Pour yourself a big cup of coffee (or other preferred morning beverage) and log-in to visit with former York colleagues and co-workers.
The YURA Café takes place the second Tuesday of the month at 10:00 a.m. An announcement about each month’s Café, including the Zoom link, will be circulated by e-mail to YURA members several days before the session
Hosted by Fran Wilkinson, professor emerita of psychology, these sessions provided an opportunity for members to share concerns and information, and to discuss topics of importance to retirees.
Continue reading for highlights of our latest YURA Cafés!
Re-Cap of Fall 2025-Winter 2026 Sessions
At the September 9th session, we shared views about the return to the five-day in-the-office workweek, which has been mandated by the Provincial government, the major banks and many corporations. There was also discussion about participants’ summer activities and forthcoming YURA events. At our October 14th Café, we heard about plans for YURA's 40th Anniversary from members of the planning committee; participants provided commentary and additional ideas. At our November session, Dr. Fran Wilkinson presented information about vaccinations for seniors and commentary was exchanged about the federal budget and ongoing trade tensions. At our December 9th Café, Dr. Harvey Skinner led a discussion on graceful aging.
The monthly YURA Café continued on January 13th with an interesting discussion about New Year's resolutions, plans for YURA's 40th Anniversary celebration on May 13th and topics for future YURA Café sessions.
On February 10th, with the 2026 Winter Olympics underway, Patricia Murray (former Vice-President, Canadian Olympic Committee) and Cindy Hughes (athletic therapy team member and chief at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Games) shared some of their experiences and insights about some of what goes on "behind the scenes" at the Olympic Games.
At the YURA Café on March 10th, special guest Dr. Ron Pearlman, University Professor Emeritus of Biology, gave a fascinating talk about mRNA vaccines, the science behind them, their efficacy and their safety; he also reflected on current attitudes towards vaccines and the effects of politicization.
The April Cafe took place on Tuesday, April 21, 2026 and featured speaker Tamara Daly, Director of YU-CARE (York University Centre on Aging Research & Education) who gave a powerful presentation on “The Longevity Divide and the Political Economy of Aging” while also reflecting on the advancement of research and the work of the Centre during her term.
Re-Cap of Winter 2025 Sessions
The January 14th session focused largely on recent political developments and our reactions -- from the proroguing of our federal Parliament and the resignation of Prime Minister Trudeau, to the Trump inauguration and tariff threats and other menacing actions being directed at Canada, to the possibility of an Ontario election before the upcoming federal one. We also introduced the element of story telling at the end of the session where a couple of interesting experiences were shared.
On February 11th, the YURA Café discussed the six dimensions of "resilience in retirement" as presented by Dr. Donald Meichenbaum at the CURAC conference held in May 2024 (click here, then scroll down to watch the video recording). The March 11th session was an open discussion about current political developments, ranging from Doug Ford's re-election in Ontario to the launch of the tariff war with the US, to international concerns following Trump and Vance’s ambush of Zelensky, and the resurging popularity of the federal Liberals here at home, and the emergence of Mark Carney as successor to Justin Trudeau as Canadian prime minister.
The final session of the YURA Café for the 2024-2025 cycle was held via Zoom on Tuesday, April 8th. Our guest was Professor Susan Murtha of the Faculty of Health who reported on her course dealing with seniors learning new technology, in which some YURA members had participated. The outcomes and observations of her students' work were particularly interesting and will inform future studies.
We hope to resume the monthly YURA Café in the Fall 2025. YURA members will be notified on this website and by e-mail of the dates for the Fall sessions.
Re-cap of Fall 2024 Sessions
At the September 10th session, the new editors of the YURA Newsletter, Steve Glassman and Richard Weisman, shared some of their plans for the publication and participants offered comments and suggestions. {The Fall issue of the YURA Newsletter, the first produced by Steve and Richard, was circulated in late September.} Ideas for topics for future Café sessions were raised and discussed.
On October 8th, Shayne Dunkley, from the University's Pension & Benefits office, attended to answer questions and provide information about post-retirement benefits and pension administration. The session was well attended and there was a helpful exchange of comments and information. Toward the end of the session, Diane Woody, YURA Co-President and events chair, sounded out participants about possible future outings and events for YURA members. Those YURA members who indicated an interest in helping with events on their membership form will be contacted about a forthcoming planning meeting.
At the Café session on November 12th, participants shared their perspectives on the results of the US election. Much commentary focused on the likely set-back for progress that has been made on environment concerns and the impact of four years of environmental neglect on future generations.
The final YURA Café for 2024 held on December 10 offered a mix of topics ranging from libraries and artificial intelligence to resilience and hopefulness. Ideas for the Café sessions early in 2025 were also discussed.