Event Summary

April 6, 2021 -- Muir Trail & Amazon Rainforest

Event Date: April 6, 2021, at 11:00 AM

We had two fabulous presentations. Craig Swan, economics professor emeritus from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities, presented on the John Muir Trail. We traveled with him and his family 211 miles along the trail from the Yosemite Valley to the top of Mt. Whitney, from 4,000 to 14,500 feet. Her presentation was in three parts: the Huaorani Ecolodge, the Kichwa Añangu community, and a “toxic tour” of oil exploration sites in the region. 

Book notes | A Gentleman in Moscow

Event Date: March 26, 2021, at 2:00 PM

This novel by Amor Towles was a good read for a pandemic, given that the story takes place while the protagonist is living under house arrest.

Book notes | The Year of Magical Thinking

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

In what is considered a classic book about mourning, author Joan Didion describes her experiences with grief after the death of her husband, including several instances of magical thinking.

Are we exporting our environmental problems?

What is the cumulative effect of high consumption? Do we need to rethink our relationship with the rest of the world as resource competition intensifies? Professor Emeritus Jim L. Bowyer will help us to address these questions and related issues in a fast-moving presentation based on his recent book, The Irresponsible Pursuit of Paradise.

Preparing education professionals for educational equity

Minnesota faces deep challenges with educational equity. Professor Michael Rodriguez will help us to understand the challenges and what the U of M College of Education and Human Development is doing to prepare education professionals to meet the challenges.

Treasure or trash? How do you assess historical value?

Are you getting ready to downsize? Unsure what to do with all the files from your office? Planning to spring clean during the pandemic? Our March 16 workshop presenter, Erik Moore, head archivist for the University of Minnesota, will help us to assess the potential value of what we’ve stored away.

The Minneapolis 'megamurder' mystery

Join National Park Ranger Sharon Stiteler, aka the “Birdchick,” to learn about opportunities for birding and wildlife viewing along the Mississippi National River and Recreational Area and the huge, mysterious groups of crows circling over the river gorge between Minneapolis and St. Paul.

UMRA A.M. | BioMADE: a new hub of innovation on the Twin Cities campus

BioMADE, a new institute dedicated to boosting nonmedical bioindustrial manufacturing in the United States, will be the focus of attention for UMRA A.M. in March with guest speaker Andrea Backes, chief of operations.

Book notes | The Vanishing Half

Event Date: February 26, 2021, at 2:00 PM

The (Fourth Friday) UMRA Book Club II met on February 26 to discuss The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett, a story of twin sisters from a Black Louisiana town during Jim Crow.

Book notes | The Night Watchman

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

The16th novel by Minnesota author Louise Erdrich, discussed by UMRA Book Club I at its February meeting, is a stellar depiction of reservation life and the consequences of relocation in the mid 1950s.

The Supreme Court in American society

The U.S. Supreme Court is the most opaque of our national institutions, according to Professor Timothy R. Johnson, the guest speaker for our forum in March. He will peel back the layers and open up the Court in ways the public rarely sees. 

New frontiers in wearable technology

Brad Holschuh, PhD, co-director of the interdisciplinary Wearable Technology Laboratory (WTL) in the U of M College of Design, will highlight the work of the lab and recent advancements in technologies that can be integrated into fabrics. 

Organizing Family Photos

Event Date: January 13, 2021, at 10:00 AM

The Family History webinars continued with a third presentation. Craig Swan and Lynn C. Anderson shared some ideas about gaining an overview of your photos and suggestions for labeling, organizing, and preserving both original and digital copies

How not to sound old

RESCHEDULED. A weakening voice can impact one’s ability to thrive in later years. The good news is, there are things we can do to build and maintain our vocal strength, as we will learn in this workshop with Peter Watson, PhD, from the U of M Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences. 

The future of policing in Minneapolis

What does a community need to be safe? Why didn’t many prior attempts at police reform prevent what we witnessed on May 25? We’ll hear from UMRA member Greg Hestness, who, following 28 years of service with the Minneapolis Police Department, served as the U’s AVP of public safety and chief of police.