Supersizing America
Obesity becomes an epidemic. Six out of every 10 Americans are overweight; nearly one in three is obese. Since 1991, U.S. obesity rates in adults have risen 60 percent.

UMD Bulldogs become first dynasty in women's hockey
It's quite a routine that the University of Minnesota, Duluth women's hockey team has established over the past three years. Enjoy a successful season. Knock off your archrival when it counts. Skate past your elite competition in the Frozen Four to win the NCAA championship.

Building pride, supporting academic excellence
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association will contribute $1.5 million to an on-campus football stadium and student scholarships. The UMAA National Board of Directors unanimously passed a resolution in September to contribute $1 million to a new on-campus stadium.

Football bowl site
With stadium talk buzzing and the Gopher football team playing its best football in years, the alumni association set up a Web site to help Gopher fans follow their team on the road.

Kicking off another stadium drive
The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is helping kick off a stadium drive 83 years after the original Memorial Stadium campaign began.

Giant step for Scholars Walk
The Scholars Walk, a "sacred space" to honor great alumni and the intellectual heart of the University of Minnesota, was approved by the Board of Regents in September and could be completed by next fall.

Party of the century
To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the University of Minnesota Alumni Association (UMAA), the UMAA will hold the Birthday Party of the Century in and around the McNamara Alumni Center.

Member snapshot, winter 2004
This UMAA member snapshot is of Jim Clausen, class of 1965.

The Translational Research Facility
Heart disease, Parkinson's, muscular dystrophy, and even spinal cord injury--discovering cell-based therapies to treat or even cure these ailments is the goal of Catherine Verfaillie, director of the University's Stem Cell Institute.

Honoring the memory of loved ones
There are many reasons for giving to the University of Minnesota: making a difference, feeling grateful, helping students, assisting faculty, nurturing research. When gifts are generous enough to endow scholarships, fellowships, professorships, or chairs, donors can further enhance their legacies by naming the funds for themselves or in honor of loved ones.

The buck stops here
Alumni may figure that, given the size of the University, any gift they might make really won't make a difference. That is just one of many myths about private support.

Finding a way to make a larger gift
Delos and Shirley Lake Barber aren't wealthy, but they do feel blessed. The met as teenagers at the Minnesota State Fair when they were both in 4-H. After decades of supporting 4-H the Barbers made an extraordinary gift.

Graduating (when some are retiring), then giving back
Fred Wall isn't your average University of Minnesota alum; he earned his degree last spring at age 71. He isn't your average recent grad donor either; shortly after graduating, he made a gift to the U of $1 million.

Annual report on giving
The annual report on giving to the U was presented to the Board of Regents in November by Gerald B. Fischer, president and CEO of the University of Minnesota Foundation, which oversees University fundraising. Gifts to the U were up 42 percent last year.

Continuing the dialogue: 'Great Conversations' returns for third year
The College of Continuing Education's Great Conversations series returns for a third season in 2004 with an exciting range of guest thinkers and topics.

Hearty enthusiasm
Doris Taylor caused a stir in the medical establishment when she and her colleagues at Duke University announced they had repaired damage to rabbits' hearts with cells from the rabbits' thighs. Taylor continues her research at the University of Minnesota as she fills the Medtronic Bakken Chair in Cardiovascular Repair.

Mixing it up at Northrop
Celebrating its 10th year at the University of Minnesota, the Northrop Jazz Season is committed to ensuring that live jazz continues and it has made the Twin Cities a major destination for international jazz artists.

Mother Nature still loves maroon and gold
University of Minnesota alumnus and noted nature photographer Jim Brandenburg has donated another photo for the University's Even Mother Nature Loves Maroon and Gold posters series.

One world, many voices
The U's Culture Corps brings us together.

Saying 'it's Greek to me' for decades to come
Thirty-three fraternity and sorority houses are now officially historic landmarks, unanimously designated as such in October by the Minneapolis City Council. This group of building joins 11 other historic districts in Minneapolis, each following its own guidelines.

What poetry can give
Cedric Bolton helps create community through words

Break the procrastination habit... today?
Putting things off is a habit that you learn and can unlearn--or at least learn to manage, says psychologist Glenn Hirsch, assistant director of University Counseling and Consulting Service. Hirsch offers some tips to help us get out of the procrastination habit.

Is that a nuthatch or a junco?
Dana Gardner and Nancy Overcott have produced Birds at Your Feeder, a handy, laminated, folding guide to backyard birds.

No More Mondays
Former University extension educator and professor LaVonne Misner's new book recreates the world of life at sea. It also reveals Misner's evolving relationship with her husband and their changing views as they encounter the world.

Burton hopes to bring growth to the fertile Crookston campus
The University of Minnesota, Crookston, is going to be bigger and better within five years if Velmer S. Burton, Jr., has anything to say about it. And as the new chancellor of UMC, he most certainly will.

Helping your overweight child
Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, associate professor in the School of Public Health's Division of Epidemiology, has found some ways parents can help their overweight children.