Empowered by the sun
(5/9/2008) After a nail-biting year waiting for funding, students at the U will once again be able to compete in the North American Solar Challenge with their handsome, high-tech car.

U names 2008 McKnights
(5/6/2008) The University has named four Distinguished McKnight University Professors and 13 McKnight Land-Grant Professors for 2008. The Distinguished McKnight award rewards mid-career faculty of note like Judith Berman, and the McKnight Land-Grant award supports promising junior faculty such as Katsumi Matsumoto.

U student wins medal for bravery
(5/2/2008) A rare display of courage, heroism, and selfless action earned Nate Lund the Soldier's Medal, one of the highest honors bestowed by the Army. The award was presented Thursday during a special ceremony at the University of Minnesota.

Guggenheims galore
(4/29/2008) Three U faculty are among the 190 artists, scientists, and scholars to win Guggenheim fellowships this year. Past winners include Martha Graham, Linus Pauling, and Ansel Adams.

One village at a time
(4/22/2008) U student Katie Nelson established the Nafula Foundation to help Kenyan families achieve self-sustainability

When physics is a social science
(4/18/2008) A University-sponsored program helps families discover the joy of science together. Through PACES (Parents And Children Experiencing Science), parents model scientific curiosity for their kids.

Ruby red slippers and Yellow Brick Road, with a twist
(4/16/2008) The University Theatre and Dance explores the universal themes of courage, intelligence, love, and the importance of home in its version of "The Wiz," a 1975 Broadway musical adapted from L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Regents approve contracts with food and beverage vendors
(4/11/2008) On April 11, the Board of Regents approved four long-term contracts with vendors for food and beverage service on University of Minnesota campuses.

U inaugurates Rochester chancellor
(4/4/2008) Stephen Lehmkuhle was formally installed as the first chancellor of the University of Minnesota, Rochester on April 4. He took over the reins of the downtown Rochester campus in fall 2007.

UMM chancellor speaks to Congress
(4/4/2008) Chancellor Jacquie Johnson was chosen to testify before the U.S. Congress because of her leadership at the Morris campus, which is nearly energy self-sufficient.

Filling the need
(4/2/2008) A new dental clinic--a partnership between the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry and Rice Memorial Hospital--offers students learning opportunities while bringing needed care to patients in west central Minnesota.

Ralph Rapson dies at 93
(4/1/2008) Ralph Rapson, University of Minnesota's School of Architecture for 30 years, introduced Modernism to the U's program and left a legacy of integrated architecture.

March Madness goes hi-tech
(3/28/2008) On March 28 and 29, Williams Arena is hosting the first-ever Minnesota Regional FIRST Robotics Competition from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The FIRST (For Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) competition attracted more than 50 teams of students from the six-state region.

Every napkin counts
(3/28/2008) Last fall, University Dining Services collected 78 tons of compost material from its kitchens and restaurants, and the UDS Green Team played a big role--helping the lunch crowd identify its compost-friendly waste.

Conscious collaborator
(3/18/2008) Some rock bands, like Black Eyed Peas, are known for espousing green causes. Others, for gas-guzzling tour buses and over-the-top consumerism. University of Minnesota student Erick Boustead is helping rock bands keep their shows as green as their words.

Collaborating to lead
(3/11/2008) A new series of workshops--organized by the Graduate School's Office of Interdisciplinary Initiatives--aims to develop the collaborative leadership skills of those engaged in scholarship, research, creative work, and education and training programs. Mentoring is the theme of the next session on March 25.

A sickle-cell sleuth
(3/7/2008) He was a political science major--until he discovered medical research. Now, Regents Professor of Medicine Robert Hebbel is a leading authority on sickle-cell and other blood-related diseases.

U professor dies at 65
(3/6/2008) Stephen Feinstein, who died on March 4, built the U's Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies into a premier educational, research, and outreach institution of international renown.

Water works
(2/29/2008) The U's student chapter of Engineers Without Borders brings hope to small villages around the world.

Lecture-free biology
(2/19/2008) In the new freshman biology sequence, students must master text material on their own and think for themselves--with a little help from their friends.

Their votes count
(2/8/2008) Nationwide, the turnout by young people on Super Tuesday was unprecedently high. UMD students added to that number and their enthusiasm for the presidential race runs high.

Putting women in the spotlight
(1/15/2008) Regents Professor Sara Evans helped found the field of women's studies. Now she is one of its most prominent scholars.

Bridging languages, bridging cultures
(1/9/2008) Pui-Fong Kan, a University of Minnesota Ph.D. candidate, is studying the relationship between language acquisition and culture, especially in bilingual children.

Delving deeper
(1/8/2008) The U's the Borchert Map Library--with its more than 350,000 sheet maps, 9,600 atlases, and 415,000 aerial photos--is the place to go for the histories of towns, neighborhoods, and individual properties, as well as for information about wetlands, lakes, and streams that have been altered or destroyed by urban growth.

American Indian Cultural House helps U students succeed in college
(1/8/2008) The U's American Indian Cultural House helps American Indian students adjust to life on the Twin Cities campus. It is the first of its kind among Big Ten universities and third in the nation after Harvard and Dartmouth.

To forgive or not to forgive
(12/19/2007) Ling-Hsuan Tung, a University of Minnesota doctoral candidate in counseling psychology, examines how forgiveness and healing can go hand in hand.

Behind the scenes and on stage
(12/14/2007) He's been in the theatre business for 30 years but his ideas are still attention grabbing and fresh. U professor Michael Sommers was recently named a USA Ford Fellow for his work behind the scenes and on stage.

Graduation rates continue to rise on Twin Cities campus
(12/14/2007) The U announced that on the Twin Cities campus, the percentage of students graduating in four years increased to 44.9 percent in 2007, significantly up from the 2006 rate of 41.1 percent. In addition, the five-year graduation rate increased to 60.5 percent and the six-year rate has climbed to 63.6 percent.

A day for music makers
(12/11/2007) Since 2005, the University has hosted a daylong instrumental conducting symposium for band conductors and music educators. Creativity, collaboration, and personal renewal is the goal.

Assessing interdisciplinary success
(12/10/2007) Engineering professor Doug Ernie is charged with overseeing a new process to monitor the growing number of U-wide interdisciplinary centers and institutes.

Mind the digital generation gap
(12/10/2007) Students may be experienced technology users, but not experts, and the technology gap between them and faculty may be smaller than we think.

Jack be nimble
(12/5/2007) Jack Zipes recently won an award for his book, Why Fairy Tales Stick. The University professor of German has a way of not only motivating children to question the traditional stories they've been told but challenging conventional wisdom about the role of folklore in our lives.

Setting the stage
(12/5/2007) University of Minnesota student Lola Abdul dreams of starring in a different kind of medical drama; the native Nigerian has successfully combined the study of biology and theater in her quest to become a doctor.

Win-win for principals
(12/5/2007) Each month, about 20 school principals from across Minnesota travel to St. Paul for the U's Principals' Academy. The yearlong professional development program, which also provides participants the rare chance to network with their peers, is based on leadership best practices from education, business, and the military.

Seeding the future
(12/4/2007) A standout researcher, Regents Professor Ronald Phillips (left) has ushered crop sciences into the modern age with new ways to culture and breed crop plants.

Reality psych
(12/3/2007) A UMD professor transformed a class for undergraduates, beginning with a simple call to Duluth branch of Head Start.

The Rochester campus has a new home
(12/3/2007) The University of Minnesota, Rochester finally has its very own digs in the heart of downtown Rochester. Chancellor Lehmkuhle talks about what lies ahead for UMR.

Survey measures health of college students
(11/20/2007) A report released last week by the University of Minnesota's Boynton Health Service reveals results from the state's first-ever comprehensive study of the health of college and university students.

Text messaging debuts for emergency communications
(11/15/2007) The University of Minnesota has made text messaging a major part of its emergency notification system, adding one more way to potentially reach every member of the U as quickly as possible.

U celebrates student veterans
(11/13/2007) On Wednesday, November 14, the U held its first-ever Student Veterans Appreciation Day to honor its student veterans' service and sacrifice to the United States.

At the front lines of interdisciplinary inquiry
(11/9/2007) The U's Network of Interdisciplinary Inquiry, which will meet Nov. 19, is a sign of a sea change in higher education in which the University of Minnesota is leading the way.

Bees at the Bell
(11/7/2007) There's a colony of bees on the Bell Museum's roof, and each school year, the museum's bee- and bug-keeper Kevin Williams teaches local schoolchildren about the importance of honeybees and other invertebrates.

A student parent finds success
(11/6/2007) Wendy Smith is a nontraditional student in almost every sense of the term. She's 38 years old, married, and the mother of a 3-year-old son. And she's one of an estimated several thousand student parents at the U who are pursuing their academic aspirations alongside their family responsibilities.

Seeds of change
(10/30/2007) Office of Public Engagement seed grants are changing the U. Two examples of projects funded in 2006-07 seek to use new technology to ease the transition to college for low-income students and increase professional development opportunities in the nonprofit sector.

Downtown digs: new Rochester campus
(10/23/2007) For years the U has operated joint education programs out of the Rochester Community and Technical College, located at the fringes of Minnesota's third largest city. Today, the University of Minnesota has an official campus right in the pulsing heart of Rochester. (Video included)

U receives $12.5 million for stadium, scholarships
(10/19/2007) The University of Minnesota has received a $12.5 million gift from the Shakopee Mdewakanton Sioux Community that will go toward the construction of a new football stadium and a scholarship endowment.

Improving student persistence
(10/15/2007) What factors cause students to stay in college and graduate? The second cohort of staff and faculty in UMD's Transformational Leadership Program aims to find out and make a difference.

They know the drill
(10/12/2007) Lifelike, computerized mannequins give future dentists a feeling for their profession

U.S. high school dropout rate higher than thought
(10/10/2007) U researchers have found that the U.S. high school dropout rate is considerably higher than most people think--with one in four students not graduating--and their findings point to discrepancies in the two major data sources.

Retool or refresh
(10/9/2007) Faculty and staff can take advantage of the U's wide array of professional and personal development options, from the Regents Scholarship to wellness workshops.