NEWS

HELLO, my name is Paul Ranelli

Hometown: Born in New Haven, Connecticut. Raised in Old Saybrook, Connecticut.

When did you become a member of UMRA? Soon after I retired in January 2022.

What was your very first job? Father’s community pharmacy. Started about age 10, doing 10-year-old things.

Where were you on November 22, 1963? In Old Saybrook, in our public-school classroom; an announcement came over the loudspeaker. Early dismissal. I was a walker to school. I went home and was glued to the TV for days.

What was your occupation when you retired from FT work? I was a professor at the University of Minnesota's College of Pharmacy, social pharmacy specialty. I was based on the college's Duluth campus for all my time with the University, just shy of 20 years.

What sparked your interest in using the arts to illustrate how medications impact patients’ lives? I was looking for unique ways to communicate with patients, practitioners, and health science students, including student pharmacists, about the complexity associated with medication-taking. The theater and visual arts have been where I've put my energy over the last 10 years of my career. I've had several projects hit the stage or exhibit space.

Do you have a favorite place on the U of M campus? When I come to the Twin Cities, I like Scholars Walk. On the UMD campus, I like the view of Lake Superior and the campus from my perch in the Malosky Stadium Press Box. That’s where I do public address announcing for the UMD women's soccer team.

What is a fun fact about you we might not know? I did community theater in Shawano, Wisconsin, when I was a practicing pharmacist for the Menominee Tribal Clinic in Keshena. One role: played Felix Unger in The Odd Couple.

Paul Ranelli, as Santa Claus

What is something you currently enjoy doing with your time? In addition to my UMD public address announcing (women’s soccer and softball), I do voice overs, too. My photography. And, last but not least, I perform as Santa Claus for the Christmas City Express program at the Lake Superior Railroad Museum in Duluth.


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News

For the 2026 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee received eight new applications. The PDGR Committee selected six for funding. See the awardees and grant abstracts on the 2026 PDGR Abstracts page.

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UMRA’s 2026 grants for retirees will help to support scholarly and creative projects focused on art, architecture, creativity in children, public humanities, understanding human aggression, and volunteerism.

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The University Regents’ meeting on February 13 began with heartfelt remarks from Regent Joel Bergstrom regarding the damage inflicted on Minnesota by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement violence.

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The University Retirees Volunteer Center offers a variety of opportunities to be of help. “We all want to help stressed communities during this difficult time in Minnesota,” says Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, URVC’s liaison to Neighborhood House, which is providing emergency groceries and other necessities to St. Paul families worried about their safety.

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Meet UMRA member and stalwart treasurer Kristy Frost-Griep, a Renaissance woman who learned the value of hard work and the importance of customer service as a young teen, working in the family business.

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Planning is already well underway for UMRA to host this year’s annual meeting of the Big Ten Retirees Association in late July on the U of M Twin Cities campus in Minneapolis.

 

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