News

HELLO, my name is Kathryn Hanna

Since retiring from the College of Biological Sciences faculty, UMRA member Kathryn Hanna has pursued her longtime interest in the arts and antiques and is currently the co-president of the Fan Association of North America, a nonprofit organization of hand fan collectors. 

Competition for 2025 grants opens October 1

October 1 marks the start of the 2025 competition for financial support from UMRA’s Professional Development Grants for Retirees program. Retirees from all five campuses within the U of M System are eligible to apply whether or not they are members of UMRA.

Regents’ Committee seeks feedback on Health Sciences Strategic Plan

The Regents’ Special Committee on Academic Health is seeking feedback from the University community on a draft of the Health Sciences Strategic Plan drawn up by the deans of the University’s six health sciences schools and colleges. 

Cyber Tips & Tricks: So, you have a new email account ... now what?

So, you have set up a new email account; set up your recovery emails and phone numbers for this new account (!!);  moved your emails, contacts, and documents from Google Drive to the new account; notified all your friends and business associates. Now what??

Did you check all of your online accounts?  Any that use the old UMN account will need changes -- you may need to change the login, or the contact info, or both -- to the new email address.  This article lists other details to consider.

Preparing to lose your umn.edu email

On December 7, many of us will lose our UMN email addresses and any files associated with these accounts. There are three basic things we need to do to prepare.

Hello, my name is Susan Kubitschek

UMRA member Susan Kubitschek attended the University of Minnesota on the G.I. Bill and, after working at the U for 40 years, retired as assistant dean and director of Collegiate Life in the College of Science and Engineering.

Big Ten 2024 conference highlights

Delegates to the Big Ten Retirees Association 2024 annual conference met at The Ohio State University in July to learn about Ohio State, share ideas, and develop closer ties among the 28 attendees from 12 of the 14 Big Ten schools. Minnesota will host the conference in 2026.

Keeping up with the U of M regents

“UMRA members are engaged ‘University citizens’ with decades of experience at every level of this great institution, and we want to have a mutually useful and effective relationship with the Board of Regents,” says John Finnegan, UMRA’s new liaison to the regents.

Mike Austin puts his knowledge to good use as a volunteer

UMRA member Mike Austin is taking full advantage of his retirement to volunteer in a variety of activities, travel, and learn a new language. He says, “I have the time, I have the ability, and I get bored sitting around.”

2025 grants for retirees

Funding of up to $5,000 per grant is available to support U of M retirees’ research, instructional history, new scholarship, or creative interests.

Welcome UMRA’s 2024–25 board

Members of UMRA’s 2024–25 Board of Directors were elected in May. Directors are elected to three-year terms and may serve two consecutive terms.

A new—and easy—way to check whether you have renewed your membership

The UMRA membership year runs from July 1 to June 30, and now there is a new and easy way to check whether you have already renewed for 2025. Look to the right of your name in the address field on page 12 of the September 2024 print newsletter you received, and you will see a four-digit year. If it says “2025,” it means you have renewed. 

Election of UMRA’s 2024–25 leaders to be held online

The election of UMRA officers and new board members for 2024–25 will be conducted via an online poll from May 13 to 19, with the results to be announced at our annual meeting on May 21. Look for the ballot in your email inbox on May 13. Diane Young has been nominated to be president-elect.

Our journey with Alzheimer’s

“I convinced myself I could handle this problem without support groups or doing additional research, but that’s only because I didn’t want to make it any more real than it already was. Denial comes in many forms, and one is to avoid thinking about the problem any more than need be.” —Alice A. Larson

HELLO, my name is Peter Moe

Meet UMRA member Peter Moe. He retired in 2023 after a career that spanned nearly half a century at the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum, and is credited with developing the “Arb” into one of the few in the U.S. with world-class fruit and landscape breeding programs.