Forum

New Americans in Minnesota

Jane Graupman, executive director of the International Institute of Minnesota, is a tireless advocate for new Americans in our community. As the featured speaker for our September Forum, she will provide a primer on their contributions and the challenges they face.

Tackling climate change and building a sustainable energy future

Guest speaker Jessica Hellmann, Ph.D., is executive director and Ecolab Chair in Environmental Leadership at the U of M Institute on the Environment and a professor in the College of Biological Sciences Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior. She will share with us the critical role that universities have to play in addressing the climate crisis.

UMRA Autumn Riverboat Cruise

There is no better way to celebrate the beginning of a new UMRA program year than by taking a glorious sightseeing cruise on the Mississippi River. Meet new members, reconnect with old friends, and enjoy a taco bar with two-for-one margaritas.

Harriet Island Regional Park, St. Paul
RSVP by August 26
Reservations are now closed -- the cruise is full

$35 per person
(includes taco bar)

MAP 

DIRECTIONS

UMRA Summer Social

You are invited to an in-person, outdoor summer social and lunch for UMRA members and guests at the Como Lakeside Pavilion in St. Paul, catered by the Dock & Paddle restaurant.

CLA Dean John Coleman to keynote 2022 Annual Meeting

May 24 will mark UMRA’s return to in-person luncheon forums at the Campus Club for the first time in more than two years. Provost Rachel Croson will be our special guest and John Coleman, dean of the College of Liberal Arts, will be our keynote speaker. Reservations open April 28 and are due by May 16. 

Advancing the public good through housing

UMRA’s April 2022 Forum will feature Tim Marx, ’83 JD, long-time president and CEO of Catholic Charities of St. Paul and Minneapolis and a leading authority on the homeless crisis in the Twin Cities. Marx will comment on the causes of homelessness, its extent, its context in relationship to other major poverty-related challenges, and solutions.

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. 

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. 

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.

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.

What does it mean to be a global campus?

Study abroad programs are only one part of the larger picture of the robust international education program at the University of Minnesota. Meredith McQuaid, associate vice president and dean of International Programs, will join us for UMRA A.M. on Tuesday, November 9, to provide an overview of the U’s Global Programs & Strategy Alliance, and explain why she believes international education should be relevant to the University as a whole.

How we became a speedboat in a time of crisis

Jakub Tolar, MD, PhD, will share with us the story of how the faculty, staff, and students at the University of Minnesota Medical School responded to the coronavirus pandemic in an unprecedented effort of adaptation, collaboration, and service.

Could climate change turn Minnesota into the new Kansas?

Minnesota is one of the most interesting places on the planet because three biomes come together here: boreal forest, temperate forest, and grasslands. However, this confluence of biomes also means that our forests are highly susceptible to changing climate. Lee Frelich, PhD, director of the University of Minnesota’s Center for Forest Ecology, will explain why when he joins us as our guest speaker for UMRA's October Forum.

Meet Professor Tadd M. Johnson, Esq.

What does it take to navigate constructive relationships between the University and the sovereign nations whose histories go deep in the lands that are now the state of Minnesota? We’ll find out when we meet the University’s first senior director of American Indian Tribal Nations Relations.