2024 grants for retirees
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program is an annual competition with applications accepted October 1 to December 31. It provides financial support for University retirees to continue scholarship or pursue new projects. Retirees from all five campuses within the U of M System are eligible whether or not they are members of UMRA. Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available.
Since 2009, PDGR grants have been awarded to more than 110 retirees. Recent award recipients have focused on projects as varied as insect biodiversity in Ecuador, Minnesota's human rights stories, and temper outbursts in psychiatrically referred youth. You can find more information about the program, including the instructions for applying for 2024 funding, at umra.umn.edu > Serving You > Grants for Retirees. Please consider making an application.
If you have previously contributed to the PDGR program, thank you for your support. If you have not yet contributed or, if you would like to make another tax-deductible contribution, you can do so online at z.umn.edu/PDGR.
You can also make a tax-efficient gift from an IRA if you are age 70½ or older. Contact Lynn Praska, senior planned giving officer, U of M Foundation, at [email protected] or 612-624-4158.
Email John Bantle, MD, PDGR Committee chair, if you have questions or suggestions for the grant program.
News
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2024–25 will be conducted via an online poll from May 13 to 19, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 21. Look for the ballot in your email inbox on May 13. Diane Young has been nominated to be president-elect.
“I convinced myself I could handle this problem without support groups or doing additional research, but that’s only because I didn’t want to make it any more real than it already was. Denial comes in many forms, and one is to avoid thinking about the problem any more than need be.” —Alice A. Larson
Meet UMRA member Peter Moe. He retired in 2023 after a career that spanned nearly half a century at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and is credited with developing the “Arb” into one of the few in the U.S. with world-class fruit and landscape breeding programs.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC) has welcomed two new members with valuable skills and experience to the URVC Leadership Council: Lynn Slifer and Jeanne Jacobson.
The University plans to remove retirees from the @umn.edu internet identity domain on December 7. UMRA has advocated for ensuring continued access to this identity (including email, Google Workspace, and associated services), citing University retirees’ enduring contributions to and engagement with the University. Thus far, our efforts have not prompted any change of plans.
Leading the online Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays has been a labor of love for Kris Bettin. Alas, a change in family needs has necessitated her retirement. So, JOIE is seeking a new leader to join a savvy editorial committee of five and bring fresh ideas for continued development of the UMRA-sponsored journal.
If you’re looking for an opportunity to explore your photographic interests, hone your photographic skills, and hear what other retirees are up to, the UMRA Photo Club is a great place to be. We have fun! And whatever your skill level, there is room for everybody.
Soon you will receive an email or letter inviting you to renew your UMRA membership for the 2024–25 year. Please renew before you get busy with your summer activities. Your support helps to make our programs and many other member benefits possible!
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: