- Campuses :
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UMRA’s members gather at 11:30 at the Campus Club, in Conference Room ABC, on the fourth floor of Coffman Union, on the 4th Tuesday of each month, for lunch, good fellowship, and an interesting speaker.
Cost
Prepayment: $14 per person; $16 at door for reservations that are not prepaid.
Deadline Thursday, February 23
To reserve your place(s) and prepay, send a check, payable to UMRA, to:
UMRA Reservations
c/o Pat Tollefson
4210 Polk St. NE
Columbia Heights
MN 55421
Or arrange to pay at the door by contacting her at 763-781-9747 or
p-toll@umn.edu.
Please honor the reservation deadline date; if cancellations are necessary, please let us know by noon february 23.
Joanne B. Eicher, “Creating an Encyclopedia in this Digital Age”. Joanne is Regents Professor Emerita, Department of Design, Housing and Apparel at the University of Minnesota.
She joined the department of Textiles and Clothing in 1977 as department head, and from 1983 to 1987, served as department head and director of the Goldstein Gallery, then later for the merged department of Design, Housing, and Apparel. A widely respected teacher and administrator, she was named Regents Professor in 1995.
Following a life-long interest in dress and clothing, Joanne began fieldwork in Nigeria with the Kalabari of the Niger Delta in 1980 and published extensively with a Kalabari colleague. This led to research on exporting textiles from India to Nigeria. In 1987, she returned to Nigeria during a sabbatical year in Oxford, England, and expanded her research to Egypt, India, and Thailand. Her many publications and papers include presentations in China, Korea, India, and Australia. Upon retiring from the University in 2005, Joanne turned to writing and editing. Besides heading the creation of the World Encyclopedia of Dress and Fashion, she is also consulting editor for the Dress, Body, Culture series (Berg Publishers, London, England). In 2008, she co-authored The Visible Self (3rd, ed.) and was associate editor, Encyclopedia of Clothing and Fashion (Scribners, 2005).
Recent articles include “The Anthropology of Dress,” “Dress, Gender, and the Display of Skin,” and “The American Groom Wore a Celtic Kilt: Theme Weddings as Carnivalesque Events.” Her most recent chapter, “The Body,” has just been published in Art and Fashion, a book edited by two Australians.
Estate and Gift Planning Strategies – What You Should Know Tuesday, February 28, 2012, 1:30 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Conference Room ABC, Campus Club
The University of Minnesota Retirees Association and the University of Minnesota Foundation invites retired faculty and staff to join us for dessert and a discussion of current tax law, as well as a review of estate and gift planning. Jane Godfrey J.D., a recent addition to the Planned Giving team at the University of Minnesota Foundation, will discuss these topics and answer your questions about estate planning. Jane comes to the U of M with 20 years of experience in estate planning at a leading Twin Cities law firm. Topics will include:
Update on federal and state estate tax laws.
Why is it important to have an estate plan?
What is the difference between a will and a revocable (living) trust?
What other estate planning documents are important?
How can charitable giving increase my income?
What are the best options for including charitable gifts in my estate?
Join us for an informative conversation about the necessary tools and options for making tax-wise gifts to heirs and legacy gifts to charity. There will be ample time for questions during and after the presentation.
If you plan to attend this special presentation, please RSVP by Thursday, February 23 at www.rsvp.umn.edu/umra/ If you do not have access to a computer, you may also RSVP to Lynn Praska in the University of Minnesota Foundation at 612-624-4158.
The January lunch featured an exciting opening act followed by a spectacular headliner, Marla Spivak, who talked about bees, delivering charm and education at the same time.
The opening act, however, was sheer improvisational comedy. People kept wandering in from the hallway and claiming to have reservations! Others, already seated, not in on the joke, were patient and polite. A performer impersonating "me" acted puzzled and powerless. Saving the day were the intrepid Campus Club servers —busy as bees, they buzzed around and found chairs and, eventually, food for all.
What did we learn at the January meeting? We learned that honey bees are even more industrious and ingenious than we thought, they are crucial in the food system, and very fortunate to have the loving attention of the likes of Professor Marla Spivak and her students. We all also learned the importance of reservations!!
Perhaps we (your committee and newsletter editor and webmaster) have not been clear in communicating this, but the fact is—even if you plan to pay at the door instead of sending in a check, you must call or e-mail to reserve your place(s) for lunch by the deadline listed on page one. Please! — Frank C. Miller
Frank describes himself as Amateur Reservationist. We describe him as UMRA's Disarming Humorist. Frank would be happy to have reservations assistance at future luncheons. You can reach him at mille005@umn.edu or 612-331-2145.
March 27 — Eric Kaler, sixteenth and current President of the University of Minnesota.
April 24 – Ira Reiss, Professor Emeritus of Sociology, will speak on the topic of his latest book: An Insider's View of Sexual Science Since Kinsey.
May 22 – Lori Sturdevant will be the speaker at our May meeting, the final meeting of the year. She will talk about University history: All John's Children (John S. Pillsbury, "father of the University").
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.
