As you may have seen in our newsletter and on this website, the UMRA board is collaborating with the university’s office of Government Relations and the U of MN Alumni Association to gain support for the 2017 legislative funding request. This is a CRITICAL TIME and YOUR HELP IS NEEDED NOW!  Click on the following link from the Office of Government Relations to see more about the status of the budget recommendations and what you can do to contact your legislators: z.umn.edu/act2017

Do you have any experience with either Survey Monkey or Qualtrics software for doing surveys? The Workshop Committee needs your help to assist with an upcoming survey. If you can help, please contact Ron Anderson, rea@umn.edu.

The Industry of Souls by Martin Booth, published by Picador Macmillan, 1998. Available through Amazon (both print and Kindle) and in a Nook book at Barnes and Noble. Review by Pat Tollefson, UMRA Cares Committee.

UMRA Care Guides are not available until further notice.  With the recent death of Dr. Robert Kane, Care Guides no longer have their mentor and supervisor available. The Care Guides have decided to stay together and will be  discussing future activities, pending new supervision.

— Earl Nolting, chair, UMRA Cares Committee

Why do people engage in the noble art of teaching?  There are undoubtedly many motivations, but the theme that seems most prevalent, and at the same time most intriguing among educators, is the love of learning. “To teach is to learn twice,”  and “Who dares to teach must never cease to learn.” 

The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Minnesota is an organization of lifelong learners whose passion for knowledge and understanding is a driving force in their lives.  Put them together...

New UMRA Newsletter needs writers and editors

If you like to write, enjoy editing, or if you can assist with collecting incoming news, please join us. If you like the idea of an e-newsletter and want to help combine our website information with an e-news function, we need you! Read on.

The UMRA Cares Committee

In the process of reorganizing and expanding in new directions, the Cares group needs volunteers to help us plan and develop a variety of initiatives to assist UMRA members.  Read on.

Richard Poppele retired in 2006 from the Department of Neuroscience. Dick has served on UMRA’s Grants committee and will chair the committee in 2017–18.

Claudia Parliament retired in 2015 after 30 years as a faculty member in the Department of Applied Economics in CFANS. In retirement she continues her interest in synchronized swimming through coaching, judging, and competing.

The Board of Directors presents the following slate for your approval:

For Officers:
President:  Chip Peterson (will automatically move from his current position as President-elect to President)

President-elect: Gerald Rinehart

Secretary:         Judy Garrard 
Treasurer          Carl Adams (continuing his service)

For Board of Directors:
Vernon Cardwell 
Cathy Gierke
Jeanne Markell (for second three-year term) 
Claudia Parliament
Richard Poppele

Festive Luncheon features your choice among four entrées

Please be sure to indicate your menu selection when you make your reservations.

Reservation Deadline Wednesday May 17

Gerald Rinehart retired in 2013 after 10 years as the University’s vice provost and dean of students and 20 years as the Carlson School of Management (CSOM) assistant dean of students, where  he spearheaded its successful conversion from an upper division to a freshman-admitting college.

Carl Adams retired in 2013 from the faculty of Information and Decision Sciences in the Carlson School of Management (CSOM).  Carl has served on the UMRA Board since May 2014 and as Treasurer 2015–17.

Judy Garrard was a psychologist and faculty member in the health sciences at the University for 44 years, prior to retiring in 2015. Throughout her career, she was active in faculty governance at the school and University levels, including chair of FCC.

Vernon Cardwell retired (2012) from the Department of Agronomy and Plant Genetics, College of Food, Agriculture and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS). A Morse-Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor, he taught for 45 years.

Cathy Lee Gierke grew up in Minnesota, riding and training horses, fishing, and reading voraciously. Cathy helped develop the current UMRA website and serves on UMRA’s Communication Task Force.

Jeanne Markell retired in July 2009 from a 40-year career at the University of Minnesota. Jeanne has served one term on the UMRA board beginning in 2014.

This past month both Donna Peterson, as president of UMRA, and Karen Hansen, executive vice president and provost, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which formalizes our agreement to support and further the respective missions, goals, and programs for both organizations.  In the picture, President Peterson signs the Memorandum of Understanding in the Provost’s Office.

Because some UMRA members have encountered a full parking ramp when attempting to attend a luncheon, UMRA has negotiated the opportunity to reserve parking spaces in the East River Road Ramp. This is a pilot program, just for the remainder of the meetings this spring, after which PTS and UMRA will evaluate how well it has worked. 

To make a reservation, contact Judy Leahy Grimes at jleahy4654@aol.com or 651-698-4387 on or before the Thursday preceding the luncheon.