- From stardust to pale blue dot: Carbon's interstellar journey to Earth.
- Features: A legal career on the fast track; Serious money for women's rights.
- Awards and Recognition: The Ecological Society of America has awarded the W.S. Cooper Award to Rachel Putnam and Peter Reich; and more.
From stardust to pale blue dot: Carbon's interstellar journey to Earth
Two new studies involving U of M research help explain the role of carbon in life on Earth. In the first study, researchers looked at how carbon is processed when the small precursors of planets, known as planetesimals, retain carbon during their early formation. The research helps explain the role of carbon in the beginning of life on Earth. A second study finds that most of the carbon on Earth was likely delivered from the interstellar medium—the material that exists in space between stars in a galaxy.
A legal career on the fast track
He doesn’t get to race the cars, but as a member of the NASCAR legal team, Hakeem Onafowokan works near the driver’s seat of stock car racing’s sanctioning body. Onafowokan combined his love of sports and his desire to work in the legal field by earning a B.S. in sport management from the College of Education and Human Development, followed by a degree from the Law School. Today Onafowokan is in his third year as a corporate counsel at NASCAR.
Serious money for women's rights
As executive director of Women Moving Millions, U of M alum Sarah Haacke Byrd is bridging the gap between funders and organizers in the fight for women’s rights. This year, in response to the effect of COVID-19 on women, particularly women of color, Haacke Byrd and Women Moving Millions made the decision to launch a new $100 million campaign called Give Bold, Get Equal. Since the campaign’s launch in September 2020, it has secured $95 million in commitments.
Awards and Recognition
The Ecological Society of America has awarded the W.S. Cooper Award to Rachel Putnam and Peter Reich; three Medical School faculty have been honored with the first-ever Health Care Heroes awards from the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal; U in the News features highlights of U faculty and staff cited in the media. Awards and Recognition
New: Brief Alerts
Check out Brief Alerts: What You Need to Know This Week, a new feature on MyU and the brief.umn.edu website. Brief Alerts will provide easy access to timely, high-level University messages and resources.
Supporting one another
COVID-19 has inflicted unforeseen, temporary hardship on members of our University community—and faculty, staff, and retirees have stepped up to support their colleagues. As of Apr. 9, generous employees and retirees across the U of M System have given approximately $10,000 to the U of M Employee Emergency Assistance Fund to provide much-needed financial assistance for colleagues who are unable to meet immediate, essential expenses. Learn about eligibility requirements and apply for assistance.
New U of M Social and Racial Justice Scholar Directory
The University's Institute for Diversity, Equity, and Advocacy has collaborated with the Office for Public Engagement and Faculty and Academic Affairs to create an online directory of University faculty who engage in scholarship related to social and racial justice and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The purpose of the directory is to highlight and amplify the work of scholars in the areas of social and racial justice and DEI, and to foster systemwide connections around those and related issues.
Initiative for alumni-owned businesses hits pandemic milestone
The face mask project in the University of Minnesota Alumni Association’s MN Alumni Market helped produce an 817 percent increase in sales for alumni businesses, while propelling the market to the top 1 percent (in terms of growth) of businesses using the Shopify ecommerce platform for sales in 2020. For every mask sold, one is donated to medical patients and their family caregivers as well as U of M students in on-campus housing. The project will continue through 2021.
Guidelines for in-person K-12 youth and spring/summer programs
Youth programs, activities, and events must comply with the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) guidelines, including COVID-19 Prevention Guidance for Youth and Student Programs. Requests for approval must include a plan outlining how the program will comply with MDH provisions, as well as a statement by the program leader that they are able to meet all of the requirements. Send requests to your senior leader for review and endorsement. Senior leaders should email requests for University approval to Jazmin Danielson. Programs must still register on YouthCentral.
Registration open: Summer of EngageMNt student volunteer program
The University's Summer of EngageMNt program provides remote opportunities for undergraduate and graduate students from across the University System to apply and develop their leadership skills in response to current and emerging community needs. Participating students select community partners to work on service assignments that address a broad range of societal issues. The initiative is coordinated by the University's Office for Public Engagement in collaboration with the Center for Community-Engaged Learning.
Research Brief: Reflecting sunlight could cool the Earth’s ecosystem
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers in the Climate Intervention Biology Working Group—including Jessica Hellmann from the University of Minnesota Institute on the Environment—explored the effect of solar climate interventions on ecology. The team emphasizes that greenhouse gas emissions reduction and conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem functions must be the priority. Additional recent Research Briefs include “How pharmacists contribute meaningfully in primary health care” and “Ocean bacteria release carbon into the atmosphere.”
Apr. 19-21 - Medical Industry Leadership Institute CONVENE Conference
The Medical Industry Leadership Institute at the Carlson School will host its annual CONVENE Conference, which will explore the role of data to drive change in healthcare around mental health, health equity, and social determinants of health. The conference features engaging content from dynamic and influential leaders in healthcare. See the complete schedule and register for CONVENE.
