Awards and Recognition

The Minnesota Landscape Arboretum was recently awarded a Level IV Accreditation by The ArbNet Arboretum Accreditation Program and The Morton Arboretum, for achieving particular standards of professional practices deemed important for arboreta and botanic gardens. Out of 418 arboreta accredited globally, the Arboretum is among the top 30 arboreta who meet the most rigorous criteria to earn a level IV accreditation.

The U.S. Government Publishing Office named the Government Publications Library at the University of Minnesota Libraries the 2021 Federal Depository Library of the Year. It was selected for consistently striving to make government information more discoverable and accessible. The Government Publications Library is the regional depository library, supporting dozens of libraries in Minnesota, South Dakota, and Michigan.

The Twin Cities business community depends on higher education to train and prepare a talented workforce. Minnesota boasts an incredible network of colleges and universities staffed by leaders who pour themselves into lifting up the next generation. In 2020, educators persevered and found ways to support students even when campuses shut down. Twin Cities Business 2021 Notable Leaders in Higher Education were recognized for quickly adapting, learning new technologies, and always prioritizing students.

Lori Carrell
Chancellor, University of Minnesota Rochester 

John Coleman
Dean, College of Liberal Arts, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Maggie Tomas
Director, Graduate Business Career Center, Carlson School of Management, University of Minnesota Twin Cities

Shekinah Fashaw-Walters is quoted in a New York Times story about racial disparities in the diagnosis of schizophrenia in nursing homes; Alan Benson is quoted in a Forbes story about how to stop the higher education exodus of women in tech; James Kakalios is quoted in the Gizmodo story, “When Will Force Shields Be Real?”; Kyle Shelton is quoted in a Pioneer Press story about transit planning in the Twin Cities post-COVID; Yohannes Ketema is mentioned in a Phys Org story about how a spacecraft could use gravity to prevent a dangerous asteroid impact; Andres Perez is quoted in a Wired story about a spreading global pandemic among pigs; Jill Foster is quoted in a MinnPost story about what’s wrong with the claim that vaccinated people can spread COVID-19 just as readily as the unvaccinated; Michael Osterholm is quoted in the New York Times story, “‘Lurching Between Crisis and Complacency’: Was This Our Last Covid Surge?”; Emily Jordan Jensen is interviewed in the MPR News story, “The art of listening”; Arshia Khan is interviewed in the KSTP story, “New robots to begin work in Minnesota nursing care centers”; Randy Fletcher is quoted in a Star Tribune story about the most haunted place in Minnesota.

The University of Minnesota has received two grants totaling $26 million from the National Institutes of Health for research on the impact of substance exposure during pregnancy on child brain and behavioral development. The Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB) will serve as a key data collection, management, and analysis site for the HEALthy Brain and Child Development Study, a large, multi-institution project with 25 study sites across the country. 

Professor Mary (Fong) Hermes, Department of Curriculum and Instruction, College of Education and Human Development, has been awarded a Large Research Grant on Education from The Spencer Foundation. The program supports rigorous, ambitious, and technically sound research relevant to the most pressing questions and compelling educational opportunities. The funding—a total amount of $374,918— will support the five-year-long research project “Reclaiming Land and Languages Through Indigenous Community-Based Mobile Game Design.”

The Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC) recognized two University of Minnesota Medical School leaders and a medical student for their efforts as part of the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion. 

The selection committee of the Diversity and Inclusion Exemplary Leadership Award honored Mary Owen (Tlingit), director of the Center of American Indian and Minority Health and assistant professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Biobehavioral Health. 

Ana Núñez was appointed as chair-elect to the AAMC Group on Diversity and Inclusion Steering Committee.

Third-year medical student Tegan Carr was one of five individuals to receive a $5,000 AAMC 2021 Herbert W. Nickens Student Scholarship Award. 

John Hallberg, associate professor in family medicine and founding director of the Medical School's Center for the Art of Medicine, was awarded an Emmy at the Upper Midwest Emmy Awards for his work on the production Hippocrates Cafe: Reflections on the Pandemic with TPT. Hippocrates Cafe combines performing arts and medicine. It is a live show that uses professional actors and musicians to explore healthcare topics through story and song. 

Elizabeth Davis is quoted in the New York Times story, “How Other Nations Pay for Child Care. The U.S. Is an Outlier”; Becky Yust is quoted in an Apartment Therapy story on how kitchens have transformed over the past 100 years; Michael Osterholm is quoted in The Atlantic story, “Why Are Americans Still—Still!—Wearing Cloth Masks?”; Mark Schleiss is quoted in The Guardian about Pfizer seeking approval for its Covid vaccine for children age 5-11; Vipin Kumar is interviewed in an MPR News story about research that uses AI to improve climate models; Patricia Frazier is quoted in the Star Tribune story, “Growing After Trauma”; Shmuel Lissek is quoted at KSHB-TV in a story about why humans enjoy being scared; Aaron Sojourner is quoted in a CNN International story about the lackluster September jobs report even after unemployment benefits ended; Catherine Squires comments at MPR News on a survey showing many Minnesotans distrust media; David Perry writes that “Ted Lasso is not about what you think” at CNN Digital. 

The U.S. Geological Survey announced that the University of Minnesota will host a new partnership of higher education and natural resource institutions dedicated to advancing actionable science in response to the climate crisis in the Midwest. The Midwest Climate Adaptation Science Center will be housed at the U of M’s Institute on the Environment (IonE) in close collaboration with the College of Food, Agricultural, and Natural Resource Sciences (CFANS); Extension; and the Natural Resources Research Institute (NRRI). The U of M was selected by USGS through an open competition and extensive review. The five-year cooperative agreement includes $4.5 million in operational funding, creating a platform to coordinate collaborative projects and capacity-building activities. 

Jessica Hellmann, IonE executive director and U of M professor of ecology, evolution, and behavior, will serve as the Midwest CASC director.  In addition to Hellmann, U of M leaders include Heidi Roop (Extension/CFANS), who will serve as program lead for capacity-building; Michael Dockry (CFANS), who will be program lead for Tribal relations; and Susan Galatowitsch (CFANS) and Lucinda Johnson (NRRI, Duluth), who will take on advisory roles for graduate trainees and postdoc scholars, respectively.