UMRA aims to keep its members connected to the university and to each other through communication, programs and events. This is easer for members living in the Ann Arbor area, since there are many events with personal interactions. Of UMRA’s 1800 members, however, at least 210 (12%) live more than one hour from Ann Arbor. Even members closer may find it difficult to get to meetings in Ann Arbor and, in addition, many members travel south in the winter months. Thus, our nonlocal membership is effectively much larger.
Many UMRA benefits can be enjoyed regardless of location. The UMRA website is a central resource for all members, UMRA News is emailed and posted online, and monthly meetings are live-streamed and recorded for on- demand viewing on the UMRA YouTube channel. Although most Shared Interest Groups (SIGs) require local attendance, the book group (UMRA Reads) and the Travel Discussion Group meet via Zoom and are recorded for all to enjoy at their leisure.
What Do Nonlocal Members Think? In 2024, the UMRA Board formed a working group to explore enhancing services for members outside the Ann Arbor area. The committee members– representing both faculty and staff– are Jack Kalbfleisch (Chair), Sharon Grayden, Al Hermsen, Lorilee McDaniel, Regina Storrs, Bill Thomas and Vijay Nair, who has recently joined. Six of the members live outside the Ann Arbor area. The committee sent questionnaires to all 171 nonlocal members for whom we had emails and 112 (65%) responded. We also surveyed a random sample of 1118 nonlocal retirees who are not members and received 261 (23%) responses. Our aim was to learn about the respondents’ interests and to increase awareness of what UMRA is doing. Reports on the two surveys are available on the UMRA website.
The Surveys Said… In the member survey. 94% reported reading the UMRA News either usually or sometimes, 94% were aware of the monthly membership meetings and 62% were aware that recordings of the presentations can be found at the UMRA YouTube channel. Only a small proportion had participated in UMRA Reads or the Travel Discussion Group, although many expressed an interest in doing so in the future. Several potential topics suggested for SIGs that could could be made available to nonlocal members were identified, with two potential SIGs garnering broad support: Healthy Aging and Current Events.
There was significant interest in forming links with the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan (AAUM), with 25% definitely interested and 48% possibly interested. As a larger organization with local clubs, the AAUM could provide personal contacts for many nonlocal retirees.
Nonmembers were less aware of UMRA activities, although most were aware of its existence. There were several comments indicating that they had appreciated the outreach and were at least considering membership. They had similar interests as the members in SIGs, and many liked the idea of links with the AAUM.
What’s Next? UMRA and AAUM are exploring potential relationships that would be advantageous to both organizations. We also plan to organize Zoom meetings for nonlocal members to provide a forum for individuals to discuss what they might like to see from the organization and–if they so wish–to provide an opportunity to become involved. We will also promote the development of SIGs that would be available to nonlocal members.
Read the results under Members Only.