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Be all you can be as a University retiree!!
With the University of Minnesota Retirees Association (UMRA).
Author Lori Studevant "Minnesota's Year of Distraction"
Lori Sturdevant writes editorials and a weekly column in the Minneapolis StarTribune, about topics she has covered for more than 30 years: state government and politics. A native of South Dakota, Lori is a graduate of Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa and a member of that institution’s Board of Trustees. She has been the editor or co-author of seven books, including “A Man’s Reach: The Autobiography of Elmer L. Andersen.” Her latest book, "The Pillsburys of Minnesota," was published by Nodin Press in April. Lori lives in Minneapolis with her husband; they have three grown children.
For more information and to make a REQUIRED RESERVATION, see our meetings page.
Among the items in the short business portion of our celebratory meeting on May 22 is the election of offcers and new board members. The Nominating Committee recommends the following for your consideration.
Nominees for UMRA Officers
President-Elect:
John S. Adams, Professor Emeritus in Geography. John earned two degrees (M.A. in Economics and Ph.D. in Geography) from the University of Minnesota. Following a period on the Penn State geography faculty, John returned to Minnesota in 1970 as Associate Professor of geography and public affairs and research director of the Comparative Metropolitan Analysis Project. In addition to his distinguished research career, John was a highly regarded instructor whose courses were noted for their rigor and 8 a.m. starting times. He participated widely in university administration (he was founding director of the Humphrey Institute), and in faculty governance, including chairing the Faculty Consultative Committee in 1994-95. John is deeply committed to professional and public service with activities too numerous to detail. Some examples include president of the Associate of American Geographers, National Research Council committees, the Citizens League, and the St Paul-Minneapolis Committee of Foreign Relations.
Secretary:
Julie Medbery, Minnesota Extension Service – incumbent
Treasurer:
Richard Skaggs, Geography – incumbent
Nominees for Three-Year Terms on the UMRA Board of Directors
Victor Bloomfield, Professor Emeritus in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology & Biophysics. Vic began his academic career at the University of Illinois where he trained a graduate student who went on to win the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine. In 1970 Vic joined Biochemistry at Minnesota, served 11 years as Department Head, and led an active research group focused on the biophysics of DNA, particularly the condensation of DNA. He served several years on the Senate Consultative Committee including one year as chair. Most recently he was Associate Vice President for Public Engagement. Vic is an avid photographer, and in a recent project gathered photos from every building on the Twin Cities campus. He currently coordinates the activities of the UMRA Photo Club. Vic and his wife, Elsa Shapiro, love to travel and eagerly share photos and commentary of their experiences abroad.
Vandora Linck. Van has been an active participant in UMRA activities for many years and is an enthusiastic supporter of the University of Minnesota. With a B.S. degree from the University in home economics education she taught for a number of years and became involved in Montessori education, for which she served on several boards. She also served on the Gallery 96 Art Center board. A member of the founding committee for friends of the historic costume collection at the University’s Museum of Design (formerly the Goldstein Gallery), Van helped found a similar group at Colorado State University. She currently serves on the alumni board for Beta of Clovia Society, a St. Paul Campus sorority, whose primary interest is raising money for scholarships for women. Her late husband, Al Linck (President of UMRA in 1997-98), was Professor of Plant Physiology and later served as Academic Vice President on both the St. Paul and Minneapolis campuses, as well as at Colorado State University in the final years of his career.
Paul Quie, Medicine - incumbent
Craig Swan, Economics/Provost’s Office - incumbent
If you know someone who is recently retired or will be soon, invite them to the next luncheon. Prospective members receive a complimentary meal, just so they can check us out! When you make your reservations, call in to tell us that you want to bring a prospective member, and UMRA will trreat them to their first luncheon program.
You may now directly support the Professional Development Grants for Retirees (PDG) program through your directed contribution to the University of Minnesota Foundation at http://giving.umn.edu/umra. Your gift will support and strengthen this important program. See our Grants page for more information.
Automating its payment system, parking and transportation services now requires UMRA members to use parking discount coupons to obtain the discounted parking rate of $6 for the day. And, although the rate has increased this year, the good news is that the parking places you can use with your discount have also increased. Your UMRA discount is now available at all ramps and some surface lots.
So far, 3,000 coupons have been distributed to UmrA members who requested them to fulfll their anticipated needs of the coming year. If you need additional coupons, we will make them available at UMRA luncheons throughout the year. Alternatively, you may send your request with a self-addressed, self-stamped envelope to John S. Anderson, 1332 Como Blvd. E., St. Paul, MN 55117. (more than 21 coupons requires extra postage.)
— John Anderson, past president
For more information on the parking change, please see our "Parking" page.
An application/renewal form is available here. Retirees joining UMRA for the first time get a 60% reduction in fees. This "introductory membership" costs is just $10 for a single or $15 for a couple for the first year.
UMRA has a telephone number, 612-626-4403. Messages are checked and processed on a daily basis.
We hope you find this website useful and we invite you to send comments and suggestions to the Webmaster, Dave Naumann, at dnaumann@umn.edu
