- University of Minnesota external research awards surge.
- Features: One Health: A world-changing approach; Minnesota dreamin'; Next-generation science.
- Awards and Recognition: Nisha Botchwey has been named the next dean of the Humphrey School; and more.
University of Minnesota external research awards surge
The University of Minnesota successfully competed for $1.15 billion in external research funding in fiscal year 2021, a 31 percent jump that pushed it past the $1 billion award mark for the first time. The record research awards total was fueled in part by $256 million in COVID-related projects. The data also showed the University maintained robust growth in many areas across the research enterprise and launched a record number of new startup companies based on researchers’ discoveries.
One Health: A world-changing approach
During the last 40 years, nature has warned time and again that human intrusion into wild spaces comes at a high price. Enter the growing One Health movement. In One Health’s three-pronged approach, people from diverse fields work in synchrony to nurture the health of humans, wild and domestic animals, and the environment. Explore how U of M faculty, staff, and students are writing the book on how to stave off pandemics, economic damage, and other ills by taking account of the complex web of connections among species and their environments.
Minnesota dreamin'
When the pandemic took hold, U of M international students faced a difficult choice—remain on campus or return home. Incoming students also needed to decide if they wanted to begin their college student experience online or postpone for a year. But as the U of M reopens, these students are quickly returning to campus.
The long haul
Why some people develop long COVID remains a mystery—one that University of Minnesota researchers are working furiously to solve as they also seek therapies to help post-COVID patients regain their previous quality of life. Of the 22,000 patients in the U of M’s COVID database, about 5,000, or roughly 23 percent, show post-COVID symptoms weeks after diagnosis, says Leslie Morse, who leads the Medical School’s Department of Rehabilitative Medicine. Learn about how for some people, an active COVID-19 infection is only the beginning of a winding road back to normal.
Awards and Recognition
Nisha Botchwey has been named the next dean of the Humphrey School of Public Affairs; Alejandra Peña-Gutiérrez has been named the next director of the Weisman Art Museum; Douglas Kearney's 2021 collection Sho has been longlisted for the National Book Award in Poetry; U in the News features highlights of U faculty and staff cited in the media. Awards and Recognition
Nominations are open for the 2021-22 Outstanding Community Service Awards
The University's Office for Public Engagement seeks nominations for the University of Minnesota 2022 Outstanding Community Service Awards. Established in 1999, the systemwide awards recognize faculty, staff, students, and University-affiliated community members who have made significant, demonstrable contributions to the public good. Nominations are due Nov. 5.
Nominations open: John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising
The Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost is pleased to sponsor the 2021-22 John Tate Awards for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising. By highlighting examples of outstanding advising, the Tate Awards identify professional models and celebrate the role that advising plays in the University's educational mission. Recognize excellent undergraduate academic and career advising by nominating a candidate for the Tate Award by Jan. 4.
Nominations sought: Academies for Excellence
Nominations are now being accepted for the Academies for Excellence. The academies recognize the U of M’s most distinguished health scientists and educators, and nominations are open to all University of Minnesota faculty. Competitive election is open in the following categories: Clinical Practice, Health Research, Scholarship of Teaching and Learning, and Team Science. Email [email protected] with any questions or for more information. The submission deadline is Nov. 5, 4 p.m.
New: Center for Interprofessional Health
The Center for Interprofessional Health (CIH) is the new home for advancing health sciences interprofessional education and clinical training at the University of Minnesota. Its mission is to spark innovation in interprofessional education, practice, research, and collaboration. CIH also supports the diverse needs of health professions schools, colleges, and programs systemwide in preparing a collaborative, practice-ready workforce to serve Minnesota and beyond.
Administrative policy update
The administrative policy Selling Goods and Services to External Customers includes a proposal to simplify the handling of external sales by reducing the number of risk classifications from three to two (low risk and managed risk), and by adjusting the procedures to reflect the need to more closely monitor the managed-risk activities. Comments on this policy version are welcome during review.
Secure U: Fake receipt email scam
As the academic year kicks off, scammers continue to target the University community with email and other scams. Review the most recent scam about fake payment receipt emails on OIT’s Scam Examples and Security Advisories page. The page is updated with the most recent scams seen at the University. Please forward suspicious email to [email protected].
