Join the University’s Retirees Association.
The reasons are compelling:
- Continuing your professional association with the University. We all put long years serving this institution. It is unthinkable that this link should be severed upon retirement. You can keep your association alive and continue to derive professional benefits by being a member of WURA.
- Association with the University is part of your identity. We are all defined by the roles we played as professionals. Membership in WURA preserves your identity among your peers.
- Upon retirement, you find yourself in an ambiguous vacuum. You are no longer an active member of WUFA that would advocate for you. Since the University administration works only with WUFA and other unions, who will put your concerns on WUFA’s and Administration’s radar screen? WURA, of course. WURA’s focal mission is to advocate for you. WURA, through its joint committees with WUFA and the University President, makes sure that you and your interests are given due consideration.
- We all need a sense of belonging, especially when we retire and become “individuals”. WURA provides you with that needed sense of belonging. WURA provides the forum for renewing acquaintances with the colleagues and peers with whom you served for decades, make new friends and enjoy social activities.
About WURA
Now that you know that you need WURA, you would be interested in knowing more about WURA. Three retired professors (Norm Shklov, Bill Phillips and Ralph Cowan) in 1990 decided there should be a Retirees' Association at the University of Windsor. Since then, the Association has indeed come into being and it seems to be doing well. Its membership includes retired faculty, librarians and senior administrators. In 2019 an invitation was extended to all non-union administrators to be part of this group. First of all, it is not a pressure group. Most of our members have spent a good portion of their lives with the University of Windsor, and have developed deep feelings of loyalty toward it. And the Association's activities have brought to light that the University feels a similar loyalty toward its retirees. We have been repeatedly impressed and encouraged by this.
Retirees want to feel that they are still part of the "University family", and the University has shown that it knows that and that it respects that wish. There are occasions, of course, when retirees must take a firm position on some aspect of their own well-being, and on such occasions they can now at least speak with one voice. We think the University appreciates that too. Possibly most important of all, the Association can help provide fellowship and the continuation of links that would otherwise slip away. And as time goes on, every retiree realizes that the need for friends, good friends, real friends, is increasing.
Benefits of Joining WURA
- Social - Maintain contacts with other retired university colleagues
- Financial and Health - Protection of retirees’ interests through Windsor University Faculty Association (WUFA) membership
- Professional – Take advantage of benefits the University offers only to retirees who are members of WURA
Meet your friends at WURA functions at the Freed Orman Commons where parking is free for the occasion:
- Annual December Holiday luncheon
- Spring & Fall General meetings
- Annual University President’s Tea every spring for all retirees
- Annual Retirees - Reunion Dinner, where WURA Sponsors a Table
WURA Lobbies for Pension and Health Benefits Improvements and campus privileges for retirees through its representatives on:
- WUFA Executive, WUFA Council, WUFA Contract Committee and WUFA Pension & Benefits Committee, which allows Retirees input
- WURA Representative on the University Board of Governors’ Pension Committee
- WURA - University Joint Consultative Committee (JCC), a productive relationship with the University Senior Administration (3 WURA members with 3 senior administrators: President, Provost, and VP Human Resources
WURA membership provides:
- Retention of University Library privileges
- Retention of University E-mail service on Microsoft Outlook and Microsoft Office programs
- Optional access to LinkedIn Learning for a nominal fee of $20/year
- Travel Funds up to $ 1,000 for presenters of their ongoing academic research findings at professional conferences. (Note: Travel funds are normally only available to retired faculty and librarians for research, but attendance at a CURAC meeting would be reimbursed for non-faculty and librarian retirees.)
- 4 issues of WURA Newsletter per year, with previous issues (1 – 113) available on WURA Website: http://www1.uwindsor.ca/wura/
- Invitations to all University and WUFA events
WURA
- Maintains its website (http://www1.uwindsor.ca/wura/) with WURA activities, benefits and Newsletter
- Lists retiree achievements, honours and awards
- Supports WURA representative with travel ($500 from WUFA) to the Annual College and University Retiree Associations of Canada conference
- Is grateful to the University for office space and help with modest expenses
- Acknowledges outstanding help of University administrators with the Friends of WURA Award
- Provides 10 Retirees’ Bursaries annually at $ 2,000 each
- Has a Visitors’ Group of members to visit other retirees in need
- Maintains links for social and educational events with the University of Windsor’s Alumni Association, Uni-Com and Canterbury ElderCollege
(Note: Some WURA benefits are tied to negotiated contracts and may only be available to WURA members covered by such contracts.)