HELLO, my name is Russell Luepker
Hometown: I was born and raised on the south side of Chicago in a community called Roseland, where Barack Obama was later a community organizer.
When did you join UMRA? Two years ago.
What was your very first job? I worked as a stock boy for Alliance Leather Novelties on the west side of Chicago. My duties were many.
What was your occupation when you retired from FT work? I was Mayo Professor of Public Health. I was teaching two classes in clinical research and leading NIH studies. I also served on and chaired local, national, and international professional committees.
What inspired you to combine medicine and public health? My father died suddenly at age 51 due to hypertension. As I completed my training in cardiology, I decided to focus on hypertension at the population level. This combined medicine and epidemiology.
Describe a pivotal time or person who influenced the course of your career. I spent a year during medical school as an NIH research fellow in Sweden with Professor Edvard Varnauskas, head of cardiology at Göteborgs universitet. He taught me the scientific method. I was also fortunate to have Paul Yu, at the University of Rochester School of Medicine, Richard Warbasse at Johns Hopkins, and Eugene Braunwald at Harvard as mentors.
If you could learn a new skill, what would you like it to be? Or, if you were an Olympic athlete, what would you like your sport to be? I would like to speak a foreign language better. Basketball, a team sport.
Do you have a favorite place on the U of M campus? I like my office at WBOB [West Bank Office Building].
What is a fun fact about you we might not know? I have chartered sailboats around the world with friends from Tonga, Tahiti, New Zealand, Seychelles, Turkey, and many other places.
What is something you currently enjoy doing with your time? We now have our 17-year-old grandson living with us. Raising teens again.
News
For 2023 grant year, the UMRA PDGR Committee reviewed 10 applications for Professional Development Grants for Retirees. The applications covered a diverse set of topics and goals. The PDGR Committee recommended that nine be funded in April 2023. The recipients represented the Morris and Twin Cities Campus. The awardees and grant abstracts are listed on the 2023 PDGR Abstracts page.
In mid-July, a hacker on the “dark web” claimed they had gained access to University records with more than seven million Social Security numbers. Here’s what you can do if you are concerned about the security of your records and online identity.
Meet UMRA member Paul Ranelli, a man of many talents. His LinkedIn profile identifies him as professor emeritus, Santa Claus, photographer, voice talent, and public address announcer. Funny AND educated!
With this year’s World Series coming up soon, UMRA member Ron Matross is savoring memories of sharing America’s pastime with his son at the old Metrodome in downtown Minneapolis in the 1980s. Those were glory days for the Minnesota Twins.
UMRA members have logged nearly 200 hours of volunteer service to the University and broader community through the Silver Gopher Service Corps since its launch six months ago.
How I learned, this summer, that my great aunt, one of my paternal grandfather’s sister, was included in a fresco at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. As far as I know she is the only relative of mine who is part of a fresco anywhere in the world.
Meet UMRA member Joni Mitchell, no relation to the “other” Joni Mitchell but there is an interesting connection.
Applications for UMRA’s 2024 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition will be accepted beginning October 1. Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available.
Sneak Preview Days have been happening at the University for many years. This year, adding 18 UMRA Silver Gopher Service Corps volunteers put a new twist on the welcome. Who better to provide a friendly greeting and lend a helping hand than those of us who have spent our careers at the University?
One of the great benefits that come with UMRA membership is the discounted rate for parking in University parking facilities. Forgotten whether you’ve already renewed your UMRA membership for 2023–24? It’s easy to check online.
Eric Hockert and Ron Matross represented UMRA at the 2023 Big Ten Retirees Association Conference held at UW–Madison in late July. They enjoyed sharing ideas and practices with the other conference attendees, and came away with several ideas worth pursuing.
The UMRA Board has selected Midland Hills Country Club in Roseville as the location for five of our in-person luncheon forums in the coming year, in part because of the high marks those who attended last year’s forums gave the location for its food, service, and easy and free parking.
As retirees, we are all learning to adapt to a world that seems to change on a daily basis. So, the editorial committee of the Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays (JOIE) is inviting UMRA members to share their thoughts on resilience via a short essay.