A time and place to serve
Six UMRA members recently joined more than 20 other volunteers to pack hundreds of bags of groceries as part of the Wellstone Neighborhood House Emergency Food Delivery program, providing food and other necessary items to families worried about their safety during the “ICE surge” in the Twin Cities.
Once packed, the bags were sorted into predesigned delivery routes, and volunteer drivers had their cars filled with provisions to provide families with a week’s worth of nutrition. “We all want to help stressed communities during this difficult time in Minnesota, and Neighborhood House provides a place for us to serve,” said Michelle Trudeau-Spanjers, the key liaison with Neighborhood House for the University Retirees Volunteer Center (URVC),
Strong need for volunteers
This difficult community environment has created a strong need for volunteers to help many organizations with food sorting, packing, and delivery. Every Meal [everymeal.org] has developed an emergency program that delivers food directly to schools, most in the Twin Cities metro area, where families can safely access needed supplies. Drivers are asked to make one trip per shift, two shifts per month, to deliver these provisions for children and families.
Second Harvest Heartland, one of the nation’s largest hunger relief agencies, provides healthy, nutritious food to people in Minnesota and western Wisconsin. In addition to sourcing and distributing food efficiently, Second Harvest Heartland also advocates for effective policies and programs, and invests in new ways to end hunger.
Welcome future Gophers
UMRA Silver Gopher Service Corps volunteers welcome newly admitted students to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus. The volunteers greet future Gophers and their supporters, help them navigate the campus, and direct them to their programs—all, of course, while singing the praises of the U. Everyone agrees that seeing welcoming and older faces makes the future Gophers feel connected. Future Gopher Admit Days are scheduled for February 27, March 28, and April 11.
Academic Integrity Matters
Academic Integrity Matters (AIM) is a U of M program seeking volunteers to participate in discussions using principles of restorative justice to help students understand implications of their academic misconduct.
Volunteers, acting as community members, represent the interests of the University in AIM Community Meetings. At these meetings, students explain what they have done and how they are impacted by their actions. Community members then share their account of how they are impacted, and also offer examples of how scholastic dishonesty impacts the broader community. At the end of each meeting, community members propose an educational plan that a student can complete in order to learn from the incident, demonstrate understanding of academic integrity, and repair harm to the University.
Please go to urvc.umn.edu for more information on these and other opportunities to volunteer.
—Peggy Mann Rinehart
News
Declining government funding, inflation, loss of purchasing power, low birthrates, and lack of trust in the nation’s institutions have combined to create a confidence crisis in higher education not seen for decades. Minnesota is no exception.
Since its inception 40 years ago, the University Retirees Volunteer Center has focused on identifying where help is needed within the University community and has provided opportunities for thousands of retirees to use their skills, experience, and interests to help address those needs.
Meet UMRA member Nancy Carpenter. She grew up in the American heartland; nevertheless, she was surprised by the frigid, snow-covered landscape when she visited Minnesota for the first tine to interview for a job teaching chemistry at UMN Morris.
UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees are intended to support projects related to University of Minnesota retirees' research, instructional or work history, or new scholarly interests that contribute to the academic reputation of the University.
After working decades in communications for the U’s Center for Transportation Studies, Pam Snople perks up whenever she sees transportation news. It’s usually the salacious stuff that makes the headlines. But, behind the scenes, vehicle automation research keeps rolling along — including key work by UMN researchers.
Renée Good was killed in Minneapolis on January 7, 2026, during Operation Metro Surge. One month later, a community memorial to mourn her death and celebrate her life was held. Susan Ranney attended the ceremony and wrote an evocative essay on the service, which was published recently in UMRA’s Journal of Opinions, Ideas & Essays.
Professor Emeritus Alan Kagan has played many roles in his nearly 30 years of service with the University Retirees Volunteer Center. From assisting with phone calls to becoming office manager and eventually serving on and chairing the Volunteer Center’s board, Kagan helped build the organization into the robust operation it is today.
We’re already getting organized to identify and recruit members to step into leadership roles in 2027. As a well-informed and engaged UMRA member, you are invited to play a role in the process.
I’ve been an UMRA member for more than a decade and each year I’m impressed anew by the energy and dedication of the volunteers who do the work of the organization. I invite you to join in their efforts. But if that’s not possible, there’s something else you can do to help support UMRA: Renew your membership.
You don’t have to go far, and you don’t have to drink coffee. It’s the conversation that matters. It’s a new, experimental effort being organized by the wizards of UMRA; a meet-up of members who live in the same zip code.
Beginning January 1, 2027, the University of Minnesota is making updates to medical plans, the pharmacy vendor, and the Wellbeing Program incentive that apply to retirees and dependents enrolled in these plans.
The University of Minnesota has had a presence at the Great Minnesota Get-Together for 167 years. And on September 3, 2026, UMRA made its Minnesota State Fair debut to talk with fairgoers (on Seniors Day) about retirement and to promote opportunities to volunteer through our University Retirees Volunteer Center.
Like all of us, UMRA member Barbara Heinemann has been reflecting on 9/11 and life in the 25 years since then, with mixed feelings.
December 31 is the application deadline for UMRA’s 2027 Professional Development Grants for Retirees competition. Retirees from all five University of Minnesota campuses are eligible to apply. We invited Brad Hokanson, professor emeritus, UMN Department of Design Innovation, to tell us about the work supported by his 2026 grant to promote teaching creativity in high schools.
Meet UMRA member and volunteer extraordinaire Kay Louis. She devoted her career as an Extension educator — “bringing the University to the people” — to developing and providing programming for adults and youth.
The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 through June 30 of the following year. If you haven’t yet renewed your membership for 2027, it’s definitely time to do so!
UMRA has a Facebook group that is open to UMN retirees and others with close ties to the University, for posting messages about anything University- or retiree-related. Learn more.
This will be a new regular column where you can find organizational tasks that need your help! We are currently looking for help researching a new UMRA Membership Database and URVC volunteer database, and a co-producer for UMRA's Zoom webinars. See more details: