HELLO, my name is George Swan
Hometown. I was born in Minneapolis. I grew up in Christmas Lake near Excelsior (childhood, the 50s) and in Minot, North Dakota, and La Crosse, Wisconsin (adolescence, the 60s).
What was your very first job? My first job was at 12 or 13, delivering Sunday Minneapolis Tribunes in Minot.
What was your occupation when you retired from full-time work? I was in an "office specialist" support staff position in collection development at Wilson Library with University of Minnesota Libraries.
When did you join UMRA? Pretty soon after retirement in 2021.
Over your 30+ years at the Libraries, your work there must have evolved a lot with the advances in information technology. Can you give us a sense of the changes you experienced?
The change from 1990 to 2021 was, at first, the offloading of a significant part of the work from the mainframe computing systems onto PCs (through the 90s), and then the gradual "re-centralization" through the internet onto cloud computing through the 2000s and 2010s. Computing only added another dimension to the realm of the Libraries. The hidden, unique nooks and crannies are still there.
According to the cover story of the August 2026 issue of The Atlantic, "The Age of Reading is Over." What do you think?
The Horowitch article is interesting and thought provoking but also maddening, like [Yuval Noah] Harari’s Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind is maddening when he seems to infuse a bit of personification into the process of natural selection. I haven't finished The Atlantic article yet; I shouldn't say more. And, full disclosure: I read for several hours every day, so my viewpoint is prejudiced. I also confess to visiting one or another of the libraries on campus on average at least twice a week.
Digital or paper? Both. It's about equal.
Do you have a favorite place on campus? There are "favorite places" and then there are !Favorite Places! The most personally favorite places trigger a creative moment—a poem, a feeling or mood, or a memory. I cannot predict where or when I will encounter those. But in my role as a student/retired University person, I would point to Scholars Walk, the Architecture Library’s north wing, the Great Hall on the second floor of Walter Library, or one of the lounges on the third floor of Wilson Library. There are so many places. It depends on one's mood.
What is a fun fact about you that we might not know? I have enjoyed swimming for recreation all my life. A three-stroke freestyle is second nature to me, but I hate flip turns. Also, I like learning languages.
What do you currently enjoy doing with your time? I enjoy getting to campus early in the morning to spend time reading and doing a little bit of writing, and about an hour or so of exercise at the RecWell Center sometime during the day, and, during the school year, I like to take at least one class a semester.
News
Declining government funding, inflation, loss of purchasing power, low birthrates, and lack of trust in the nation’s institutions have combined to create a confidence crisis in higher education not seen for decades. Minnesota is no exception.
Since its inception 40 years ago, the University Retirees Volunteer Center has focused on identifying where help is needed within the University community and has provided opportunities for thousands of retirees to use their skills, experience, and interests to help address those needs.
Meet UMRA member Nancy Carpenter. She grew up in the American heartland; nevertheless, she was surprised by the frigid, snow-covered landscape when she visited Minnesota for the first tine to interview for a job teaching chemistry at UMN Morris.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees are intended to support projects related to University of Minnesota retirees' research, instructional or work history, or new scholarly interests that contribute to the academic reputation of the University.
After working decades in communications for the U’s Center for Transportation Studies, Pam Snople perks up whenever she sees transportation news. It’s usually the salacious stuff that makes the headlines. But, behind the scenes, vehicle automation research keeps rolling along — including key work by UMN researchers.
Renée Good was killed in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge. One month later, a community memorial to mourn her death and celebrate her life was held. Susan Ranney attended the ceremony and wrote an evocative essay on the service, which was published recently in UMRA’s Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays.
Professor Emeritus Alan Kagan has played many roles in his nearly 30 years of service with the University Retirees Volunteer Center. From assisting with phone calls to becoming office manager and eventually serving on and chairing the Volunteer Center’s board, Kagan helped build the organization into the robust operation it is today.
We’re already getting organized to identify and recruit members to step into leadership roles in 2027. As a well-informed and engaged UMRA member, you are invited to play a role in the process.
I’ve been an UMRA member for more than a decade and each year I’m impressed anew by the energy and dedication of the volunteers who do the work of the organization. I invite you to join in their efforts. But if that’s not possible, there’s something else you can do to help support UMRA: Renew your membership.
You don’t have to go far, and you don’t have to drink coffee. It’s the conversation that matters. It’s a new, experimental effort being organized by the wizards of UMRA; a meet-up of members who live in the same zip code.
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.
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: