As YURA co-presidents we welcome you to the YURA website; here you will find information about our organization and its events and activities, along with details about social outings as well as learning and volunteer opportunities. We aim to provide relevant information about wellness and well-being during retirement. We all strive for the goal of “thriving in retirement”, while simultaneously learning to navigate the inevitable challenges. We are proud to have one of the most active university retirees’ associations in Canada, with over 450 retired staff and faculty/librarian members.
The current year is a very special one for YURA as we celebrate our 40th anniversary, marking four decades from 1986 to 2026. The theme of our reception and luncheon on May 13, 2026 was “Celebrating our past and present and inspiring our future”. The event, attended by over 100 members and many special invited guests, gave us a wonderful opportunity to remember what YURA has accomplished over the past four decades and to honour those who made it happen. We also took the opportunity to reflect on the four pillars that inform YURA’s planning: connecting, learning, giving back and strengthening the voice of retirees at York University. We created a poster board for each decade with photos as well as information about YURA, about York, and about events and happenings in Canada and the world. We also created poster boards to celebrate the impressive contributions of Senior Scholars and YURA’s outstanding record of fund-raising and supporting York and its students. Collectively, the posters re-create a sense of the four decades during which YURA has supported retirees and actively engaged them in the life of the York University community. We think you will enjoy viewing the poster contents and photo gallery of our 40th anniversary event on this site -- click here.
YURA has a “home” on campus in the form of our office space in the Lorna Marsden Honour Court. We invite YURA members to come and see our office with its abundance of natural light, during office hours (Tues/Wed/Thurs between 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., September through June). We thank our Office Volunteers and all the members of our hard-working Executive Committee for their support and active participation. We encourage you to click on the tab “About YURA” and then on “Executive Committee”. At the bottom of that page, you will find short biographical sketches of our Executive Committee members. The Executive meets six times per year, in addition to the Annual General Meeting held in the Fall.
We ask that you help us continue YURA’s strong tradition of “giving back” and supporting York and its students. YURA is justifiably proud of having raised sufficient funds over the decades to endow a series of awards; we are very moved by the messages of gratitude we have received from recipients of our awards. Our current initiative is a collaboration with the York Libraries to provide study pods for students. Our annual YURA Challenge walk will take place on the Keele campus on Tuesday October 6th. Details about this YURA Challenge and how to donate can be found by clicking here.
YURA has other ways of “giving back” and supporting York and its students. As mentioned above, Senior Scholars continue their scholarship and publications and thus enhance the reputation of the university. Many YURA members act as “research subjects” in various projects undertaken by researchers at the York University Centre for Aging Research and Education. Other members serve on panels to provide feedback and mentoring-- all very important and rewarding activities.
Please take a few minutes to explore this website. There are many photos, including of our 40th anniversary event, and last year’s YURA Challenge Walk and reception for new and current retirees. YURA is fortunate to have a robust set of communication tools, including this website, an e-mail listserv, and YURA’s quarterly newsletter. We are delighted to have a sizable group of members interested in planning activities. As plans get finalized, the calendar of events on this website will be updated. Also posted on this calendar are events to which YURA members are invited that are offered by York University and by other universities and retirees’ associations, many of which are online. We invite you to bookmark the YURA website and to check it regularly.
We encourage all YURA members to renew their membership, to suggest to their newly retired colleagues that they join YURA, and to participate in events and activities with fellow retirees. We look forward to seeing you in person or online at an upcoming YURA activity.