Event Summary

The University in a new era

The University is facing a projected $166 million budget shortfall. How will it fare during this crisis? What further challenges lie ahead? Myron Frans, the U's senior VP for finance and operations, will offer answers to these and other questions for UMRA’s February 2021 Forum. 

Book notes | One Hundred Years of Solitude

Event Date: January 15, 2021, at 2:00 PM

The UMRA Book Club discussed One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez at its January meeting. It was a difficult read for some.

Minnesota is an Age-Friendly University

Rajean Moone, PhD, will be joined by UMRA member Lynn C. Anderson for a presentation on what joining the AFU Global Network will mean in terms of exciting new opportunities at the U for lifelong learners, retirees, and older adults.

Making choices to be active, healthy, and well

Our Living Well Workshop for January, the month when people traditionally head back to the gym, will focus on building physical fitness and activity into our lives, an especially challenging task in a pandemic winter. 

Building and documenting family trees

Event Date: December 2, 2020, at 10:00 AM

The UMRA Family History group met via Zoom on December 2 for a presentation by Lynn C. Anderson and Craig Swan on building and documenting family trees using Ancestry.com and FamilySearch.org.

Overwhelming and wonderful

Event Date: November 20, 2020, at 2:00 PM

Interwoven with exquisite descriptions of the countryside, Christy Lefteri’s novel about the Syrian Civil War draws readers into the bombed city of Aleppo and the agonizing decisions families facing war must make.

How to preserve and share family history

Event Date: October 7, 2020, at 10:00 AM

Lynn C. Anderson and Craig Swan offered a presentation on preserving and sharing family history to UMRA members during a well-attended and well-received Zoom meeting in early October.

Crisis in youth mental health

Psychiatrist Kaz Nelson, MD, will explore and help us understand today’s mental health crisis in our youth and how it is impacting families across our state and country.

UMRA health plan options for open enrollment

Medica Chief Medical Officer John Mach, MD, will be among the presenters for UMRA's October workshop focused on U of M retiree health plan options for 2021. Open enrollment begins November 1. 

Time for a radical re-thinking of age

With people living longer than ever before, the post-retirement stage of life can be almost as long as the working years. In this workshop, Lucy Rose Fischer, author of I’m New at Being Old, and her husband, Mark Fischer, will show how these years can be the best time of our lives.

UMRA A.M | The quest for a vaccine

Timothy Schacker, MD, an infectious disease specialist at the U of M Medical School, will talk about the multifaceted approach that has been used to diagnose, treat, and prevent COVID-19, and he will highlight the current efforts underway to develop, test, and distribute a vaccine that can help to free us from the grip of the coronavirus pandemic.

Understanding the 2020 elections

In her third presidential election debrief for UMRA, Kathryn Pearson, PhD, an associate professor of political science well known for her incisive analysis of elections at both the federal and state level, will help us to understand the outcome and implications of the 2020 elections.

Sentimental but timely

Event Date: October 16, 2020, at 2:00 PM

In this sentimental but timely story, the lives of three characters in a small Missouri town merge as they help each other overcome personal loss and hardships.

Book Notes | The Art of Racing in the Rain

Event Date: September 18, 2020, at 2:00 PM

Like the classic Black Beauty, in which a horse is the narrator, The Art of Racing in the Rain is narrated by a dog named Enzo. The title of the book is a metaphor for the scary times we face in our lives.

UMRA A.M. | Mapping prejudice

How can you see prejudice on a map of a city? Join public historian Kirsten Delegard, PhD, to find out how geographers, historians, and thousands of citizen volunteers are making it possible.