Apr. 30 - Webinar series kickoff: Place Matters
The Office for Public Engagement's new Place Matters webinar series will showcase the University's many place-based projects and offer practitioners and participants of all levels the opportunity to share the challenges and considerations involved in place-based scholarship. The first event in the series, Mapping Engagement (register), will examine some of the University's most creative and compelling place-based mapping projects. Noon-1:30 p.m. via Zoom. All events are free and open to the public.
U of M featured virtual events
Apr. 15 - Let's Talk! Cultivating Strategic Relationships
Apr. 19 - Bharatanatyam and Yoga: A Shared Connection
Apr. 21 - The Next Era of Capitalism with Hubert Joly and Rebecca Henderson
Apr. 21 - Diversity Data Deep Dive 7 – Community Framing of Policing Solutions, Mental Health & Wellness, and Anti-Racist Research Strategies
Apr. 22 - Baby raptors in the Midwest webinar
Apr. 29 - An Invitation to Genius with life meditation teacher Drake Powe
New comprehensive alcohol educational program and policy
The University of Minnesota Crookston has unveiled a new transformational campus alcohol policy. The policy is intended to be a comprehensive educational strategy informed by theory and research to help educate U of M Crookston students on how to make healthy decisions related to alcohol.
Crookston plans to return to in-person and on-campus life in fall
U of M Crookston intends to use in-person instruction as the default modality for on-campus courses in fall 2021. Last month, President Joan Gabel announced plans to return to a pre-pandemic environment in teaching, research, service, and other facets of in-person and on-campus life. The decision reflects current trends suggesting all faculty, staff, and students will have the opportunity to be vaccinated for COVID-19 prior to the fall semester.
Crookston Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society clears 35 acres of bushland habitat
The University of Minnesota Crookston’s Student Chapter of The Wildlife Society, along with faculty, staff, and other students, cleared over 35 acres of bushland habitat in the Palmville Wildlife Management Area in Roseau County last month.
Promoting exercise
Students majoring in exercise and rehabilitation sciences used social media to promote virtual fitness challenges and Zoom workouts. Because of their efforts, UMD was honored by the American College of Sports Medicine’s Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIM-OC). In 2020, the UMD EIM-OC student group earned a silver-level designation for their work.
Apr. 20 - Writer Linda Hogan
Author and poet Linda Hogan will read from some of her most recent work and talk about writing and Indigenous thought with Professor Linda LeGarde Grover, UMD American Indian Studies. Hogan, Chickasaw Nation, has received numerous awards for her writing. 3-4:30 p.m. Open to all, but registration is required.
Apr. 14 - Undergraduate Research Symposium
Participate in the 21st annual U of M Morris Undergraduate Research Symposium, where students will present a diverse range of exciting research, creative, and scholarly works in both poster and oral sessions. Many presentations offer options for fully remote participation.
Senior art exhibition: ‘Unprecedented’
The University of Minnesota Morris presents the 2021 Senior Art Exhibition, “Unprecedented,” which features works of eight graduating seniors from the studio art program. View works in ceramics, sculpture, digital imaging, painting, photography, and printmaking.
UMR Career Pathways: Emerging Health Technologies
UMR's innovative degree programs and integrated curriculum provide students with a foundational undergraduate education. Discover how Yingzheng Xu navigated UMR’s many health career pathway opportunities and connected with scholars to cement his knowledge learned in the classroom through real research. Yingzheng is currently a PhD student in the Bioinformatics and Computational Biology (BICB) program.
Petzold to present at Experimental Biology Conference
UMR’s interdisciplinary Center for Learning Innovation drives educational innovation with a faculty research focus on student learning and development. Using the creative PechaKucha storytelling format, UMR faculty member Andrew Petzold will present “Asynchronous Choice of Topics—an Adventure in Classroom Instruction” at the 2021 Experimental Biology Conference in April.
Spring 2021 commencement ceremonies
Colleges, schools, and programs on the Twin Cities campus are each planning their own commencement activities this semester. The format of these events will vary, as each has varying sizes of graduating classes and all events must be planned in accordance with the governor’s orders and guidance from the Minnesota Department of Health. As spring 2021 events are finalized, they will be shared through the events calendar.
Teaching art during COVID-19
This year the Department of Art has had to adapt its instructional methods to the pandemic. Area technicians and other staff worked tirelessly last summer and throughout the year to ensure the safety of students, faculty, and staff. Over half of the classes in the Department of Art offered at least some in-person instruction this year. Explore ways the Department of Art has been able to keep being curious and making art.
May 6 - Headliners: Intention and Action: Becoming a Change Agent
Hosted by the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, this Headliners event will feature Ana Núñez, the University of Minnesota Medical School’s inaugural vice dean of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Núñez will decode some of the concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion, and share practical tips and actions that can maximize our collective good intentions and thereby both make a difference and help others. 7-8:30 p.m. via Zoom. Free; registration required.