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YURA Office Summer Closure

The YURA Office will close for the summer break on Wednesday, June 17th and will re-open in the fall on Tuesday, September 15th. During the office closures, messages can be sent by e-mail to yura@yorku.ca or left on the office voicemail at 416.736.2100 extn. 70664. Messages will be answered at the earliest possible time.

Memberships for 2025-2026

YURA membership renewal forms for the 2025-2026 year (October 1 through September 30) are now available by clicking here.

YURA members receive quarterly issues of the YURA Newsletter and ongoing bulletins and e-mail communications with information about YURA and activities available to our members.  This website includes links to key websites for retirees (“Retiring at 91��ɫ”) as well as information about member privileges, events, and YURA’s role in representing retirees' interests with 91��ɫ.

Retired 91��ɫ employees who wish to join YURA are most welcome to do so.  For more information, instructions and the membership application form, please click here.

Help Complete 91��ɫ's Equity Timeline

The  is a participatory history-telling project that invites community members to:

• Learn about the origins and evolution of different equity efforts;
• Respond to particular milestones; and
• Share their vision for 91��ɫ’s next steps toward equity.

The timeline highlights key events and initiatives that have advanced equity at 91��ɫ, using milestones identified by faculty, students, staff, alumni, and retirees. The Division of Equity, People and Culture invites you to view the results of the work and feedback in a beautiful new web environment and to engage with the timeline at this link:

A call to action:

There are gaps, particularly in the early years of the timeline, and the Division of Equity, People and Culture needs your help to fill them before an official launch to the community in October. Please respond to timeline events (using an emoji button), make comments (there’s a form on each timeline event), and  for consideration. Milestones may be small but meaningful moments, large-scale initiatives, or pivotal events. They may be recent or from 91��ɫ’s formative years. They may have a specific focus or sweeping relevance. Please take a moment to review the timeline and provide input to this important project.

2026 AGM Guest Speakers Announced

YURA is delighted to announced that 91��ɫ Professors Emeriti Paul Anisef (sociology) and Paul Axelrod (social science and former Dean of Education) will be our guest speakers at our 2026 Annual General Meeting.  They will present The Story of a Generation:  Life Course Pathways of the Class of ’73, the culmination of a landmark 50-year longitudinal study following a cohort of Ontarians who were in Grade 12 in 1973.  Their book, co-authored with Education professor Carl James and 91��ɫ PhD student Erika McDonald, traces the journeys of a baby boom cohort through their education, work, families, and transitions into retirement, offering a rare, panoramic view of lives shaped by time, circumstance, and choice. The themes of the book are uniquely fitting for our association during its 40th anniversary year – as is having two of our own YURA members to speak at our 40th anniversary AGM.

The 2026 Annual General Meeting will be held virtually via Zoom on Friday, November 20^th at 10 a.m.  Following opening remarks, our guest speakers and some time for questions and answers, the business portion of the meeting will commence at approximately 11 a.m.  All materials pertaining to the Association’s business (agenda, minutes, reports) will be posted on the YURA website at least seven days prior to the meeting. Please note the date in your calendar and plan to join us.

Full details about the 2025 AGM held November 21, 2025, can be found by clicking here. All reports were accepted, financials approved and the 2025-26 Executive Committee membership affirmed unanimously.

Intergenerational Climate Café

YURA members are invited to participate in an Intergenerational Climate Café on Tuesday, June 23rd at 10:00 a.m. on the Keele Campus.  This event provides an opportunity for both university students and seniors to share thoughts and concerns about climate change, protection of the planet and implications for both the current and future generations.  This event will take place at the Maloca Community Garden, located on the University's Keele campus, adjacent to the Assiniboine apartments.  Please join us for this important dialogue, especially if you are enthusiastic about the outdoors and observing environmentally friendly practices in action.  It’s a great opportunity to meet current students and to experience intergenerational learning. To register for this "Earth Café", please scan the QR code below or contact the YURA Office [e-mail: yura@yorku.ca or phone 416.736.2100 extn. 70664].

Please click here for the program agenda.

YURA's 40 Years Celebrated

May 13, 2026 was the date of a Reception and Luncheon that celebrated our 40th anniversary with the theme “Celebrating our Past and Present and Inspiring our Future”. More than 100 YURA members registered for the celebration that took place in the Conference Hall of the Second Student Centre. Head over to the YURA 40th Celebration page for highlights and photos from the event.

Reception recognized 91��ɫ's 2024 Retirees

Last fall, YURA collaborated with the Vice-President, Equity, People & Culture (VP-EPC) and the President’s Institutional Events team, to host a reception for retirees.  The November 4^th event in the Second Student Centre was an opportunity for YURA members to visit with one another socially and to celebrate those members of faculty and staff who retired in 2024.  Co-hosting for the University were Lisa Philipps, Vice-President Academic & Provost and Laina Bay-Cheng VP-EPC.  Following the recognition of the new retirees, YURA staged a brief and light discussion about retirement moderated by co-president Diane Woody and featuring panelists Sheila Forshaw, Ian Greene and Cathy Boyd-Withers.  A social time for mingling, re-connecting and reminiscing followed.   Click here for more photos from the event.

