Retirement Association celebrates 25 years of service

The University of Washington Retirement Association celebrated its 25th anniversary Aug. 15 with a reception and dinner at the Faculty Club.

More than 150 members attended the celebration, which included remarks from UW President Richard L. McCormick and two living past-presidents, John Hogness and William Gerberding. Another special guest was the association’s first volunteer, Isabel Mayhew. A retired librarian, Mayhew stepped forward to help when the association was formed in 1975, and continued well into her 90s. She is now 100 years old.

Mayhew is a good example of one of the organization’s primary purposes - to keep retired faculty and staff connected to the University. “It used to be that people retired and then were never heard from again until there was a funeral,” said John Price, retired dean of the School of Law. “But there’s been a growth in sensitivity and an appreciation that retirees can continue to play a beneficial role at the University.”

The association is a prime way retirees can stay plugged in. It offers a variety of activities, including lectures, dinners and committee work. And there are interest groups tailored to every taste, from bird watching to books. “You could be busy with association activities every day if you wanted to,” said President Miriam Goldstein, retired administrator in the Office of Educational Assessment.

UWRA counted 1,738 members as of June 30. “We are one of the few such organizations that includes both faculty and staff in our membership,” said past President Rheba de Tornyay, retired dean of the School of Nursing. “The California system, for example, has an emeritus organization for the faculty and a retirement association for the staff. I think that’s the wrong approach.”

Slightly more than half of the UWRA membership is staff, and members agree that it doesn’t matter which classification you worked under once you retire. “It’s a great leveler,” Goldstein said. “When I first joined the board I was awed, because here were all these former deans and directors. But we just work together as people.”

And work they do. The UWRA has 15 to 20 active committees involving at least 100 people. They watch out for retiree interests in the Legislature and keep abreast of relevant issues in such fields as health care. They even managed to build retirement housing, University House, in Wallingford.

De Tornyay co-chaired the committee that began working with a private developer, ERA Care Communities, in 1992. Residents first moved in in October 1997 and the building has been fully occupied ever since. Eighty-seven of the 172 residents are UWRA members.

“There are some special connections with the UW,” de Tornyay said. “For example, residents are provided transportation to many campus events.” The residence also enjoys a close relationship with the School of Music, whose students perform there with the help of a high quality grand piano donated by a UWRA member. And the association’s health affairs lectures are held at University House.

When all is said and done, however, UWRA members agree that people are the main reason they want to be part of the organization. “When you retire,” de Tornyay said, “it isn’t the work you miss but the people.”

“I’ve gotten to meet so many people from other fields through the retirement association that I never would have met otherwise,” said Ernest Henley, first vice president and retired dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. A physicist, he is an active researcher, but says he enjoys the broader contact the association offers.

And when Goldstein cites her goals for her year as president, they center on people too. “I’d like to see us diversify the membership so that it’s more representative of all the retirees,” she said. “And I’d like to get active employees interested in joining while they’re still working.” Speaking as someone who joined three years before her own retirement, she calls it “a great lead-in. It helps make the transition from employed to retired so much easier.” ¶

Nancy Wick