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Sandra Day O'Connor and Bob Stein in 1999

Bob Stein, executive director of the American Bar Association, with Sandra Day O'Connor in 1999

Get connected, winter 2006

From M, winter 2006

Sandra Day O'Connor to address alumni annual celebration

Bob Stein (B.S.L. '60, J.D. '61) hadn't been president of the UMAA's national board more than a few minutes when he swung into action, landing the keynote speaker for the UMAA's 2006 Annual Celebration: U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O'Connor. O'Connor will address alumni and others on Tuesday, May 23. Event details will be announced soon.

Appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1981, O'Connor became the first woman to sit on the nation's highest court. She has been a centrist on an increasingly polarized Supreme Court, often casting the deciding vote in close cases and writing many landmark decisions and infl uential dissents. O'Connor announced her retirement this past June and will step down once her replacement is confirmed.

O'Connor joins a list of distinguished speakers at past UMAA annual celebrations, including Walter Cronkite, August Wilson, and Doris Kearns Goodwin.

For more information on Sandra Day O'Connor's speech and the UMAA annual celebration, visit the UMAA website, or call 612-624-2323 or 800-862-5867.

Eclectic and electric theater at a discount

University Theatre is marking its 75th season with an eclectic series of shows with outstanding alumni as directors. "It's an incredibly vital season, really exciting and electric," says Sherry Wagner-Henry, University Theatre program director. "We've selected a really broad body of work ... and our University Dance Theatre pieces [which celebrates its 20th year] are all significant works produced here before, the vast majority by alumni choreographers."

The "75:20" season, already under way, includes the regional premier of Las Meninas by by Lynn Nottage, Cabaret, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Minnesota Centennial Showboat performances of Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway, a George M. Cohen musical directed by longtime U music professor Vern Sutton. "Seventy-five years is a huge milestone in university theater, especially in the Midwest," Wagner-Henry says. "We decided we didn't want to just celebrate, but to create an extraordinary season to bring people to campus."

University Theatre and the alumni association team up to offer members discounts on tickets and several special events. This year, two performances of Forty-Five Minutes from Broadway for UMAA members will include post-show receptions with Sutton and the cast. For more on the 75:20 season, visit www.theatre.umn. edu. For more on other UMAA member benefits, visit the UMAA website.

Don't miss out on Minnesota Magazine

Minnesota, the bimonthly magazine of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association, is mailed to 57,000 members of the UMAA. The November-December issue features a photoessay by National Geographic photographer William Albert Allard (B.A. '64), a remembrance of Civil Rights leader Roy Wilkins (B.A. '23), a profile of U bee researcher Marla Spivak, and more. Join the alumni association to receive every issue of Minnesota. Call 612-624-2323 or 800-862-5867 or visit the UMAA website.

Support the U's bonding plan

The University will request $206 million in state bonding funds in 2006, with the largest share - $80 million - going for needed maintenance on the U's 800 buildings, many of them more than 75 years old. Learn more about the bonding request and how to support the University by visiting the Legislative Network Web site at www.SupportTheU.umn.edu.

Law alumni join the UMAA

Alumni of the Law School now enjoy access to UMAA programming, benefits, and initiatives. The Law Alumni Association is becoming a society of the UMAA, bringing the school's stellar reputation and rich history into the UMAA fold. Law alumni members will now receive Minnesota magazine, have access to the M Alumni Online directory, and dozens of other rewards. The UMAA, meanwhile, will welcome to its ranks nearly 5,000 devoted, motivated, and highly energetic alumni. Societies support individual University colleges and schools. Other alumni groups are chapters, based in geographic areas, and interest groups, which unite alumni in areas of special interest. All the groups aim to connect alumni with the University and create a community of supporters and advocates. For more on alumni groups, visit the UMAA website.