The following article summarizes the original event which is listed below the summary.
U's new provost is a confident, quick study
Provost Rachel Croson is a master of Zoom. In a warm and engaging exchange with our members on August 18, she told us about her life as our new provost in the age of COVID-19 and a time of economic uncertainty. She came to Minnesota as the pandemic was gaining momentum and has never been in her office, though she has the keys. She has learned about the University through Zoom meetings and she heads the committee charged with planning for the reopening of school, consulting extensively with everyone you can think of. All done remotely. She is a quick study with a great attitude.
Croson told us the school will reopen with an emphasis on both student and staff safety. About 30 percent of the courses will be taught in person and 70 percent online. There will be social distancing in the classrooms and masks are mandatory in University buildings.
There will be a limited number of students in the dormitories and safety precautions everywhere. The University has provided instruction and equipment to enable students and staff to follow public health guidelines. Emergency Services has created a protocol to deal with outbreaks with testing, quarantines, and contact tracing.
Minnesota’s plan is in line with other Big Ten universities. The provost and the planning group are acutely aware of the recent North Carolina experience of opening and then having to shut down, and they promise close monitoring and quick action at our school.
On the research side, Croson informed us that about 1,000 people have returned to campus to continue laboratory work and research projects. To get back on campus they applied for permission through the Office of the Vice President for Research. So far, there have been no coronavirus infections in this population.
Addressing pressures with enthusiasm
While certainly not the circumstances she expected to encounter when she arrived, Provost Croson has addressed these conflicting pressures with enthusiasm. She expects to remain flexible and to pivot when needed to deal with changes as they occur. She imparted a sense of confidence and optimism.
Provost Croson is an experimental and behavioral economist who is now part of our Department of Economics. She has authored more than 100 articles (70 in referred journals) and was most recently dean of the College of Social Sciences at Michigan State and dean of the College of Business at the University of Texas at Arlington.
While telling us a bit about herself she revealed that as a child she was a Star Trek fan who admired Mr. Spock because of his excess emphasis on rationale decision-making. It is this rationality that led her to become an economist. As she gained experience and matured, she came to appreciate the behavioral and emotional aspects of decision-making. Hence, she became an experimental and behavioral economist and an admirer of Captain Kirk.
Our new executive vice president and provost seems to be a great catch for the University.
—Bill Donohue, UMRA president (2019–20)
UMRA welcomes EVP and Provost Rachel Croson
Tue, August 18 2020, 12am
Event to be held via Zoom.
We are pleased to welcome Executive Vice President and Provost Rachel Croson, PhD, as our guest speaker for an UMRA forum on Tuesday, August 18, at 12 noon by way of Zoom.
Provost Croson began her appointment in March just as the coronavirus outbreak was gaining recognition as a global pandemic. She has already distinguished herself by helping to shape the University’s response to the COVID-19 crisis and by working on the U’s reopening plans for September.
Dr. Croson will speak to us about her work during these critical months, the reopening of the University, her initial impressions and her hopes for the future of the University.
Please register for this free webinar via z.umn.edu/UMRA-August2020-Forum or the invitation to be emailed to UMRA members the week of July 27.
Provost Croson is a well-regarded academic and a seasoned leader of academic institutions. Before coming to Minnesota, she served as dean of the College of Social Science at Michigan State University and before that as dean of the College of Business at the University of Texas at Arlington. She has additionally held tenured appointments at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Texas at Dallas.
From 2010–12, Croson served as director of the Division of Social and Economic Sciences in the Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences Directorate of the National Science Foundation.
She earned her MA and PhD in economics from Harvard University and her undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania, with a double major in economics and philosophy and a minor in political science.
Her academic accomplishments include publication of more than 70 peer-reviewed papers across multiple disciplines, including economics, organizational behavior, psychology, sociology, and political science. Her work explores issues related to behavioral economics, bargaining and negotiation, funding of public goods (especially public radio), and cultural and gender differences in trust and reciprocity.
As executive vice president and provost, Croson is the chief academic officer for the University of Minnesota System and provost for the Twin Cities campus. She has systemwide oversight responsibility for undergraduate, graduate, and professional education; promotion and tenure; academic and research programs and policies; and faculty development.
Strong and steady leadership
Croson’s background and accomplishments bode well for the University. We are fortunate to have attracted such a talented individual for this crucial position. Although still in the first half-year of her work here, she has already provided strong and steady leadership.
“I am confident she will help us advance from great to greater,” President Gabel said in her warm letter of welcome to the new provost.
The Retirees Association looks forward to extending our own warm welcome to the provost and to sharing this timely opportunity for getting to “meet” her, albeit virtually.
Please join us for this Zoom webinar on starting at 12 noon on Tuesday, August 18.
—Bill Donohue, president
Upcoming Events
We are fortunate to have UMRA member and former Minnesota Landscape Arboretum director Peter Moe to lead this approximately 3.7-mile hike at the Arboretum on Monday, May 6. Plan to have lunch together after the hike at the Eatery café inside the Oswald Visitor Center.
This session will continue the discussion begun in the May 8, 2023 session. See that article for details.
If you currently live in your own home or apartment, have you looked ahead to when you might want to consider a senior living option? Do you have any idea what those options might be? How much they cost? What they provide? UMRA’s May 14 workshop will provide an overview of the world of senior living and the basic information you need.
You’re invited to join the final Family History Interest Group meeting for 2023–24. This will be an opportunity to ask questions related to family history, share insights, talk about recent projects, and suggest topics for next year.
Stephanie Daily will lead the discussion of Fuzz: When Nature Breaks the Law by best-selling author Mary Roach when the UMRA Book Club meets via Zoom at 2 p.m. on Friday, May 17.
The May 20 hike will start at the Historic Lift Bridge in Stillwater and go along the river to the new bridge, cross over and then back on the Wisconsin side, a total of approximately 5 miles. Most of the route is paved. We will eat lunch after at Brian's Bar and Grill in Stillwater. Car pooling will be available.
Climatologist and meteorologist Mark Seeley joined the U of M faculty in 1978 and has been a weekly commentator on Minnesota Public Radio since 1992. We are honored to welcome him as our guest speaker for UMRA’s May Luncheon Forum and 2024 Annual Meeting. He is always entertaining and informative.
UMRA’s Fourth Friday Book Club welcomes back, for the second time, author Julie Schumacher, U of M Regents professor of creative writing and English, for a conversation about her novel The Shakespeare Requirement.
We are in for a treat on June 3! Lynn Anderson, will lead us on trails at two parks near her Monticello home. Bring a bag lunch and we will gather in Lynn's yard along the Mississippi River for eating and socializing after the hike.
Get out to the ballpark with fellow UMRA members for the annual U of M Day at Target Field as the Minnesota Twins take on the Oakland Athletics on June 14 at 7:10 p.m.
Please join us at 9:30 on June 17, 2024 for a walk around Lake Como in St. Paul before attending the UMRA Summer Social and Picnic starting at 11 at the Como Pavilion. A perfect opportunity to get in a walk before we gather to celebrate summer.
Picnic under the covered, open-air Como pavilion, gaze at the water, spy some birds, catch up with friends and former colleagues, and meet new members. We’ll have lunch with plenty of time for visiting and then compete in teams as we are challenged by our Quiz master(s)!
Healthy aging, mindfulness, fighting ageism, and more will be the focus of the third annual Age-Friendly University Day to be held on the U of M Twin Cities campus.