UMRA recently joined the Retired Professors Associations Network (RPAN) as a founding member. This an association of emeriti faculty from universities around the world. The RPAN emerged from the Professors Emeriti Network which has been meeting since 2021. A panel discussion Zoom meeting was held on November 19, 2025 with four retirement associations making presentations on what their associations do. Al Hermsen served on this panel to present information about UMRA. 32 retirees from universities from around the world joined the meeting and were impressed with all UMRA does. Three attendees contacted Al after the meeting to find out more about UMRA programs.
From the meeting on November 19 the group decided to establish the RPAN and already established a website which can be viewed at https://eregion.eu/retired-professors-associations-network/. The RPAN theme is “Age builds wisdom, Community carries it forward”. The purpose of RPAN is to support collaboration, sharing of experiences and knowledge, innovation, stakeholder engagement, and data management. This is essential for managing the complexity and challenges of the digital landscape and leveraging the benefits of technology for organizational success. The advantages of an organizational network include flexibility, simplified collaboration, resource utilization, knowledge and data sharing.
Network members will be looking for the answers to the following questions:
- Which associations of retired professors want their members to e-collaborate with members of other associations?
- How does the association help professors retain their university email accounts after retirement?
- How easy is it to find out about the activities of the association on the association’s website?
- How is the association of retired professors organized? What is the association doing to encourage and organize the involvement of retired colleagues?
On-line meetings will be scheduled to discuss these issues.A number of website connections which might be of interest to emeriti faculty have already been posted to the RPAN website.
More information will be provided as the RPAN progresses.
If you have any questions about the Retired Professors Association Network contact Al Hermsen at [email protected]
Cc: Retired Professors Associations Network