February 2016 Luncheon Speaker
Tue, February 23 2016, 11:30am
Campus Club ABC
UMRA welcomes, as our February luncheon speaker, senior Vice President for academic affairs and Provost Karen Hanson. Since Dr. Hanson took her position on the Twin Cities campus in 2012, UMRA leaders have been interested in her perspectives on how the University and its retirees can be mutually supportive of one another.
Coming to her position here was a homecoming for her. She received her bachelor of arts, summa cum laude, in philosophy and mathematics from the University of Minnesota in 1970. Following graduation, she went on to earn both her master’s and doctoral degrees in philosophy from Harvard University, completing the doctorate in 1980.
Prior to returning to Minnesota, Dr. Hanson served as provost at the Bloomington campus of Indiana University and executive vice president of that university from July 2007 to January 2012. In February of 2012 she came back to Minnesota as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost.
Provost Hanson’s research interests are in the philosophy of mind, ethics and aesthetics, and American philosophy. She has published many articles and essays in these areas and is the author of the book The Self Imagined: Philosophical Reflections on the Social Character of Psyche and a co-editor of the book Romantic Revolutions: Criticism and Theory.
Active in the work of her profession, she was twice elected to the executive committee of the Central Division of the American Philosophical Association (APA) and to the APA National Board of Officers. She served as chair of the APA Board, 2004—05. From 1993 to 1997, she served as the APA delegate to the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and as a member of the ACLS Executive Committee.
Dr. Hanson has been an associate editor of the Journal of Social Philosophy, a member of the editorial board of American Philosophical Quarterly, and a trustee for the American Society for Aesthetics. Her current editorial board memberships include Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews and Cognito. She is an officer of the John Dewey Foundation board and member of the Peirce Edition Project advisory board.
During her tenure here, Dr. Hanson has played a central role in the development of the Strategic Plan for the University. That plan has received the attention and response from UMRA’s Past President John Adams. Adams’s response to Provost Hanson has concentrated on ways that retirees could aid the University in achieving many of the goals of the plan. He will introduce Provost Hanson at the February luncheon.
— Hal Miller, Past President and Program Committee member
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.