Carole-Lynne Le Navenec, Mary Valentich, Michael Williams & Dennis Salahub.
Keeping in Touch Annual Report October, 2023
The post-pandemic enabled us to revive our RA lunches in 2022/2023. The first one on December 14th, 2022 was held In the Dining Centre Blue Room with 74 people attending. The second was on June 14th, 2023 at the Carriage House Inn with 45 in attendance. Both lunches were open to RA members and their invited guests.
Elaine McKiel
August, 2023
List of Deceased
University of Calgary Retirees Association
(* Non-emeritus who were well-known within the University community as brought to our attention.)
Name Department Date of Death
Dr. Gillian Ranson Sociology July 24, 2022
Dr. Robert “Wayne” Elford Medicine September 27, 2022
Dr. Leroy Cogger Physics & Astronomy October 5, 2022
Dr. John Klassen Medicine October 30, 2022
Dr. Michael Coulson Geography November 18, 2022
Dr. Lee Handy Counselling Services December 25, 2022
Margaret Mohtadi* January 2, 2023
Dr. Gordon C. Swann Board Chair Emeritus & Gordon C. Swann Mall January 5, 2023
Dr. Nicholas “Nic” David Archaeology January 11, 2023
Prof. Thelma B. Dennis Home Economics – University of Alberta January 13, 2023
Dr. Gary de Leeuw Education January 16, 2023
Dr. John Sayre Martin English January 26, 2023
Ted Ziajka* information Technologies February 24, 2023
Dr. Brian Chellas Philosophy March 1, 2023
Prof. Keith Johnstone Drama March 11, 2023
Dr. Diana J. Mansell* Nursing March 12, 2023
Dr. L. Martin Jerry* Medicine March 21, 2023
Dr. Laurence (Larry) Bentley Geoscience March 22, 2023
Prof. Bill Perks Environmental Design April 3, 2023
Dr. Amin Ghali Civil Engineering April 11, 2023
Dr. Betty Jean Bastien-Sikapinaki Social Work May 9, 2023
Prof. Lynne Ricker Management May 19, 2023
Prof. John David Bean Kinesiology May 27, 2023
Dr. Ronald George* Computing Services June 1, 2023
Dr. Robert (Bob) Stamp Education June 9, 2023
Dr. Inder N. Kher English July 1, 2023
Dr. Mamoru (Mo) Watanabe Medicine July 5, 2023
Dr. Robert G. McArthur Medicine July 26, 2023
Janet Kathleen Baldwin* July 29, 2023
Maurice Lepper Library August 26, 2023
Annual Report of LAR
Life After Retirement (LAR) is the official newsletter of the University of Calgary Retirees Association (UCRA). It is currently published annually in two issues. The Winter issue, volume 29, no. 2, which included summaries of events held during the months of September to December, was already distributed in PDF form to all members of our Association. The Fall issue, volume 30, no. 1, which will cover the events from January to June 2023, is at present being compiled for publication. Eventually all active Retirees Association (RA) members will receive it in the form of a hard copy, along with a membership application/renewal form. All technical assistance in preparation of computer files, as well as the LAR layout, production, printing, and mailing is provided by Mountain View Printing and Graphics Limited. In collaboration with the RA Treasurer/Membership colleague, the LAR Director (Editor) arranges for the mailing lists and distribution of the LAR.
Andrew B. Pernal
LAR Director (Editor)
30 August 2023
Webmaster Annual Report, 2022-2023
The Association website has been working without any significant problems. Most of the activity of the webmaster during 2022-2023 was to update the Emeriti Association website (https://ucalgary.ca/retirees-association) at regular intervals. A few changes were made, and some extra information added. Otherwise, the year has run smoothly.
Om Malik
Webmaster
September 2023
Annual Report of E-letter Coordinator, October 2022 – September 2023
As e-letter coordinator, I sent out email announcements for all Retiree Association events from October 2022 through September 2023. This entailed composing and sending the original e-letter plus a reminder for each event (more than one reminder if ticket sales were involved). Other members of the Executive sent me draft announcements and reports, which I edited into the final version of the e-letter.
