Event Summary

Drugs and their role in U.S. healthcare economics

Professor Stephen Schondelmeyer, an expert in pharmaceutical care and its role in the healthcare system, will talk about drug pricing and his views on the current marketplace.

Book notes: dark memoir is stranger than fiction

Event Date: March 15, 2019, at 2:00 PM

Educated, Tara Westover’s story of her journey from a childhood spent in an Idaho junkyard to higher education at Cambridge University, is an unsettling read for some.

We welcome Lorie Gildea back to campus

UMM alumna Lorie Gildea will reflect on her work as chief justice and the effectiveness of the judicial system in Minnesota.

How to get a good night's sleep

Neurologist Michael Howell, M.D., an associate professor and vice chair of education in the Department of Neurology, will be the presenter for our March workshop on how sleep patterns are affected by aging. 

Book Notes: a dream job turned nightmare

Event Date: February 15, 2019, at 2:00 PM

The Radium Girls by Kate Moore is a compelling book on a repeating theme: dangers in the workplace or community that take too long to be recognized.

Meditation and mindfulness

How to start practicing meditation and mindfulness will be the subject of a panel discussion for our January workshop. The panel will include poet Michael Dennis Browne and two other members of UMRA.

Come and share your own experiences as well as your questions about meditation.

Raising the bar for Gopher Athletics

AD Mark Coyle will join our February 26 luncheon to talk about “Gopher Advocacy,” addressing the current state of U of M Athletics and commenting on the national intercollegiate athletic scene. 

Changes in U of M Retirement Plans

Representatives from the Office of Human Resources will present and discuss with us changes being made to the University’s Faculty Retirement Plan. These changes will be rolled out during 2019 and should be of interest to all persons with funds in the Faculty Retirement Plan.

Please attend the workshop to hear about the changes and ask questions.

Making the foreign less foreign

Fred de Sam Lazaro has reported from more than 60 countries in his 30-plus years as a correspondent for PBS and is the director of the Under-told Stories Project at the University of St. Thomas. He will explain and show for us, with video clips, how his commitment to “making the foreign less foreign” has informed his life’s work.

November Book Notes

Event Date: November 17, 2017, at 2:00 PM

UMRA Book Club members share their November discussion of Hillbilly Elegy by J.D. Vance.

Book Notes: debut novel is a family tell-all

Event Date: November 16, 2018, at 2:00 PM

The Nest, a best-selling debut novel by Cynthia D’Aprix Sweeney, stimulated much discussion.

Search committee chair inspires confidence

Event Date: October 30, 2018, at 1:30 PM

Members of UMRA met with Abdul Omari, chair of the U’s Presidential Search Advisory Committee, on October 30 to express their views and ask questions about the search. Omari was both informative and candid.

Change, loss, and resiliency

Maintaining resiliency and honest hope for self and others can be challenging. For our November workshop, family and grief educator Ted Bowman will share his extensive experience teaching about life transition decisions and coping with grief.

Understanding the midterm election results

Our November luncheon speaker will be Kathryn Pearson, Ph.D., a University of Minnesota associate professor of political science and well-known political commentator. She will analyze the results of the November 6, 2018, elections, including contests for the U.S. Congress, Minnesota’s constitutional offices and state house, and other races in states across the nation.

Book Notes: Timeless classic highly recommended

Event Date: October 12, 2018, at 2:00 PM

In simple, almost poetic prose, Margaret Craven’s novel, I Heard the Owl Call My Name, tells the story of Mark Brian, a young Anglican vicar who is sent by his bishop to serve a First Nation parish in an isolated village in British Columbia.