The 2025 YURA Challenge

Retirees' Fundraising Walk a Success

The 91��ɫ Retirees’ Association held its annual 5 km fundraising walk on October 9^th  -- this year to support student academic success by raising money to acquire “study pods” for the 91��ɫ Libraries.  These self-contained soundproof booths offer students privacy, comfort, and power outlets and they can make a real and lasting difference in their success.  The pods are also ideal for virtual classes, online or oral exams, job interviews, mentorship calls and for students with sensory stimulation concerns.

Through its collaboration with the University’s Libraries, YURA is hopeful that 91��ɫ students can enjoy the same advantages as their peers at U of T and McGill, where study pods have already been introduced and are in high demand.  By supporting this innovative initiative in the Libraries, YURA can continue its tradition of supporting student success.

YURA members were recruited to take part in the walk and to canvass for team sponsors.  This year, donations have been handled directly by the University: for fundraising participants, there was no complicated registration process and no registration fee; and for donors, there have been no administrative fees.  To date, more than $17,000 has been raised, through contributions from YURA members, former 91��ɫ colleagues and co-workers, and family and friends.  in support of YURA’s fundraiser can still be made until December 31^st.  We encourage all YURA members to help with this worthy cause. 

For more information and to donate, please visit our YURA Challenge page by clicking here.

Members of The YURA Challenge team preparing for their 5 km walk through the Keele Campus on October 9th. For more photos from the 2025 walk, please click here.

Join in the Conversation at the YURA Café

From September through April, the YURA Café takes place the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m.  Review the Events Calendar for upcoming dates.  An announcement about each month’s Café, including the Zoom link, is circulated by e-mail to YURA members several days before the session.

Read overviews and highlights of past sessions of the YURA Café by clicking here.

College and University Retiree Associations of Canada (CURAC)

CURAC is the national organization of the postsecondary retirees' associations across Canada.  It speaks for the collective on a variety of public policy issues.  It provides a number of important services to its members, including an annual conference that highlights best practices among its member associations and promotes collaboration. YURA was among the founders of CURAC.  

All YURA members should check out the to learn about the initiatives in which it is involved and the services and activities it offers to all retiree association members, including members of YURA. Also on the website are links to health bulletins and discussion papers on issues relating to seniors.

Of particular interest to YURA members may well be the videos of the key presentations at the annual CURAC Conference. Sessions from the 2024 conference held at the University of Waterloo are now available to view by . Sessions from the 2025 conference held at McGill University in Montreal in May will be available in the near future.

CURAC's affinity partners belairdirect and Johnson Travel Insurance offer contests from time to time open to members of all CURAC member associations, including YURA. belairdirect also initiated a scholarship program this year for which progeny of YURA members may be eligible. More info...

"Bringing Experience to Shape the Future of Postsecondary Education" -- University Affairs

We are pleased to see that Dr. Fred Fletcher, has had another article published in CURAC’s “Academic for Life” column in University Affairs, which is distributed to all universities in Canada. Fred is University Professor Emeritus (Political Science and Communication Studies) and a long-standing member of the Executive Committees of both YURA and ARFL, the Association of Retired Faculty and Librarians, as well as a long-time member of CURAC’s Later Life Learning Committee. Please to read the article

Membership Survey Results Summarized

More than 60% of YURA members participated in a survey conducted in 2022 by the Association's Executive Committee to learn about what members thought about current activities and how YURA could better support its members in the future. A summary of survey results, prepared by professor emeritus and former YURA co-president Ian Greene, can be found by clicking here.

Donations for 2026

YURA members are encouraged to consider a tax-deductible donation to one or more of the YURA sponsored student awards or other worthwhile YURA-sponsored projects at the University.  Among these are the YURA Graduate Student Award, the William Small Award, the YURA Mature Student Bursaries, "study pods" at the University's libraries, the Food Insecurity Fund for Students or the 91��ɫ Camps Subsidy Fund (for local kids from disadvantaged families). Charitable tax receipts for such donations are provided by 91��ɫ.

To make an on-line donation or to arrange monthly contributions, please click 

Retirees Sought for Research Studies at 91��ɫ

One of the most important contributions retirees can make to the University is through participation as research subjects in projects that focus on older adults.  This is especially meaningful for 91��ɫ, which has a Faculty of Health as well as the Centre for Aging Research and Education (YU-CARE).  Participation of YURA members is crucial for the doctoral students who are undertaking studies that will contribute to discovery and new knowledge.

YURA members are encouraged to take part in the studies described below for which University ethics approval has been obtained. Participation in these studies is not limited to retired employees.  Spouses, other family members and friends who meet the participant criteria are also welcome to contact the doctoral students leading these studies, which are continuing through the spring and summer of 2025.

For a complete list of studies seeking participants please click here.

YURA Events Calendar

Quick Links

Frequently Asked Questions

91��ɫ U Pension & Benefits

A Guide to Government Web Sites

Retiree Associations