Awards and Recognition

Minnesota Monthly magazine has named 227 University of Minnesota Medical School and University of Minnesota Physicians (M Physicians) doctors across 70 specialties as Top Doctors for 2022. Every year, the magazine asks each physician in the Twin Cities and Rochester areas, “If you or a loved one needed medical care, which doctor would you recommend?” The top responses, as voted on by peer physicians, are those who make up the 2022 lists’ honorees.

The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) has announced five winners of the inaugural Research Technical Staff Award, which recognizes staff for their distinguished service to the University of Minnesota research community and celebrates exemplary leadership that positively impacted their colleagues and advanced the University's mission. Each winner received a personal honorarium of $1000.

Sharon Powell was interviewed for the Minnesota Public Radio story, “Managing your finances as debt and prices soar”; Mike Schmitz is featured in the New York Times story, “A Catholic Podcasting Star Says Theocracy Is Not the Way”; Kathleen Collins was interviewed by KSTP-TV about a man living in Richfield who has voiced concern about family in Taliban territory; Michael Osterholm is quoted in the Washington Post about the FDA approval of coronavirus boosters targeting omicron; Clark Chen was interviewed for the KSTP-TV story “5 at the Fair: Virtual tour of the human brain”; Rebecca Wurtz was quoted in a Pharmacy Practice News story about what revamping the CDC will take; Jason Hill was quoted in the Star Tribune about how California's ban on gas-powered cars worries Minnesota's corn and soybean farmers; John Budd is quoted in a KARE 11 story about the nurses' strike; Traci Toomey is quoted in the St. Paul Pioneer Press about a study showing alcohol's toll in Minnesota is $8 billion.

An interdisciplinary team of University of Minnesota faculty, staff, and researchers spanning fields of engineering, public policy, and art has received a $3 million grant from the National Science Foundation to implement an interdisciplinary, cross-college research traineeship program that aims to better educate students on topics like sustainability, resource conservation and waste reduction. Students will learn about these topics through classes, internship and research experiences and mentorship opportunities. 

Assistant Professor Cynthia Bradley will be inducted into the prestigious Academy of Nursing Education by the National League for Nursing (NLN). She was one of 20 distinguished nurse educators to be selected for the 2022 class of fellows. Fellows in the NLN Academy of Nursing Education are individuals who have made enduring and substantial contributions to nursing education as teachers, mentors, scholars, public policy advocates, practice partners, and administrators. They provide visionary leadership and are recognized for their expertise in nursing education. Bradley serves as the school’s director of simulation, and her research expertise is health care simulation and debriefing, debriefing training, and emerging technologies in higher education.

Christine Mueller, Katherine R. & C. Walton Lillehei Chair in Nursing Leadership, was appointed by Gov. Tim Walz to the Minnesota Board on Aging (MBA). Mueller serves as professor and senior executive associate dean for Academic Programs at the School of Nursing. The MBA is a 25-member board that advises on and coordinates government plans around aging to ensure that Older Americans Act requirements are met. The MBA administers state and federal funds and also creates public awareness, encourages research on aging issues, and provides technical assistance and grants to local aging organizations. Mueller's career has focused on improving the care of elders living in nursing homes, specifically on factors that can influence quality of nursing home care such as nurse staffing, care delivery systems, and the role of the nurse and nursing home culture change.

University of Minnesota staff attended the 2022 CollegeSource Users Conference. While at the conference, the University of Minnesota System received the best practices award (The Sourcies) for “Innovation in Advancing Systemwide Positive Student Outcomes.” This award recognizes the systemwide Academic Progress Audit System staff for their hard work. Crookston: Cyndi Wentz, Beth Zaske. Duluth: Gillian Grocke, Natahsa Mykkanen, Diana Jones, Nita Pookmont. Morris: Angie Senger. Twin Cities/Rochester: Stephanie Sutton, Amanda Grimm, Julie Klecker, Kathryn Kvam, Laura Butchko.

Fionnuala Ní Aoláin is interviewed for a Fox 9 story about the challenges Afghan refugees in Minnesota face one year after the Taliban takeover; Art Rolnick is quoted in Smithsonian Magazine about what online inflation calculators can tell us about the past; Natalia Borrego is quoted in the Slate story, “Would It Really Work to Punch a Lion in the Face? What If You’re Idris Elba?”; Peter Reich is quoted in The Guardian about global warming causing shocking changes in forests across America; Vishnu Laalitha Surapaneni is quoted in the Time story, “A Hotter World Means More Disease Outbreaks in Our Future”; Yoon-hee Cha is interviewed for a Minnesota Public Radio story on demystifying migraines and headaches; V.V. Chari is mentioned in a Minnpost story about how the Inflation Reduction Act would raise taxes, but not on most Minnesotans; Brandon Miller is quoted at CBS Minnesota about what is leading to early signs of fall colors; Rachel Hardeman is quoted in a Washington Post story about America’s maternal mortality crisis and federal plans to change that; Joseph Bump is quoted in a Science News story about Montana bison; Priscilla Cushman is quoted in a Nature story about particle physicists who want to build the world's first muon collider; Will Northrop is quoted in the Minnesota Public Radio story, “St. Joseph company aims to bring little electric cars to city streets”; Timothy Pruett is quoted in the Wired story, “The Pigs Died. Then Scientists Revived Their Cells”; Cody Sheik is quoted in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about once unheard of blue-green algae blooms in Lake Superior.

The recipients of the 2022 Award for Global Engagement have been announced. The all-University Award for Global Engagement is given to faculty and staff members in recognition of outstanding contributions to global education and international programs at the University or in their field or discipline.

Maria Hordinsky, professor and chair, Department of Dermatology, Medical School, Twin Cities

Claudia Muñoz-Zanzi, associate professor of environmental health sciences, School of Public Health, Twin Cities

Dan Nolan, assistant professor of German studies; College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, Duluth

Eric Watkins has been appointed vice provost for distributed learning, effective Sept. 12. In this new position, aligned with a key commitment of MPact 2025, Watkins will provide leadership to drive the development of innovative, coordinated, and scaled systemwide distributed learning models, building on existing efforts and collaborating with faculty, instructional staff, academic leaders, and appropriate governance committees across the University. Watkins is a professor of horticultural science and will hold this new academic administrative position concurrently with his tenured faculty appointment in the University’s College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences.