(From the UIRA President Ed Dove's column in the November 2022 Gray Hawk)

Last month I stated that since its formation in 1995, the UIRA has had no formal affiliation with the University of Iowa, i.e., UIRA has operated independently of the university. All the work of UIRA has been performed by volunteer UIRA members. The UIRA has funded all its programs and events through the annual dues and other volunteer monies collected from its members. 

I am happy to inform everyone that the UIRA Board of Directors has reached an agreement with the University of Iowa (UI) and University Human Resources (UHR). The agreement is outlined in a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that was signed on Oct. 6, 2022. 

The signatories were Laura McLeran, Cheryl Reardon, and me. Laura is the senior advisor to UI President Barbara Wilson and associate vice president. Cheryl is the university's chief HR officer and associate vice president. I signed on behalf of UIRA. The UIRA expressed its gratitude to President Wilson for her support for this initiative, and to Laura and Cheryl for their hard work.

Briefly, UI and UHR commit to fund a 25% FTE effort of an individual (presently Kellie Digmann) to provide administrative support to UIRA. UI and UHR further commit to redesign the UIRA website and to modernize our communication capabilities. UIRA commits to provide content for communications and to continue to raise funds for the UIRA Scholarship Fund. We will continue to contribute to the Student Food Pantry and the Student Life Emergency Fund. UIRA will provide the university opportunities to request aid or support from UIRA with problems as they occur, such as recently identified problems with the Student Food Pantry.

These changes will be a huge benefit for us. For example, Kellie will maintain membership records, support communication with UIRA members, and recruit new members as they retire from the university. The university's IT and Finance departments will provide the capability to pay dues with charge or debit cards. Those who must pay dues by check will be accommodated. (Dues will remain at $10 per annum.) Recent problems with our email Listserv system will disappear.

These changes will help UIRA move forward and be even more effective in providing many new opportunities and helpful information for our members. Though at this time there will be no changes required of the UIRA membership, the changes will come soon, but they will be carefully explained.

Thank you to the members of the Board of Directors for taking on this challenging initiative. Once again this demonstrates that participation in our committees’ work can be personally satisfying, and an effective way of contributing to our fellow retiree colleagues. Feel free to contact me if you have questions, suggestions, or comments.