Our October luncheon program will feature two recipients of recent PDGR grants, Jonathan Ravdin, M.D., from the Department of Medicine and Joanne Eicher, Ph.D., from the Department of Design, Housing, and Apparel. They will describe the results of their research projects, which are vastly different in nature and nicely illustrate the great range of possibilities supported by this competitive grant program.

Jonathan Ravdin was Nesbitt professor and chair of the Department of Medicine when he retired from the University. “Utilizing Biostatistical Analysis of Case Management Data to Enhance Future Outcomes of the Youth and AIDS Projects” is the title of his research project, for which he was awarded PDGR grants in 2017 and 2018.

An internationally respected medical researcher, Ravdin will discuss the value of undergraduate students as assistants in his research on AIDS involving clients between ages 13 and 24. The research is focused on the management of AIDS cases and their effective treatment in this youthful population.

Joanne Eicher retired from the College of Design as a Regents professor. “Analysis of Traditions of Kalabari Living Abroad” is the title of her project, for which she, too, won consecutive grants, in 2015 and 2016.

As editor-in-chief of the Encyclopedia of World Dress and Fashion, Eicher has written extensively about the cultural significance of dress. One of her books, Mother, Daughter, Sister, Bride: Rituals of Womanhood, was published by National Geographic.

She will present and illustrate her project about the Kalabari, whose homeland is the Niger Delta in Nigeria, though many have emigrated to the U.S. The grant funding aided Eicher in the completion of her book on the Kalabari people.

You can make a difference

The Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program was launched by UMRA in 2008 to encourage retirees’ continuing productivity. The program is administered by UMRA and the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and is unique among American research universities. Currently, it provides grants of up to $5,000 for research, teaching, and artistic endeavor. All faculty, professional and administrative, and civil service retirees from the Twin Cities and coordinate campuses of the University are eligible for the grants (if fully retired by July 1 in the year of grant application).

The future of the PDGR program depends on continuing support to provide the necessary funding. The program has been funded by the offices of the University president, vice presidents, and deans through 2018. Beginning in 2019, we have an agreement with the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost for stable funding of $40,000 per year for the foreseeable future. The goal for the program is to maintain a long-term average of 10-12 grants per year, which will require total funding of about $50,000 per year.

There is a demand fund held at the University of Minnesota Foundation that provides support for the PDGR program to help fill the funding gap. If you have questions or would like information about how to make a gift in support of this program, please contact Lynn Praska at [email protected] or 612-624-4158 at the Foundation.
—Bill Donohue, chair, Program Committee, and Dick Poppele, chair, PDGR Committee

To read the speakers’ grant abstracts and learn about other awards, visit umra.umn.edu/grants-retirees/pdg-awards