Events
Upcoming Events
UMRA’s spring Armchair Traveler Program from 10 to 11:30 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24, will take us to South Korea with Marilyn DeLong and to Germany with Lynn C. Anderson. Please mark your calendars and save the date.
Silk Parachute, an anthology of essays and the 40th of 44 published books by author John McPhee, will be the topic of discussion when UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club meets via Zoom from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CDT on April 26.
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.
The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
Fostering a tradition of welcome - the International Institute of Minnesota
UMRA’s 2022–23 program year got off to a wonderful start in September with Jane Graupman’s presentation on the work of the International Institute of Minnesota to help immigrants and refugees begin their lives as new Americans in our state. Conference Room ABC in the Campus Club, Coffman Memorial Union, was filled with an upbeat mood, renewed energy for the new year, and excellent food. Everyone in attendance seemed delighted to be back together in person.
The subject of the presentation by Graupman, ’84 B.A., was as timely now as it has always been throughout our country’s history. She shared a wealth of refugee facts and figures, including:
- Almost 90 million people were forcibly displaced throughout the world in 2021 including 27 million refugees, half younger than 18.
- The federal government has proposed refugee admission to the U.S. in FY23 of 125,000.
- Minnesota has resettled nearly 40,000 refugees in the last 15 years.
Graupman, who has been with the Institute for more than 30 years and has served as executive director since 2010, then described the Institute’s efforts to help refugees find affordable housing, employment, and schools.
Read about a pilot program launched by the International Institute together with the city of St. Paul to provide refugees with a guaranteed monthly income.
She concluded by mentioning the Institute’s work to develop a medical careers pathway as part of its workforce development program, a top-performing refugee resettlement program, and anti-human trafficking services that help new Americans in the state maximize their talents and become fully contributing members of American society.
During the Q&A session, when Graupman was asked what we can do to be of help, she promptly responded, “Volunteer!” Jerry Rinehart, on behalf of UMRA and the University Retirees Volunteer Center, agreed to follow up with Graupman to seek ways we can contribute to the Institute’s work with new Americans.
—Eric Hockert, UMRA Program Committee chair and president-elect
New Americans in Minnesota
Tue, September 27 2022, 11am
Jane Graupman
Executive Director
International Institute of Minnesota
Campus Club West Wing Dining Room Coffman Memorial Union
Jane Graupman, executive director of the International Institute of Minnesota, will be the guest speaker when we meet in person for UMRA’s first luncheon forum of the 2022–23 program year on Tuesday, September 27, in the Campus Club West Wing Dining Room. Plan to arrive by 11 a.m. for a buffet lunch starting at 11:15.
There were 5.61 million immigrants in Minnesota in 2019 according to a brief history of immigration published in Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. In other words, all of us should consider ourselves immigrants. The Minnesota Chamber of Commerce said in a 2021 demographic analysis that for the state to experience meaningful population growth in the future it will need to come from international migration. And in July, KSTP reported the federal government had told state officials there were 857 applications from Ukrainians hoping to relocate to Minnesota. People from other countries want to come here, and this will have economic implications for everyone.
Making Minnesota welcoming
Graupman, ’84 B.A., will provide a primer on facts about the refugees and immigrants in our community, the role played by the International Institute in making Minnesota welcoming, and the impact of new Americans on our local economy. Founded in 1919, the nonprofit organization provides comprehensive services to new Americans in our state. The Institute is located on Como Avenue near the U of M Twin Cities campus in St. Paul and the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
During her 32 years with the Institute, Graupman has been instrumental in creating a nationally recognized medical careers pathway as part of its workforce development program, a top-performing refugee resettlement program, and anti-human trafficking services that help new Americans in the state maximize their talents and become fully contributing members of American society.
Graupman continues to be a tireless advocate for new Americans in our community, leading the Institute through participation in more than 90 community outreach events reaching more than 4,000 individuals in the last two years.
I hope to see you in person on September 27 for what promises to be an informative and timely presentation. Reservations are due by September 17.
—Eric Hockert, UMRA president-elect and Program Committee chair