Grant application reminder
December 31 is the application deadline for next year’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR). All University of Minnesota retirees from the Twin Cities, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, and Crookston campuses who are eligible for University retirement benefits and who will be fully retired by the time of their award may apply for grants.
Awards will not usually exceed $3,000 unless a student mentee is part of the proposal, in which case an award of $4,000 or more will be considered. The Application Instructions (linked below) provide information about project requirements and how to apply. Approved proposals will be announced in February 2022. Awards will start on April 1, 2022, and extend to June 30 of the following year.
UMRA recently initiated an ambitious campaign with the goal of building a substantial reserve fund for our PDGR program. One can make a contribution online or support this fund with a future gift. For more information about an estate gift, please contact Lynn Praska at the University of Minnesota Foundation, [email protected] or 612-624-4158.
“Impact of PDGR program is deep and wide,” a summary of some of the things accomplished with previous awards, can be found on the UMRA website. Anyone with questions or suggestions should email John Bantle, MD.
—John Bantle, MD, UMRA Grants Committee chair
News
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2025–26 will be conducted via an online poll from May 12 to 18, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 20. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt leads the slate of nominees as president-elect. She came to the University of Minnesota in 1989 as a professor and associate dean, and retired in 2018.
On April 30, the UMRA Board of Directors sent a letter to University of Minnesota President Rebecca Cunningham and Provost Rachel Croson expressing the Board's support for the University admnistration as it confronts the legal, ethical, and moral challenges created by the current federal leadership.
Meet UMRA member and statistics Professor Emeritus Sandy Weisberg. His work in “regression analysis” is the direct ancestor of predictive artificial intelligence. His first job was renting televisions to patients in the now-defunct Queen of Angels Hospital in Los Angeles.
The UMRA-sponsored Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays is seeking a new editor-in-chief who can promote the e-publication, solicit authors, and ensure JOIE’s continued success.
Volunteer work is usually evaluated according to “replacement rate” figures based on hourly wages. But the data on hours contributed and people served are just the notes on the page; the music is in the human spirit behind and beyond them.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center Leadership Council has elected two new members, including UMRA member Scott Elton (pictured), and re-elected four members for second, three-year terms.
UMRA is excited to announce the launch of a new member portal in late April. This web-based, member management software system is hosted by a company called WildApricot and will replace the current member portal at retirees.umn.edu, where you currently renew your membership and sign up for events.
The new portal simplifies and more efficiently manages many essential tasks for UMRA, including enrolling new members, updating member records, registering event attendees, and processing payments.