- Calling all UMN Advocates.
- U of M launches Center for Climate Literacy.
- Awards and Recognition: Brenda Child has been awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship; and more.
Calling all UMN Advocates
As the end of the state legislative session approaches, the University needs your help to increase its funding. Emails, phone calls, and Tweets can influence legislators in negotiations. Become a UMN Advocate to receive time-sensitive action alerts and updates. Advocacy makes a difference in the final outcome of the legislative session.
U of M launches Center for Climate Literacy
The U of M has launched a Center for Climate Literacy, the first of its kind in the United States. The center seeks to advance an understanding of climate change through research, outreach, and design solutions for K-12 classrooms.
Awards and Recognition
Brenda Child has been awarded a 2022 Guggenheim Fellowship by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation; U in the News features highlights of University faculty and staff cited in the media.
Collecting and preserving alumni stories
Every graduate has a story. That’s why the U of M Alumni Association is launching Alumni Reflections, an oral history project to collect those stories, memories, and reflections from Rochester and Twin Cities alumni. To preserve all of the reflections collected, and to share them across the University, a hardbound book and digital storybook will be created. Alumni have until Oct. 14 to submit their stories.
Minnesota wool mapping project shepherds new industry ties
In 2019, Theresa Bentz teamed up with Maddy Bartsch from Three Rivers Fibershed and the University of Minnesota Extension Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships. Bentz helped launch a statewide project focused on mapping Minnesota’s sheep farming industry. Today, the project is helping knit together the loose threads of Minnesota’s sheep and wool industry.
Research Brief: Highway death toll messages cause more crashes
Displaying the highway death toll on message boards is a common awareness campaign, but new research from the University of Toronto and University of Minnesota shows this tactic actually leads to more crashes.
May 7 - U of M Day at Target Field
Get out to the ballpark with fellow U of M alumni, students, friends, and family for the annual U of M Day with the Minnesota Twins at Target Field. For the first time, there will be participation from all U of M System campuses at U of M Day this spring. Each ticket package includes a seat in the U of M section and a co-branded UMN/Twins cap.
U of M featured virtual events
Apr. 28 - Examining the Burnout Crisis in Health Care: A Healthcare Worker Panel Discussion
Apr. 28 - Roundtable: The Impact of the Human Rights Center Summer Fellowship Program
May 6 - First Fridays: Minnesota Landscapes and the history of computing in the archives
May 9 - New technologies for closed-loop therapy of the nervous system
May 10 - Philosophy of the Shadow: Imaging a Supermassive Black Hole
Maiga earns Horace T. Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education
Professor Harouna Maiga, Agriculture and Natural Resources Department, is a recipient of the Horace T. Morse Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education. Maiga's expertise is in animal and equine sciences and agriculture education. In his more than two-decade career at the University of Minnesota Crookston, he has taught generations of students in Crookston and in his home country of Mali. He is most interested in a student’s personal and professional growth.
Students assist during flooding of the Red Lake River in Crookston
Many University of Minnesota Crookston students, faculty, and staff banded together with the rest of the Crookston community on Apr. 23 and 24 to help protect Crookston from severe flooding. The Red Lake River water levels rose dramatically beginning Thursday evening, following severe weather on Thursday and Friday.
‘Office Hours’ with Andrea Schokker
In this episode of “Office Hours,” UMD speaks with Andrea Schokker, professor of civil engineering, about building bridges, stopping to take pictures of bridges, and how Schokker’s tenure at UMD laid the foundation for the exceptional work in her department. “I’ve been able to design a bridge, be a part of that process, and look up and see this phenomenal structure that I helped do,” says Schokker.
New program in Childhood Nature Studies at UMD
A new Childhood Nature Studies major in UMD’s College of Education and Human Service Professions will train students to work in outdoor preschools. Professor Julie Ernst framed the interdisciplinary program around questions about social justice and ecological responsibility. “What is it that our world needs?” asks Ernst. “What kind of people do we want our children to be and become?”
New research contributes to a greater understanding of our climate
Paleoclimatologist Byron Steinman, assistant professor in UMD’s Swenson College of Science and Engineering, is studying historical climate records in order to understand how the earth’s tropical rainbelt is shifting. “It’s just one piece of a giant puzzle being put together by hundreds of scientists studying paleoclimate records from lake and ocean sediment samples, cave deposits, and ice cores,” says Steinman.
Morris earns STARS Gold rating in recognition of sustainability achievements
The University of Minnesota Morris has earned its fourth STARS Gold rating from the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) in recognition of its sustainability achievements. STARS encompasses long-term sustainability goals for already high-achieving institutions, as well as entry points of recognition for institutions that are taking first steps toward sustainability.
Apr. 28-29 - Midwest Philosophy Colloquium
The 46th annual Midwest Philosophy Colloquium will explore the topic of “Structural Change: From Individuals to Institutions and Back.” The colloquium will feature Michael Brownstein, professor of philosophy at John Jay College and CUNY Graduate Center, and Daniel Kelly, professor of philosophy at Purdue University.
Through May 14 - ‘Let's Take the Scenic Route’ exhibit
The “Let's Take the Scenic Route” exhibition is now open in the Edward J. and Helen Jane Morrison Gallery, featuring work by graduating studio art seniors. Gallery hours are Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.-4 p.m., and Saturday, noon-4 p.m.
National attention for undergraduate degree prototype
The Washington Post recently highlighted a project catalyzing a redesign of the undergraduate college experience to drive down student costs while enhancing outcomes. UMR faculty have created a prototype including 13 pilot campuses that are designing a new kind of college education to produce transformative learning, better retention, and more equitable degree completion, all at a lower cost.
May 2 - Research and Education Symposium
The University of Minnesota Rochester will host the 12th annual Research and Education Symposium. This year’s event will be held virtually and will provide a space for students to present their research in a supportive and dynamic environment.
Plasma igniter produces zero emissions and doubles fuel economy
Driven by the urgency of climate change, mechanical engineering assistant professor Sayan Biswas invented a spark plug alternative that leaves no carbon footprint. The project earned him the University's inaugural Innovation Impact Case Award. Swati More and Robert Vince, Center for Drug Design, College of Pharmacy, also received the award for "Eye Imaging for Early Detection of Alzheimer's Disease."
Stay active with pickleball at RecWell
RecWell has a new fun way to stay active on campus: try pickleball. Read about a new player who started pickleball during the pandemic and learn how to play at RecWell.
Old items bring new joy
Annie Henly is a fabrication technician in the College of Design, and in her five years at the U of M, she has taught students how to use sewing machines, wood and metal fabrication tools, and other equipment. She primarily works in Rapson Hall, but recently started holding Mending Monday workshops in Walter Library and on Zoom.
UMTC Featured Events
Apr. 28 - Giere Lecture in Philosophy of Science
Apr. 29 - Living Masquerades: Blue Lady and the Art of Revelry
Apr. 29 - Third Coast Percussion with Movement Art Is
May 3 - Medical Student Story Slam
May 4 - Plastics Waste and the Circular Economy – 5 Signs of Change
May 4-6 - WAM Shop Spring Sale
May 14 - Register for the Global Surgery Benefit