Awards and Recognition

The University of Minnesota School of Nursing has been awarded the Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity Magazine for the fourth consecutive year. The HEED Award honors U.S. nursing, medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, veterinary, and other health schools and centers that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. The school’s educational programming and opportunities to develop diversity, equity, and inclusivity competencies and its efforts to recruit and retain diverse and underrepresented students and faculty factored into its selection as a HEED Award recipient.

Ruifeng Cao, Dong Liu, and Salil Saurav Pathak are quoted in a Minnesota Daily story showing that a little stress is good for your biological clock; Jim Luby is quoted in the BBC News story, “Can a new apple take over the world?”; Edward Goetz is quoted in a Star Tribune story on the Minneapolis City Council beginning research on rent control; Michael McAlpine is quoted in a Science story about a fast new 3D printing method that create objects as big as a human; John Stavig is mentioned in a Twin Cities Business story about the art and science of educating entrepreneurs; Art Rolnick is quoted in a Star Tribune story on the effort to deport “dreamers” and pushback from Minnesota companies; Michelle Phelps is interviewed in a CBS Minnesota story about the number of police officers a city should have; Kathryn Nelson is quoted and U of M research is cited in the New York Times (PDF) story, “What Are the Benefits of Turmeric?”; Merrie Kaas is quoted in the Thrive story, “Dealing with Depression.”

Professor Mark Umbreit, School of Social Work, has been ranked among the top 50 most notable social workers in U.S. history by the International Association of Schools of Social Work (IASSW). The rankings are based on the quality and impact of the person’s work. Umbreit received his PhD in Social Work from the University of Minnesota. His three decades of work have focused on restorative justice, indigenous justice and healing, human rights, victim services, criminal/juvenile justice, peacemaking, spirituality, forgiveness, reconciliation, mediation, conflict resolution, and social change. He has provided lectures, training, and consultation in nearly every state and in more than 25 countries on every major continent. His 11 books and more than 200 other publications have had a major impact on criminal justice policy in the U.S. and other countries. His recent work has been with the United Nations Development Program in the Islamic Republic of Turkey and in Brazil. Learn more about Umbreit.

Dean Laura Bloomberg has been named a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) in recognition of her ongoing contributions to public administration and policy. She joins current Humphrey School faculty members Jodi Sandfort, Greg Lindsey, Samuel Myers Jr., and John Bryson as a NAPA fellow.

The College of Science and Engineering recently announced a three-year collaboration with Target that includes a $250,000 donation from Target to fund programs that will educate the next generation of cyber security experts. The donation, provided by Target’s Cyber Security department, is Target’s first major gift to the University’s College of Science and Engineering. The gift helps build course curriculum and offers hands-on information security experiences, student scholarships, fellowships and grants, as well as opportunities for students to network with cyber security experts.

Myles Shaver comments in the Star Tribune about why so many Fortune 500 companies call Minnesota home; Brittany Lewis, Terrence Anderson, and Ed Goetz are featured in the MinnPost story, “Meet the research outfit behind the city of Minneapolis’ big equity effort”; Barbara Kappler is quoted in the Minnesota Daily about a significant uptick in international student enrollment at the U of M; Wendy Lougee is quoted in the Chronicle of Higher Education about the future of campus libraries and “sticky interdependence”; Garry Jenkins is quoted in the Minnesota Daily story on the Law School’s largest first-year class in almost a decade; Anne Melzer is quoted in USA Today about whether vaping is safer than smoking; Teddie Potter is quoted in Star Tribune about Minnesota’s plan to track urban air pollution by ZIP code; Peter Huckfeldt is quoted in Healthline about President Trump’s changes to Medicare and how they may affect healthcare; Jeannie Larson comments in HealthDay Consumer story, “Don't Let SAD Get the Better of You.”

University of Minnesota alumni (Twin Cities and Rochester) and networks were recognized for their contributions at the Alumni Awards Affair during Homecoming week. Awards presented included the U of M Alumni Service Awards, the Distinguished Leadership Award for Internationals, Advocate of the Year, U40 Alumni Leader, Program Extraordinaire, Alumni Society of the Year, and the Alumni Network of the Year.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration awarded $85 million to health centers across the nation to improve oral health infrastructure. The Community-University Health Care Center (CUHCC) was one of just three health centers in Minnesota that received this award. The $300,000 award will enable CUHCC to make improvements to their dental clinic and increase patient access, comfort, and optimize care.

Bell Museum curator of exhibits Don Luce has been presented with the Jay N. "Ding" Darling Memorial Award for Wildlife Stewardship Through Art. The award encompasses and recognizes any type of “artistic” item or accomplishment that promotes, achieves, or benefits wildlife stewardship.

No need to rake leaves, reports USA Today, with comments from Dan Sandor; Irina Stepanov is quoted in a Los Angeles Times story about what we know about the deadly lung illnesses tied to vaping; Stephanie Carlson is quoted in Education Dive about the 50th year of Sesame Street; Mpls./St. Paul Magazine ranks all of Minnesota’s U of M-developed apples, with mention of David Bedford; Jakub Tolar is quoted in a Mpls./St. Paul Business Journal (PDF) story on the new name and partnership between Fairview and the U of M; Mary Curtain is interviewed in the CBS Minnesota story, “What’s The History Behind U.S. Relations With Ukraine?”; Hyun Kim is quoted in a Minnesota Daily story about the health implications of climate change.