Forum

Regent Emeritus Rick Beeson to speak on the state of the University and the Board of Regents

UMRA is pleased to welcome Regent Emeritus Rick Beeson as our guest speaker for UMRA A.M. on October 12. He will speak on the current state of the University, including the U’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, and share his reflections on his time as a member and chair of the Board of Regents. 

UMRA Summer Social — in person!

You are invited to an in-person, outdoor summer social and lunch at Como Lakeside Pavilion, 1360 Lexington Parkway N, St Paul. 

Lunch will be provided by Dock & Paddle restaurant at Como Lakeside Pavilion. There are five sandwich or main course salad options; all include a nonalcoholic beverage. The fee per person is $20.

The Pavilion is a covered, open-air, dining venue overlooking Lake Como. Please dress appropriately for the weather. Free parking is available in two adjacent lots, both with access off Lexington Parkway.

Questions may be directed to Bill Donohue at [email protected].

For the safety of all, this event will be for UMRA members and their guests who are fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by August 17. 

Register by August 10.

Voter suppression—we need to talk

Misinformation about the integrity of the 2020 elections has become a pretext for changes in numerous states to erode the protections of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. Join us for this special summer webinar on June 8 with John Gordon, executive director of the ACLU of Minnesota, to learn what’s at stake and what is being done to protect the voting rights of Minnesotans.  

Labor arbitration, police misconduct, and reform

Join us for UMRA A.M. on May 11 when Professor Stephen Befort, a national authority on labor and employment law, will talk about labor arbitration, with particular emphasis on police conduct cases and the potential effectiveness of proposed reforms.

UMRA Annual Meeting and Forum

Join us on Tuesday, May 25, by Zoom to elect board members and officers for the coming year. The Nominating Committee has recruited a slate of high-quality candidates to carry UMRA forward. The election will be followed by a forum with Regent Kendall J. Powell, who will conclude his two-year term as chair of the University’s governing board in June. 

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.

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.

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. 

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.

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. 

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.

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 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.