Events

The Towson University Retiree Association (TURA) offers many events throughout the year for the enjoyment, engagement and continued edification of members. 

dan rodricks speaking
Dan Rodricks speaking at a TURA Fall Forum event.

Event Information 

TURA events are wide ranging and include such things as: timely talks on current affairs, social get-togethers, informative talks by invited speakers and by members on their areas of expertise, virtual and live tours of both on-campus and off-campus facilities, conversations with university administrators and project directors, film discussions, non-fiction book group discussions, bicycle rides and many other types of events.

Events are open to all members and typically are held all year long. Upcoming events are posted below. Event announcements and details are also sent to members via email. Frequently, members are invited to bring guests.

Both TURA members and non-members interested in attending additional events on campus are encouraged to explore Calendars & Events,  Department of Music鈥檚 Events Calendar,  College of Liberal Arts Events and .

TURA has a special relationship with the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning at Towson. Osher offers discounted membership and tuition fees for TURA members giving discounted access to classes, lectures, trips and special events.

Members are encouraged to make suggestions for events or to create interest groups. Have an idea for an event?  Email the TURA President to share your suggestion.

Upcoming Events

Please join us on Thursday, October 9 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. for a virtual discussion of the book The Woman Behind the New Deal: The Life and Legacy of Frances Perkins:  Social Security, Unemployment Insurance, and the Minimum Wage, by Kirstin Downey.  (Pub. 2009. 480 pages)

"Ms. Downey鈥檚 book offers fresh insights into a woman who profoundly influenced social welfare legislation in New York and the nation ... but has been largely forgotten as both a suffrage leader and labor advocate credited with a range of reforms, from fire escapes to Social Security, unemployment benefits to the minimum wage 鈥 Downey skillfully paints a portrait of a no-nonsense pragmatist."
鈥 New York Times, Sam Roberts, June 19, 2009.

"Arriving in Washington at the height of the Great Depression, Perkins pushed for massive public-works projects that created millions of jobs ... (and) breathed life back into the nation's labor movement ... As head of the Immigration Service, she fought to bring European refugees to safety in the United States. Her greatest triumph was creating Social Security.鈥
鈥淏ased on eight years of research, extensive archival materials, new documents and exclusive access to Perkins' family members and friends, Kirstin Downey's biography is the first complete portrait of a devoted public servant with a passionate personal life and a mother who changed the landscape of American business and society."
鈥

"Perkins was the first woman cabinet secretary (and) ... also the longest-serving labor secretary in American history, a key architect of the New Deal, and an advocate for immigrants at the helm of the Immigration Naturalization Service (INS) when it was in her department."
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  •  for a discussion of the book.
  • Questions or problems, contact book group coordinator Jo-Ann Pilardi at .

Please join us on Wednesday, October 22 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. for discussion of the documentary Faces Places (France, 2017), co-directed by Agnes Varda and the photographer JR.  When filming began in 2014, Varda was 86 and JR was 31, a strange pairing.  They visit a number of French villages and talk to people, with emphasis on the working class.  JR shoots and prints enormous photographs of ordinary people, pasting them on walls and other surfaces.  This creates an ephemeral celebrity, for the paper photos are not made to last.  Varda鈥檚 journey is layered with memories, and with reflections on aging.  For example, she visits the grave of the great photographer Henri Cartier-Bresson, whom she knew.  Another strand of the film is the developing friendship of Varda and JR鈥攃urious, unconventional artists of different generations.

Critic A. O. Scott of the New York Times described the film like this: 鈥淒espite its unassuming, conversational ethos鈥 Faces Places reveals itself as a powerful, complex and radical work.  Ms. Varda鈥檚 modesty is evidence of her mastery, just as her playful demeanor is the expression of a serious and demanding aesthetic commitment.  Almost by stealth, but also with cheerful forthrightness, she communicates a rich and challenging array of feelings and ideas. As we contemplate those faces and places we are invited to reflect on the passage of time and the nature of memory, on the mutability of friendship and the durability of art, on the dignity of labor and the fate of the European working class.鈥

Faces Places is available for free streaming on TU, Baltimore County Library, and Pratt Library Kanopy.  Baltimore County Library has 2 DVD copies.  The film can be streamed for a few dollars from Amazon Prime or YouTube.Zoom

Link: 
Meeting ID: 949 8714 8872
Passcode: 30084685

Contact Peter Lev at if you have any questions.

The guest speaker is Alison McCartney, Dean of TU鈥檚 Honors College. The topic is 鈥淐ivic Engagement in Retirement and at Towson.鈥

More details to follow.

Please join us on Thursday, November 13 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. for a virtual discussion of the book The Golden Road: How Ancient India Transformed the World, by William Dalrymple (Pub. 2025, 432 pages)

Details to follow.

Please join us on Thursday, December 11 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. for a virtual discussion of the book Class Clown: Memoirs of a Professional Wiseass, by Dave Barry.  (Pub. 2025, 256 pages)

Details to follow.

Additional Events Being Planned

  • Thirsty Thursdays
  • Discussion on topics of interest to members
  • Bicycle rides
  • Film group discussions
  • Non-fiction book group discussions

Recent Past Events

  • September 18, 4 to 6 PM: TURA Thirsty Thursday Happy Hour at Racer's Cafe, Harford Road and Taylor Avenue.
  • September 17 from 3 to 4:30 PM: TURA Film Club 鈥 Virtual Discussion of the film Yi Yi (Taiwan, 2000), directed by Edward Yang.
  • September 11 from 2 to 3:30 PM: Non鈥恌iction Book Group Virtual Discussion 鈥 How Democracies Die, by Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt.
  • June 25, 2025, from 11:30 AM to 1 PM: Office of the Presidents鈥 Luncheon to Celebrate All Retired Faculty and Staff at the TU South Campus Pavilion.

TURA Flicker Event Photos

  • Check out photos from previous events on the .

Groups

As the listing below shows, there are several active special interest groups.

TURA Non-Fiction Reading Group

This group meets regularly each month. If you are interested in participating please contact the group facilitator, Jo-Ann Pilardi at .

TURA Film Group

The film group has been meeting regularly. If you are interested in joining, please contact Peter Lev at .

TURA Bicycling Group

The bicycling group plans short rides depending on the weather. If you want to get involved, contact Jim Paulsen at .

There are plenty of opportunities to take the lead and initiate a new group. Local theater, hikes, crafts, genealogy, etc., await a member with an interest to take the lead. TURA will support your efforts and get the word out to members.