Why become a member?

The Many Benefits of Membership

Participation in the activities and services of the college extends the sense of collegiality beyond official retirement, maintains formal links with the UBC, and provides an avenue for advocacy on behalf of Emeriti. 

Activities

• Five General Meetings (including one AGM) are held each year with outstanding speakers or music, and social time to renew old friendships and make new ones.
   
• The Newsletter is distributed five times a year and has news of interest concerning colleagues, university events, and relevant current affairs. You can view past issues of the Newsletter and learn more about the college by clicking on this link.
   
• Emeriti have been appointed as Representatives for 70% of UBC’s Departments, Schools, and Library units.
   
• Three Special Interest Groups have been established: Travel, Film and Photo. Each group has a facilitator who organizes regular meetings throughout the year.
   
• Discussions of challenging topics take place once a month at Tapestry in the Philosopher's Café.
   
• Six talks per year about how an academic careers evolves at the Senior Scholars Series hosted at Green College.
   
• We encourage the formation of Chapters based on geographic location in order to meet the needs of our members in outlying areas. 

Services

• The College has established good relations with the Alumni Office, Tapestry, the Faculty Association and many units on campus. Green College, St. John’s College and the Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies have facilitated a number of our activities.
   
• The College provides advice on preparation for, and ways of taking advantage of, new opportunities during retirement.
   
• The College provides access to comprehensive travel insurance to those who seek it.
   
• The Association has been instrumental in improvements to UBC’s Extended Health Insurance with a new lifetime benefit limit of $200,000, and a direct pay prescription drug card to activate the benefits program at the time of purchase and the College will continue to do so.
   
• Membership includes eligibility for a special discount in CARP, the Canadian Association of Retired Persons, a major lobby group in Ottawa for senior citizens.