Ten applications were submitted by the December deadline for the 2018 Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program. This is below the average of 16 applications per year, perhaps because of the new online-only application process introduced this year. Despite that complexity the process went smoothly, due in no small measure to Marci Freundschu in the Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) and system analyst Francine Anderson, who were most helpful to applicants.

If any of you did not feel comfortable applying because of this new process, we would like to hear about your concerns. Please email me at [email protected].

The approved proposals will be announced in March. The new grants will start on April 1 and extend to June 30, 2019.

Looking ahead, the committee is concentrating on the funding of this program for 2019 and beyond. Although UMRA is not officially part of the University, most of the funding for this program since its inception in 2009 has come from the University through the Provost and OVPR. As we work with the University to continue this arrangement, it is important to demonstrate UMRA’s commitment to the program.

One way to show that commitment is through financial contributions from UMRA members. In 2011 UMRA established a fund at the University of Minnesota Foundation specifically to receive donations for the PDGR program. Since then, the fund has received many contributions from retirees, including six recent gifts made since the November UMRA luncheon. The value of the fund now exceeds $26,000, and we hope to continue building this endowment to help supplement our University funding and to demonstrate UMRA’s commitment. More about this in coming months.

— Dick Poppele, PDGR Committee chair