Event Summary

Book notes | The Things They Carried

Event Date: April 15, 2022, at 2:00 PM

"The Things They Carried" is an exquisitely written collection of short stories by Minnesota-born author Tim O’Brien about a platoon of American soldiers fighting on the ground in the Vietnam War.

Writing family stories

Event Date: April 13, 2022, at 10:00 AM

Writer and teacher Brenda Hudson shared her story-project method when the Family History Interest Group met on April 13.

The post-pandemic university

What is the purpose of a campus when most universities worked almost entirely remotely for two years? Thomas Fisher, the influential director of the Minnesota Design Center and author of the new book Space, Structures and Design in a Post-Pandemic World, will share his thoughts on the question for the UMRA Forum on March 22. 

Financial planning services for retirees—nice or need to have?

One of the benefits of the University’s choice of Fidelity Investments to manage retirement funds is that this association allows us to take advantage of some of the financial planning resources of one of the world’s largest asset managers. UMRA's March 15 workshop will be an overview of these resources.

mRNA technology: fundamentals and possibilities

UMRA’s February 2022 Forum will address the basics of messenger RNA technology: how it works, what it can and cannot do, and the wide range of potential medical applications that are currently under study, including cancer treatment.

Special Forum with Governor Tim Walz and President Joan Gabel

We are pleased to announce that Governor Tim Walz has accepted our invitation to speak to UMRA members on Monday, February 14, for an exclusive UMRA forum via Zoom. 

Using DNA for family history research

Event Date: February 9, 2022, at 10:00 AM

Doing family history research with DNA was the focus when the UMRA Family History Interest Group (FHIG) met in February.

Encore adulthood: changing life course in tumultuous times

Phyllis Moen, PhD, professor and holder of the McKnight Endowed Presidential Chair in Sociology, our guest speaker for UMRA’s first Forum of 2022, will talk about “encore adulthood” and how this already challenging time of life has been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and societal upheaval.

Book notes | Prairie Fires

Event Date: March 18, 2022, at 2:00 PM

Caroline Fraser’s Pulitzer prize-winning book Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder is a meticulously researched biography of the much-loved author of the Little House books.

Book notes | The Nickel Boys

Event Date: January 21, 2022, at 2:00 PM

Colson Whitehead, winner of the 2016 Pulitzer Prize in Fiction for The Underground Railroad, explores the horrors of a reformatory school in Florida in his subsequent novel, "The Nickel Boys."

Health benefits of companion animals for seniors: pros and cons

Pamela Schreiner, PhD, a professor in the Division of Epidemiology and Community Health and director of the School of Public Health’s Center to Study Human-Animal Relationships and Environments, will be the featured speaker for UMRA’s first Living Well Workshop of 2022. 

January 26, 2022—Inuit Art Communities on Baffin Island and Aussie Travel and Trivia

Event Date: January 26, 2022, at 10:00 AM

This Armchair Traveler Program featured two very interesting presentation about two very different parts of the world. Kathryn Hanna, retired faculty member from the Waseca campus and the College of Biological Sciences on the Twin Cities campus, talked about how her interest in Inuit art resulted in a trip to Baffin Island where she visited three Inuit communities and met many Inuit artists.

Learn to scan your family photos

Event Date: December 8, 2021, at 10:00 AM

In this session, we learned how to take pictures (of your pictures) with a digital camera, the pros and cons of fee-based digitizing services, and flat-bed scanners.

Book notes | Have You Seen Luis Velez?

Event Date: November 19, 2021, at 2:00 PM

This inspiring book by the prolific American author Catherine Ryan Hyde conveys a hopeful theme that also underlies her first novel, "Pay It Forward."

Five lessons in leading in a post-George Floyd world

UMRA is pleased to welcome Garry Jenkins, JD, dean and William S. Pattee Professor of Law at the University of Minnesota Law School, to our UMRA Forum on Tuesday, November 23, to speak about the challenges and future of legal education.