Events

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

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

Event Information 

TURFA 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 TURFA members and non-members interested in attending additional events on campus are encouraged to explore Calendars & Events,  Department of Music’s Events Calendar,  College of Liberal Arts Events and TU Today.

TURFA has a special relationship with the Osher Institute for Lifelong Learning at Towson. Osher offers discounted membership and tuition fees for TURFA 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 TURFA President to share your suggestion.

  Upcoming Events

 

"In a work at once deeply learned and wonderfully accessible, the neuroscientist David Linden counters the assumption that the brain is a paragon of design – and in its place gives us a compelling explanation of how the brain's serendipitous evolution has resulted in nothing short of our humanity.  This book is a guide to the strange and often illogical world of neural function ... showing how the brain is not an optimized, general-purpose problem-solving machine, but rather a weird agglomeration of ad-hoc solutions that have been piled on through millions of years of evolutionary history." 
— APA PsychNet

"This is a terrific book that accomplishes its aim of presenting a biological view of how the brain works, and does so in a charming, fetching style."
— Joshua R. Sanes, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology, Harvard University

We hope you'll join us for a discussion of this book.

The TURFA Non-Fiction Book Group meets virtually on Zoom; the link will be sent to regular attendees the day before the meeting. We welcome new participants.

If you want to be part of the discussion and are not a member of the regular reading group, please email Jo‑Ann Pilardi () for the link.

 

 

The film is actually two distinct stories, both about the private, romantic lives of Hong Kong policemen.  The first story is film noirish in style but also comic because the male and female characters are so mismatched.  The second story is more thoroughly comic and shows how completely Hong Kong in the 1990s has been taken over by American pop culture.  Wong Kar-wai would probably agree with the famous line by German filmmaker Wim Wenders that “The Americans have colonized our unconscious.”  In Sight and Sound’s 2022 poll of the best films of all time, Chungking Express was tied for #88 with Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining.

Chungking Express can be streamed for free from TU Library Kanopy.  It is available on Max or Amazon Prime by subscription, and it can be rented for a few dollars from Amazon or other sources.  There are two DVD copies at Enoch Pratt Library.

WebEx Link:  https://towson.webex.com/towson/j.php?MTID=m00865219e06f810ecbc2cfeb6cf60ada

 

 

The event will feature a panel of experts that provisionally will include:

  • A member of the Maryland General Assembly
  • Members of the TURFA Prescription Benefits Task Force
  • Part D “navigators” from the State contractor
 

 

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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

  • August 8, 2024, from 2 – 3:30 PM: Non‐fiction Book Group Virtual Discussion – “Everyone Who Is Gone Is Here: The United States, Central America, and the Making of a Crisis”, by Jonathan Blitzer.
  • June 26, 2024, from 3 – 4:30 PM: TURFA Film Club – Virtual discussion of the film “In the Mood for Love” (Hong Kong, 2000), directed by Wong Kar-wai.
  • June 24, 2024, 10 AM – 12 Noon: Annual Retired Faculty Brunch at the TU South Campus Pavilion.
  • May 16, 2024, from 4 – 6 PM: TURFA Thirsty Thursday Happy Hour at Mucho Gusto in the Shops at Kenilworth (where Trader Joe's is) on Kenilworth Drive, Towson, Maryland.

Groups

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

TURFA 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 .

TURFA Film Group

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

TURFA 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. TURFA will support your efforts and get the word out to members.