Exploring important issues
Bugs, human rights, and children’s tantrums. What do these have in common? University of Minnesota retirees received awards from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program to continue their work in these fields.
John Bantle coordinates the PDGR awards and found three great people to share their ongoing explorations of important issues in our November Living Well Workshop via Zoom. In his introduction to the webinar, Bantle noted that more than 100 grants have gone out to University retirees since 2009.
Ralph Holzenthal joined us from Ecuador where he finds and identifies caddisflies. Trout fisher people will recognize the insect. For the rest of us, their relevance is as a measure of water quality since they spend their early lives in streams and lakes. The Minnesota Department of Natural Resources and Pollution Control Agency monitor caddisflies in Minnesota, but the knowledge in Ecuador is far more limited. Holzenthal and his team collect the flies using a white bedsheet and blacklights at night (think outdoor home movies).
Barbara Frey is a well-known activist, teacher, and scholar of international human rights. In retirement she is actively working with several University units to create an archive reflecting local and, eventually, global work to prevent racial injustice, torture, and violence against women. Her PDGR award was for gathering oral histories. The funds supported hiring an undergraduate intern, creating electronic transcripts, and training on how to do oral histories. Frey shared examples from her interviews.
Michael Potegal used his expertise in behavioral neuroscience and clinical psychology to study the escalation of children’s tantrums even before he had a child to provide at-home experience. No, he doesn’t have an easy solution for tantrums, but he did develop an hypothesis about the hierarchy of escalation. His PDGR award allowed him to hire two biostatisticians to confirm his hypothesis using a large data set.
When asked how retirement has impacted their research, all three speakers agreed that retirement provides flexibility and the ability to concentrate on their interests. Holzenthal said it is amazing how much work you can get done when you’re not working!
If these stories have inspired you to explore an area or question you never quite resolved during your formal work years, go to the PDGR webpage for instructions on how to apply for a PDGR grant. Applications for 2024 funding are due December 31.
If you want to support the work of others, consider making a donation to the PDGR program. Donations made before December 31 will be doubled thanks to a $20,000 challenge grant made by a generous, anonymous donor.
—Julie Sweitzer, UMRA president-elect and Program Committee chair
Showcasing UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees
Tue, November 21, 2023, at 11am
Barbara Frey, Ralph Holzenthal, and Michael Potegal
PDGR grant recipients
Event to be held via Zoom.
Three recent recipients of awards from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDGR) program will be featured during UMRA’s Living Well Workshop via Zoom on Tuesday, November 21. The PDGR program provides up to $5,000 for University retirees to continue their scholarship or to pursue new projects of interest.
The webinar will be hosted by John Bantle, PDGR Committee chair, who will give a brief overview of the grant program and then introduce the grant recipients to present highlights of their projects. The three projects address mental health in children, the University's human rights record, and changes in the earth's environment, all important issues for the University and the Minnesota public:
Michael Potegal, associate professor ad honorem in the Center for Allied Health, whose project is “Severity Hierarchy in the Temper Outbursts of a Large Cohort of Psychiatrically Referred Youth."
Barbara A. Frey, former director of the Human Rights Program in the Institute for Global Studies, whose project is “Minnesota’s Human Rights Stories.”
Ralph W. Holzenthal, professor emeritus in entomology, whose project is “Caddisfly Biodiversity of Ecuador.” Technology allowing, Dr. Holzenthal will be speaking to us from his project site in Ecuador.
Please join us to learn about this work and the PDGR program. Perhaps you will be stimulated to apply for an award yourself. Applications for funding starting April 1, 2024, will be accepted until December 31, 2023. You can find more information about the program, including the instructions for applying for 2024 funding, at umra.umn.edu > Service & Outreach > Grants for Retirees.
Please register for this free Zoom webinar and join us at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, November 21.
—John Bantle, PDGR Committee chair
Upcoming Events
UMRA's special event for this winter will again be a celebration of brighter days and the approaching end of winter. We'll have food, fellowship, and music provided by Urban Sound, one of the U of M’s premier student a cappella ensembles.
Our February 3 hike will be around Lake of the Isles in Minneapolis, with an option to add Bde Maka Ska, weather permitting. No matter how far we hike, let’s go to Isles Bun & Coffee for treats after the hike. Their buns are delicious!
Cabinets of Curiosity will seek out the University of Minnesota Herbarium on the St Paul Campus. Collections Manager Tim Whitfeld will share his knowledge of that amazing collection and explain its critical importance in the 21st century. Botanists study these pressed plants, individually and collectively, to establish a history of plant life, often over centuries, because they contain compelling evidence of the ever modulating geographical distribution of plants and evidence of how climate, pests, and other factors have changed species over time.
"Things that drive me crazy" will be the theme when the UMRA Photo Club meets on February 11. Newcomers are welcome.
Many life challenges that get in the way of quality of life and good health at home have little to do with medical issues. Cathy Lauring, our presenter for UMRA’s February 18 workshop, will explore a variety of resources to assist in keeping us healthy at home—including physical, emotional, cognitive, and financial services.
John Bantle will lead the discussion of A Walk in the Woods: Rediscovering America on the Appalachian Trail by Bill Bryson when the UMRA book club meets via Zoom on February 21.
Join UMRA members to watch two of the best hockey teams in the nation. UMRA has negotiated a discounted ticket price of $33.
Barbara Klick, RN, MBA, the presenter for UMRA’s February 25 Forum, has decades of experience working in human and veterinary medicine, and will bring her wisdom and perspective to our discussion about what we can learn from our pets about facing end-of-life challenges and decisions.
The Fourth Friday Book Club will meet via Zoom on February 28 from 2 to 3:30 p.m. CST to discuss The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain.
Will Craig discusses using local sources for family history.
The UMRA Hiking Club will explore wildlife along the Mississippi River in Fort Snelling State Park. The 3.9-mile Pike Island Loop is generally considered an easy route and takes just over an hour. Hikers can leave at that point, or stay to add another short loop. The trail is located below the bluff on which the historic fort sits. The last time we were there we saw a lot of deer, and the river always provides fascinating views.
The University of Minnesota Archives, with its major holdings largely tucked away in two huge underground caverns along the Mississippi River under the West Bank campus, holds the essential records of our University of Minnesota’s past. University Archivist Erik Moore will explain the holdings and role of our extensive university archive and bring out a sampling of what it holds. At the end of our visit, he will conduct a tour of the literally cool caverns (Minnesota Library Access Center), revealing where these precious materials are housed, including the original tapes of KUOM, now Radio K.