December 2021
Greetings
Year-end greetings from the Board of Directors of the UVA Retired Faculty Association. As 2021 is coming to a close, we hope you are doing well and continuing to enjoy retirement despite the ongoing challenges presented by the pandemic. As we look forward with a bit of optimism to a new year, we wanted to continue to reach out to all retired faculty to make sure we stay connected and keep you informed regarding our future activities. As retired colleagues, we encourage your continued interest and involvement in our association and with what is going on at the University.
Seminars on Ethics in the time of Covid-19 on Zoom
Although we have missed having the opportunity to meet in person, we are grateful that we have been able to continue to provide our monthly virtual Zoom presentations, all of which are available on our website with a closed caption option. Looking ahead, we want to call your attention to a new opportunity: the option of participating in a series of small virtual seminars following our January virtual zoom presentation. On January 10, 2022, Emeritus Professor James Childress will be making a very timely presentation titled “Ethics in the time of Covid-19.” Subsequent to his presentation, Jim has graciously agreed to offer four small seminars on different topics related to Covid-19. You will have the option of participating in one or more of these seminars. Detailed information regarding the presentation and the seminars is on James’ presentation page.
Possible Live Presentation by President Ryan
We have recently learned that the President’s office is cautiously optimistic that his presentation to retired faculty on March 21, 2022, might be an in-person event. What a welcome change that would be. We will keep you informed as we learn more. We are also discussing the possibility of hosting an outdoor in-person retired faculty event in the spring, assuming it is safe to do so and there is sufficient interest.
Cautious Optimism About Returning to Live Meetings
Needless to say, planning continues to be challenging as we approach a new year. We understand how difficult it is to stay connected without being able to get together in person, so we are anxious to return to in-person events as soon as it is safe to do so. Like the President’s office, we too are cautiously optimistic going forward despite the concerns over the new Omicron variant. We hope you will continue to stay connected and be involved with us. To best stay in touch, please ensure that your contact information is up to date.
Stay Involved With Us
As you know, we have suspended dues again this year. Our thanks to those of you who have made donations to help us cover our out-of-pocket costs. Please keep us in mind as you consider your year-end charitable contributions. We welcome your questions, comments and suggestions. Be well.
Warm regards,
UVARFA Board of Directors
Richard Brownlee-President
Kathryn Thornton-Vice-President