Unfortunately, family issues will prevent me from continuing as e-letter coordinator in 2023-24, but I will be available to help my successor get started.
Tom Flanagan
August 17, 2023
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Nil
College and University Retiree Associations of Canada (https://curac.ca/about-us/)
2022-2023 ANNUAL REPORT FROM YOUR CURAC/ARUCC Representative
By Carole-Lynne Le Navenec, RN, PhD; Associate Professor Emerita-Nursing, University of Calgary (email: cllenave@ucalgary.ca)
Background Notes: I continue to serve (since 2021) as one of CURACs twelve Board of Directors, and hence participate in the monthly online Board meetings, workshops, and AGM. I have submitted monthly reports to the e-Letter of our UCalgary Retirees Association (UCRA) regarding highlights of the current activities and news re special offers from the Affinity groups (e.g., trip cancellation insurance; health insurance, and others---see https://curac.ca/members-benefits). CURAC’s website will be redesigned once the new Board members have concluded discussions with Retiree Associations regarding the salient role(s) that CURAC could play to enhance the member associations goals. Subsequently, interested members can easily keep up to date with CURAC’s range of activities and future plans.
CURAC’s 2023 Conference and Annual General Meeting: May 31 to June 2, 2023 @University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon. This was the first in person conference post COVID-19. The conference theme was “The New World” with a focus on:
•Higher education: The pandemic, digital technology and change
•Societal changes: Canadian political schisms and shifts, Indigenization and
Reconciliation
•Research and development: Plant proteins, rare earth developments and small
modular research
•Health services: The role and future of USask’ s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) as Canada’s Centre for Pandemic Research
--Only the AGM component was available via Zoom and online participation was restricted to one delegate from each of the 41 RAs across Canada, as well as CURAC Board members. Our UCRA president, Dr. Om Malik, was the delegate for UCalgary , and he attended in person.
--A full report of the Conference proceedings and AGM will be available on the CURAC Website once it has been redesigned. In the meantime, you may wish to ask for info from our UCRA delegate who attended the 2023 conference, Dr. Om Malik (malik@ucalgary.ca). I am also hoping to compile a short report that could be added to our University of Calgary Retirees Association website, section on CURAC (https://www.ucalgary.ca/retirees-association).
CURAC’s Later Life Learning (LLL) Committee (a committee chaired by C. Le Navenec) which involves invitations from many of CURAC’s Retirees Associations (RAs) to attend online educational sessions, all of which are indicated in the Events Calendar on CURAC’s website (https://curac.ca/committees/lll-committees)
I do hope you, as members of our UCalgary Retirees Association (UCRA) will be attending some of these online sessions, and/or consider joining our LLL committee (your work would only involve attendance at 2 zoom mtgs per year, and submission of specific strategies to address one or more of the 4 objectives of the LLL committee (https://curac.ca/committees/lll-committee/)
-- For further info, or qts you would like addressed, send me an email:
CURAC column titled ACADEMIC FOR LIFE in University Affairs Newsletter (Editor is C. Le Navenec). Please consider reviewing some of the articles that Retiree Association (RA) members have written since it first started in October 2022, including the Sept/2023 paper titled: Re-imagining yourself after retirement: Why thinking about lifestyle planning before and after you retire is so important.
….The link to the English version of the articles is: https://www.universityaffairs.ca/career-advice/academic-for-life/
….The link to the French version of the articles is:
•I also would like you to submit an article of your choice (1000 words or less) for this column. Please send it to me at: cllenave@ucalgary.ca)
Respectfully submitted by: Carole-Lynne Le Navenec (RN,PhD, Associate Professor Emerita-Nursing, University of Calgary) Email: cllenave@ucalgary.ca
September 17, 2023