Awards and Recognition

With nearly $6 million in awards to the School of Nursing and Earl. E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing in 2020, the University of Minnesota ranked 12th in National Institutes of Health (NIH) funding to schools of nursing. The annual tabulation conducted by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research placed the University first among Big Ten Academic Alliance institutions and sixth among all public universities. School of Nursing research is addressing health issues across the life span in local, state, national and global contexts. Its areas of excellence include health promotion among vulnerable populations, prevention and management of chronic health conditions, symptom management, and nursing informatics and systems innovation.

In January 2021, the Institute for Healthcare Improvement recognized M Health Fairview Clinic - Smiley's and University of Minnesota's Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) as Age-Friendly Health System Participants. Age-Friendly Health Systems is a nationwide movement to improve health care for older adults. This is in part due to the U of M's work and participation in the Minnesota Northstar Geriatrics Workforce Enhancement Program, a federally funded workforce training award. 

The Mapping Prejudice team, including Kirsten Delegard, Kevin Ehrman-Solberg, and Ryan Mattke, have won the Minnesota Coalition on Government Information’s (MNCOGI) 2021 Freedom of Information Award. This U of M Libraries project was recognized for its powerful impact on its volunteers, the broader public (especially during and following the uprisings for racial justice this summer), and on changes to state law that make it easier for property owners to discharge racist language from their covenants. Mapping Prejudice will be presented with the award at a virtual event (free and open to the public) on March 15. 

Ana Núñez is quoted in an NBC News story about some states offering COVID vaccines by age; Krista Soria is quoted in the Inside Higher Ed story, “A Racial Trust Deficit in Higher Ed”; Jill Foster is interviewed by KARE 11 about when kids can expect to get the COVID vaccine; Gabriel Chan is interviewed at CBS Local about where Minnesota’s power comes from; Lidia Zylowska is quoted in the New York Times story, “Navigating My Son's A.D.H.D. Made Me Realize I Had It, Too”; John Budd is quoted in a Fox Business story about the hardest-working cities in the U.S.; Kumi Smith is quoted in the Rewire story, “For Single Folks, the Pandemic Means Balancing Risk with Loneliness.”

A unique tribal-UMN partnership has received a $1.5 million National Science Foundation grant to study and protect Manoomin/Psiη (Ojibwe/Dakota), or wild rice (Zizania palustris). The four-year grant enables the tribal and U of M researchers to expand their collaborative work, begun in 2018, exploring the ecological stressors and social factors impacting Manoomin, while prioritizing tribal knowledge, perspectives, needs, and values. Learn more about this work.

The Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research recognized the University of Minnesota Medical School as the 28th most funded institution by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in the 2020 NIH rankings. The Medical School was ranked 27th, 30th and 33rd in the past three consecutive years (2017-19).

The University of Minnesota Technological Leadership Institute (TLI) announced the appointment of Professor Allison Hubel as TLI’s new director. College of Science and Engineering Dean Mos Kaveh appointed Hubel to a three-year term, making her the first woman to hold the position in the institute’s nearly 35-year history. Hubel will replace Professor Douglas Ernie, who is going on phased retirement from the University of Minnesota. Hubel, who holds both a master’s and doctoral degree in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, brings a wealth of academic, business, and technology experience to her new role. In addition to her new responsibilities at TLI, she will continue her work as a professor in the University of Minnesota Department of Mechanical Engineering and as director of the University’s Biopreservation Core Resource (BioCoR), a national resource in biopreservation.

The University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus was recently named as a platinum-level Bicycle Friendly University in recognition of the institution’s achievements in promoting and enabling safe, accessible bicycling on campus. This recognition comes from the League of American Bicyclists, a grassroots advocacy organization encouraging better bicycling and protecting the rights of people who bike. The campus is one of just eight higher education institutions recognized.

Alec Habig is quoted in the Scientific American story, “New Supernova Alert System Promises Early Access to Spectacles in Space”; Becca Leighton and Julie Selander are quoted in a Minnesota Daily story about a student surge in SNAP eligibility; Rochester's new NXT GEN MED program is featured in Med City Beat, with comments from Joan Gabel and Lori Carrell; Marc Bellemare is quoted in Yahoo about how high food prices are part of a 'one-two punch' for struggling Americans; Gabriel Chan is quoted in an Inside Climate News story about how a utility in Minnesota can turn a net-zero vision into reality; David Bedford spoke with KSTP-TV about the U of M’s newest apple, Triumph; Daniel Schwarcz is quoted in The Wall Street Journal about insurance claims after Texas storm damage.

For their contributions in enhancing the intellectual environment of the Carlson School, four junior and recently promoted faculty members have been selected as recipients of the 2021 Mary and Jim Lawrence Fellowship.

Abdifatah Ali, assistant professor, Department of Work and Organizations

Sofia Bapna, assistant professor, Department of Information and Decision Sciences

Alan Benson, assistant professor, Department of Work and Organizations

Edward McFowland, assistant professor, Department of Information and Decision Sciences