Event Summary Archives

The November 2021 UMRA A.M. audience was treated to an exceptional presentation on the international education of students at the University of Minnesota by Meredith McQuaid, associate vice president and dean of international programs.

If we keep to current trends in carbon dioxide emissions, unmitigated by responsible action, Minnesota could become, at best, a grassland habitat, causing great disruptions throughout the ecological system, according to Lee Frelich, PhD, director of the U of M’s Center for Forest Ecology.

For those with contemporary 2021 sensibilities, "A Confederacy of Dunces"—acclaimed as a literary masterpiece after it was published posthumously in 1980—is a canonical work of modern literature, best understood as a period piece.

Vicki Gaylord's engaging presentation on strategies she has used to engage family members with their family history.

Open Enrollment for healthcare benefits available to U of M retirees is November 1-30. To clarify the bewildering array of insurance options facing us, UMRA and the U’s Office of Human Resources co-hosted a workshop that featured an overview of the Minnesota marketplace for Medicare-eligible seniors and a presentation on the U’s plans for retirees—their history, what makes them distinctive, and what plans are being offered for 2022.

In Braiding Sweetgrass, author Robin Wall Kimmerer, a trained botanist and member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, shows how other living things like plants offer us lessons to live by. The culture of gratitude is a key theme.

In a remarkably candid talk for our October 2021 UMRA A.M. webinar, Regent Emeritus Rick Beeson offered reflections on his 12 years on the Board of Regents and shared his concerns for the future of the University.

Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD, will shared the story of how the faculty, staff, and students at the University of Minnesota Medical School responded to the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented effort of adaptation, collaboration, and service.

First published in 1952, Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison is not a one-dimensional novel about racial unrest. Members of URMA’s Fourth Friday Book Club found it to be a book rich in ideas.

The UMRA Armchair Traveler Program featured a compelling presentation by Charles Muscoplat about his wife Sue's and his visits to the WWII Concentration Camps of Treblinka and Auschwitz-Birkenau in Poland and Jewish historical sites in Budapest and Prague. Lynn C. Anderson shared pictures and information about her 2019 visit to Oslo, Krokerøy, and Bergen Norway and Tanumshede, Orust, and Uddevalla Sweden.

Humphrey School Senior Fellow Jay Kiedrowski, joined by Professor and President Emeritus Robert Bruininks, a supporter of Charter for Change, discuss the proposed amendments to the Minneapolis city charter that will be on the ballot in November 2 (early voting starts September 17), and the history of Minneapolis city government.

Marcel’s Letters, by Minnesota author and graphic designer Carolyn Porter, is a fascinating journey from a small river town to war-torn Europe.

What does it take to navigate constructive relationships between the University and the sovereign nations whose histories go deep in the lands that are now the state of Minnesota?

More than a century after the timeframe of this tale of harrowing illness and intertwined heartbreak, the parallels with today’s COVID-19 pandemic and current wars struck Book Club II participants as eerie.

When Yoel Blum travels from his home in Israel to Amsterdam, where he was born, he begins a journey of finding out the many things his mother kept from him, which leads to a new understanding of who he is.

On a clear and sunny Tuesday in August, the Retirees Association held its first all-member, in-person event in more than a year. Nearly 100 members and guests gathered at the Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul to enjoy lunch and being together outdoors.

More than 50 UMRA members and guests enjoyed a delightful late afternoon together learning about wine and wine tasting and then tasting three excellent Minnesota wines.

Although at times emotionally difficult, Just Mercy is an important book about the problems of our legal system and the amazing work of the Equal Justice Initiative.

The Last Tycoon is a beautifully rendered story about the tension of a culture aspiring to creativity but dominated by cynicism, greed, and commercial imperatives.

Of all the books by John Le Carré, this novel about secrets, lies, and shifting identities is regarded as the most entertaining.

The Big Burn is an educational, breathtaking story about the largest wildfire in U.S. history, the men whose heroic actions worked to save people and land, and President Teddy Roosevelt’s embattled efforts to “save America.”

In June 2021 I talked to the UMRA Family History Interest Group about how I documented the story of my great grandfather, George Swift, who joined the 3rd Minnesota Regiment at the start of the Civil War in 1861and returned to Minnesota four years later after serving as the drummer boy of the Ohio 69th Regiment.

Although not as well-known as the author’s earlier novels The Three Musketeers and The Count of Monte Cristo, The Black Tulip by Alexandre Dumas père is a beautifully crafted novel, rich in its telling with themes of love, courage, honesty, politics, and the destructive capacity of jealousy.

In a riveting and wide-ranging address as the guest speaker for UMRA’s May 2021 Forum, Ken Powell, chair of the University of Minnesota Board of Regents, presented an optimistic view of the University and praised the leadership of President Joan Gabel.

Author Isabel Wilkerson weaves her experiences and those of others with fact and history to help the reader grasp the extensive impact the caste system has had, and continues to have, in India and the United States.

Law School Professor Stephen Befort conducted a brief master class on arbitration and provided an insightful look at the use of arbitration in police misconduct cases at our May 2021 UMRA A.M.

UMRA’s well-attended May 2021 workshop featured U of M orthopedic surgeon and researcher Ann Van Heest, MD, a leading expert on hand arthritis. She focused on the thumb, which is frequently the source of hand pain.

Sharon Stiteler, our April workshop presenter, entertained and informed us about the remarkable birds that frequent our area, particularly the thousands of crows that can be seen congregating overhead. They’re smarter than you may think.

The UMRA Family History Interest Group meeting on April 28, 2021 focused on Family Letters.

UMRA’s April 2021 Forum with Professor Michael Rodriguez was a provocative and stimulating discussion on preparing teachers—and schools—to be ready for children.