2026 BTRA Conference planning update
Plans are well underway for UMRA to host the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association (BTRA) conference this summer. The meeting will be held July 21-24 at the Graduate hotel on the Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis along with other venues on the schedule, including the Campus Club in Minneapolis and a bus tour of the campus.
My previous article provided some background and purpose for this annual meeting of the BTRA representatives. In this note I’d like to share a few, limited volunteer opportunities that may interest you:
- Create and print name tags with school logos and U of M colors.
- Staff registration table to welcome our guests. July 21 late afternoon and July 22 morning, two volunteers per day.
- Take notes during roundtable discussions July 22 and 23, three to five volunteers per day.
- Provide transportation for the companion program, driving to the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis and the Bell Museum in St. Paul on July 22 and 23.
Help with coffee breaks at the Graduate hotel on July 22, 23, and 24, morning and afternoon.
Some of these roles are filling fast. We may have additional opportunities later. If you would like to be considered for any of them, please email Eric Hockert.Our planning group has been working diligently for more than a year and includes Diane Young, Sally Kohlstedt, Kristy Frost-Griep, Russell Luepker, Kathy Jensen, and Aileen Lyle.
—Eric Hockert, BTRA Board chair and 2026 BTRA Conference Planning Group chair, [email protected]
News
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:
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
UMRA hosted delegates from 14 of the 18 schools in the Big Ten for the 2026 Big Ten Retirees Association conference in July. It was described as “the perfect collaboration” by two delegates we invited to share a few of their key takeaways from the conference.
Developing communication skills is the focus of two programs needing volunteers this fall: the “Reader/Writer Program,” assisting students in Minneapolis Public Schools grades 7-12 to develop literacy skills; and “Partners in English,” engaging in conversation with adults for whom English is not their first language.
After being unexpectedly sidelined at the outset of her retirement, Pam Snopl now enjoys doing many of the things retirees get to do, including reconnecting in person with family and friends, going to museums and weekday Minnesota Twins games, reading, and writing.
UMRA member George Swan retired in 2021 after 30+ years at University Libraries, but still returns to campus to visit one or another of the libraries at least twice a week in his current role as a student/retiree.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program is an annual competition for grants to support projects related to retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarly or creative interests.
UMRA needs everyone to renew their membership for the coming year. Thank you if you’ve already renewed! If you haven’t, please renew right away.