With last year's expenses for lunches falling short of income by more than $200, and the Campus Club raising costs by 10 percent this year, UMRA was faced with raising the price of its luncheons for the first time in almost a decade. At the September meeting the executive committee recommended and the Board passe an increase to the price of luncheons. Going forward, for some time we hope, the price of lunches will be $14 (prepaid) and $16 (at the door).
January 24 luncheon featured Professor Marla Spivak, who spoke on "Saving our Pollinators," and many other fascinating bee stories and pictures. Spivak is a distinguished McKnight Professor of Entomology who has been named the "Bee Queen" in a Wired Magazine article. Spivak has been at the U's entomology department since 1992. Before then, her extensive experience included researching africanized honey bees in Costa Rica for her Ph.D. degree from the University of Kansas. An award-winning researcher and teacher here at Minnesota, in 2009 she was named a Distinguished McKnight Professor, one of the University's highest honors.
In 2010, she was awarded a $500,000 "genius grant" from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; she is only the second faculty member in University history to win this award. Spivak also leads the University's Bee Lab, which provides research and education to professional and amateur beekeepers. With her MacArthur grant funds, she hopes to establish a one-of-a-kind bee center— a combination research lab, honey production facility, museum, and education center.
November 22 luncheon featured three UMRA grant recipients and results of their work
Following on the heels of our successful luncheon last year and back by popular demand, we present three representatives from the grantees who have received UMRA Research Grants. Three grantees from the second cycle (2009-2010) reported on the results of their work.
Professor Alan Lathrop, retired manuscript curator of the University Libraries, used his grant to complete a monograph on the practice of medicine and surgery in the China-Burma theater of war during World War II. The work is based largely on an unpublished diary of Captain John Grindley of the Army Medical Corps, who described his experiences in China, Burma, and India in fascinating detail under some of the worst climate, terrain, and savage combat conditions on the planet.
Professor William Zimmermann, professor emeritus of physics, studies super fuid helium. When the temperature of gaseous helium is lowered substantially, the gas liquefies. When it is brought to a few degrees above absolute zero, the liquid helium undergoes a remarkable transition in its physical properties. Professor Zimmerman was assisted in this work by two REU (Research Experience for Undergraduates) physics students who will use the research for their senior projects.
Professor James Tracy, professor emeritus of history, is a scholar of medieval European history and is especially interested in the 16th century conficts between the Christian states of the Hapsburg Empire, the Venetian Republic, and the Republic of Dubrovnik and the Ottoman Empire. The Christian states did not get along well with one another, and each had a different strategy in its confict with the Ottomans.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Professor Lawrence Rudnick told the full-house audence about "A Whole Lot of Nothing" along with quite a bit about everything. He linked his research and those of other cosmologists into a progression of what is now known about the universe. He also discussed what is known and unknown: the state of current research. Professor Rudnick did wax philosophical, as he reflected on the scientific speculations about why the universe is so remarkably fit for human life.
Professor Rudnick is an observational astrophysicist studying both supernova remnants and large-scale structures in the Universe. His outstanding teaching abilities have been recognized by several awards including the Institute of Technology Outstanding Teaching Award in Astronomy, the George Taylor / IT Alumni Distinguished Teaching Award, and the Morse-Alumni Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Our first fall luncheon meeting Speaker was Lyndel King, director and chief curator of the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota. If you missed her stirring, enthusiastic, welcoming and erudite presentation, you missed a marvelous opportunity to learn about WAM. Dr. King has been present during the entire development of the Weisman. She wove many intimate details of the design, financing, collections, and redesign into the tapestry leading to the new WAM.
Tuesday May 24, 2011
Our featured speakers, Dr. Robert Bruininks and his wife, Dr. Susan Hagstrum, shared their experiences – and emotions – over their nine years as the University's president and first lady in their remarks. Their presentation was very warmly received by the full-house crowd of attendees, many former colleagues of the President.
April 26, 2011
Tom Stinson, Minnesota's state economist, and professor of Applied Economics, spoke about "The New Normal and Minnesota" to a full room audience.
March 22, 2011
David Walsh, Director of the University Opera Theater, in his talk “Tampering with Opera’s Sacred Cows,” spoke about directorial approaches to the repertoire, contrasting classical, updated, and "Eurotrash" presentations.
February 22, 2011
Mark Seeley, Professor of Climatology and Meterologist: "Minnesota's Weather Events: History and Current Trends."
January 25, 2011
Prof. Anatoly Liberman, Department of German, Scandinavian & Dutch
"Where is the English Language Going?"
Program Committee (2011-12)
Calvin Kendall (Chair);kenda001@umn.edu;
763-476-4637
John Anderson;ander049@umn.edu;
651-489-4330
Julie Medbery;jmedbery@comcast.net;
651-342-8999
Craig Swan;swan@umn.edu; 612-374-2496
The Program Committee is looking for good speaker ideas for next fall and winter. If you have any suggestions, or would like to serve on the 2012–13 program committee, please contact Ron Anderson (rea@umn.edu).
January, 2012: Marla Spivak told us all about the bees
November, 2011: 2009-10 Professional Development Grants recipients presented: Alan Lathrop, William Zimmermann, and James Tracy, with PDG Committee members Martin Dworkin and Jan Hogan-Schiltgen
October, 2011 speaker Larry Rudnick updates retirees' understanding of just about everything in the Universe
