Silver Gopher Service Corps by the numbers
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. Fifty different volunteers have filled 70 openings—assisting with "Sneak Preview" undergraduate recruiting events, greeting students at convocation and helping them move into residence halls during Welcome Week, and packing weekend meals for elementary school students facing food insecurity at home.
Silver Gopher projects fill an important need for service and promote a team-oriented experience, allowing UMRA members to get to know each other while volunteering together.
Additional, near-term opportunities include landscape restoration projects with Great River Greening and welcoming prospective students and families to the U Admissions Office “Minnesota Experience” program. Going forward, the Silver Gopher program goal is to establish an annual series of opportunities for UMRA members.
If volunteering and getting to know more UMRA colleagues are among your goals for the new academic year, sign up for one of the projects announced through the UMRA-MEMBERS listserv and come for the fun (and work!) on the assigned day and time. To help promote UMRA in the community and present a team identity, participants are encouraged to wear a Silver Gopher Service Corps t-shirt or other U of M gear. To purchase one of these fine shirts for $15, email UMRA member Scott Elton.
—Jerry Rinehart, University Retirees Volunteer Center Leadership Council chair
News
At a contentious meeting March 14, the University of Minnesota Board of Regents approved a resolution restricting University units from issuing statements “of public concern or public interest.” Several dozen faculty and students present vehemently protested the resolution.
The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2025–26 will be conducted via an online poll from May 12 to 18, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 20. Sally Gregory Kohlstedt leads the slate of nominees as president-elect. She came to the University of Minnesota in 1989 as a professor and associate dean, and retired in 2018.
This spring, UMRA will launch a new member portal to simplify and more efficiently manage many essential tasks, including enrolling new members, updating member records, registering event attendees, and processing payments.
Meet UMRA member Vicki Gaylord. In her 32-year career at the Institute of Community Integration, a U of M Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, her work made a positive impact on the lives of thousands of people around the world.
The University Retirees Volunteer Center is seeking candidates to serve on the URVC Leadership Council. The council meets six times per year to identify opportunities for volunteer projects and develop strategies for growing and supporting volunteer participation.
Deanne Magnusson was raised in a family in which education and volunteerism were encouraged. She earned three degrees at the U of M, and enjoyed a career working in education with leaders and schools in Minnesota and across the world. These experiences, and her volunteer work today with URVC, continue to transform her as an educator and as a person.
UMRA’s 2025 Professional Development Grants for Retirees awards cover a diverse set of topics reflecting the breadth of studies undertaken by University retirees, including Mark Bohnhorst for his proposal “More New Thinking about Presidential Elections.”
UMRA member Lynn Slifer is taking full advantage of retirement, pursuing her interests in writing, crafting, babysitting grandchildren, good food, wine, and travel, plus serving on the leadership council of the University Retirees Volunteer Center.
UMRA’s online Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays is a unique venue hosting diverse content that is enjoyed by people around the world. If you enjoy helping authors polish their products for publication, JOIE is looking for a new leader. It’s an opportunity that has been tremendously rewarding for the outgoing editor-in-chief.
UMRA has lost contact with many members because of the unfortunate demise of your @umn.edu email accounts. If you haven’t done so already, please update your email address on our system. It won’t take long.