A SPECIAL INVITATION FOR RETIREES IN THE TWIN CITIES AREA FROM THE CARLSON SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 

We invite you to participate in a Grand Challenge Course, which will be offered this fall at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities Campus. Grand Challenge Courses (GCC) are special courses designed to address significant challenges in the world, and they attract the brightest and most creative students. 

Julie Schumacher, professor of English and creative writing, will be talking about her recent work—the widely acclaimed Dear Committee Members, which won numerous awards including the Thurber Prize for American Humor, New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice, National Public Radio’s “Best Books of 2014,” Boston Globe’s one of “Best Books of 2014,” and the Chicago Tribune’s “Laugh Out Loud Book of the Year.”

The Industry of Souls by Martin Booth, published by Picador Macmillan, 1998. Available through Amazon (both print and Kindle) and in a Nook book at Barnes and Noble. Review by Pat Tollefson, UMRA Cares Committee.

Do you have any experience with either Survey Monkey or Qualtrics software for doing surveys? The Workshop Committee needs your help to assist with an upcoming survey. If you can help, please contact Ron Anderson, rea@umn.edu.

The Board of Directors presents the following slate for your approval:

For Officers:
President:  Chip Peterson (will automatically move from his current position as President-elect to President)

President-elect: Gerald Rinehart

Secretary:         Judy Garrard 
Treasurer          Carl Adams (continuing his service)

For Board of Directors:
Vernon Cardwell 
Cathy Gierke
Jeanne Markell (for second three-year term) 
Claudia Parliament
Richard Poppele

Festive Luncheon features your choice among four entrées

Please be sure to indicate your menu selection when you make your reservations.

Reservation Deadline Wednesday May 17

This past month both Donna Peterson, as president of UMRA, and Karen Hansen, executive vice president and provost, signed a Memorandum of Understanding, which formalizes our agreement to support and further the respective missions, goals, and programs for both organizations.  In the picture, President Peterson signs the Memorandum of Understanding in the Provost’s Office.

“I planned for life as a widow, but got a lot wrong” (anonymous quote).  No matter if you have lost a spouse, partner, last living parent, or are the one solely responsible for financial decisions for yourself or another—life can get very complicated. And it can be even more difficult when these financial matters must be handled while grieving or when one is beset with anxieties for the future.  Join Andy Whitman and Susan Link in a discussion of financial planning for one.

In recent months, U.S.–Iranian relations have become more fraught than ever. Military and economic tensions have risen, and the fate of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the “Iran deal,” has been cast into doubt. William O. Beeman is professor and chair of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota. He has spent more than nine of the past 40 years in the Middle East and has also worked in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Japan, China, and South Asia. He is fluent in Persian, Arabic, and Turkish. His luncheon talk—“Iran and the United States: Continuing Tensions and Opportunities”—could not be more timely.

Dr. Robert Kane first spoke to the UMRA luncheon audience in April 2015 and therafter presided over several workshops on aging and long-term care. When he died suddenly on March 6, Dr. Kane left his UMRA partners, as well as so many other colleagues, stunned. Here are words from a few of our Care Guides, UMRA members who had the privilege of working with and learning from him.

At the late February pre-retirement seminars sponsored by the Office of Human Resources, UMRA Membership Committee members collected e-mail addresses from potential University of Minnesota retirees and sent the Retirement Kit—a directory of active links to many useful websites pertinent to retirement—was sent to 175 respondents this year.

UMRA members interested in investing responsibly and sustainably can learn more at our March workshop from Andrew Wetzel, senior vice president and portfolio manager for F.L. Putnam. Sustainable investing, in all its forms, is making its way into the investing mainstream. 

Minnesota’s State Economist, Dr. Laura Kalambokidis (pronounced Colombo-ki’as) will speak at the March UMRA luncheon about the Minnesota Budget and Economic Health. We will gain insight into how our revenue forecasts are generated and how they influence the state budget and legislative program. 

The Nominating committee has begun to solicit names for officers and board members for 2017–18. New board members will be put on the slate for election at the May meeting.

Following the luncheon on February 28, UMRA will present a workshop focused on understanding and discussing the benefits of Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) a program in the practice of managing pain without drugs. 

Sometimes it seems that our politicians, policy experts, and scholars devote excess energy to seeking answers before reflecting critically on the questions. Jack Nelson-Pallmeyer urges us to reexamine the often unspoken assumptions that drive our intellectual inquiry and advocacy alike. His title: “On Asking the Right Questions.”

Professor Emeritus Jan Hogan is featured in this University of Minnesota Foundation story about giving back to the University. Through her fellowship for graduate students, she has inspired another generation of students devoted to similar work at the University of Minnesota. Read more at give.umn.edu.

UMRA Care Guides continue to be available for consultation when members are confronted by an unexpected health care situation, especially involving long-term care. To speak to a Care Guide, call the Center on Aging, 612-624-1185. 

In a joint project led by the UMRA Cares Committee and the University Center on Aging, Care Guide volunteers are trained and supervised by the Center on Aging. They have available the center’s information resources to assist you with decision making. All discussions are confidential.

Following the luncheon on January 24, UMRA will present a workshop for understanding and discussing some of the controversial substances used for pain management—opioids and medical marijuana. This workshop will be led by Dr. Charles Reznikoff, assistant professor, University of Minnesota and HCMC physician. who specializes in pain management and addiction.