Starting Sept. 28 - Digital Learning Labs
The Digital Learning Lab offers instructors monthly, online hands-on opportunities to learn about one or two digital tools used to support learning. Each month, Academic Technology Support Services consultants will discuss a tool’s functionality, demonstrate how to set it up in a Canvas site, and guide exploration of the tool from both the student and instructor perspectives. The first lab (Sept. 28) will explore Canvas Peer Review, a tool that enables students to provide feedback on each other’s assignments. Register for one or more of the Digital Learning Lab sessions.
U of M featured virtual events
Sept. 23 - Design in a Post-Pandemic World: Book Talk with Author Tom Fisher
Sept. 27 - The Power of Athletes
Sept. 28 - Amplifying Black Narratives: Past, Present, and Future
Oct. 4 - The Kerlan Award honoring Ariane Dewey
Crookston ranked ‘Top Midwest Public Regional College’ for third consecutive year
U.S. News and World Report has ranked the University of Minnesota Crookston as the top institution among its Midwest Public Regional Colleges list for 2022. The campus has ranked among the top four for 26 consecutive years and has been ranked the number one public regional college in the Midwest for three consecutive years. In addition, Crookston ranked No. 25 on this year’s Best Colleges rankings including all public and private institutions in the category.
UMD art major gives life to a popular cartoon series
Trevor Klueg ’08 has followed a career path leading from a graphic design degree at UMD to animating a top show in Los Angeles. Klueg credits his zeal for creativity, innovation, and originality with much of his success. He now works as a compositor and technical director at Warner Brothers, working on the popular show “Teen Titans Go.”
The drought's impact on autumn colors
Minnesota’s current drought conditions mean the season for viewing fall colors will be shorter than other years. Assistant Professor Jessica Savage explains, “On a dry year, leaves tend to turn colors earlier and drop more quickly than in wet years. This often results in less spectacular and shorter periods of fall foliage viewing.”
Sept. 28 - Visual Culture Lecture Series with Ari Woeste
Multidisciplinary artist Ari Woeste will present as part of the Visual Culture Lecture Series. Woeste is a freelance artist, specializing in art direction, animation, lettering, and type for clients such as General Mills and Walmart. She also explores abstract painting as a way to process trauma. 6 p.m. via Zoom.
U of M Morris announces campaign results
Acting Chancellor Janet Schrunk Ericksen recently announced the results of the University of Minnesota Morris “A model for living and learning” campaign, which totaled $31.67 million, or 151 percent of the original goal. Among the impacts of the campaign is the creation of 534 new scholarship awards for Morris students.
‘I hope to be able to aid in healing’
2021 graduate Nerissa Dolney is featured in the fall 2021 issue of Legacy magazine. Dolney, who is pursuing a doctorate in clinical psychology at the University of North Dakota, plans to increase access to mental health care in Native American communities.
Ortiz interviewed on MPR
Assistant professor of anthropology Cristina Ortiz recently provided context and an expert voice to an All Things Considered story on Latino migration to the Midwest. The story aired as Hispanic Heritage Month opened and focused on the increasing Latino population in Minnesota.
Experiences at UMR helped put these two grads on a path to medical school
Amarachi Orakwue and Victoria Ajayi, two recent graduates of the University of Minnesota Rochester, always knew they wanted to work in health care. That desire and drive helped them become friends as Raptors and confirmed that more schooling was in the cards for them after they graduated. Read Orakwue and Ajayi's story on Med City Beat.
Erdmann named 2021 Tillman Scholar
An incoming graduate student at the University of Minnesota’s Humphrey School of Public Affairs, Lindsey Erdmann has been named a 2021 Tillman Scholar. Erdmann, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran from the Twin Cities, is one of 60 elite students who are also military service members, veterans, and spouses across the country selected for the 13th class of scholarship recipients by the Pat Tillman Foundation.
Business students are using analytics to fight for food access
Throughout Minnesota, one out of nine residents is living under the stress of hunger. There are resources to help those in need, but many of those programs go underused. A Twin Cities-based food bank partnered with Carlson School students on an experiential learning project that is making a difference in food access issues in Minnesota.
A place for words
Named after John S. Pillsbury, Minnesota’s governor from 1875 to 1881, Pillsbury Hall is the second oldest building on the Twin Cities campus. The opportunity to turn Pillsbury Hall into a permanent home for the English and creative writing departments became a reality in 2018, when the legislature approved $24 million toward the renovation. The renovated building, which reopened this summer, gives the English department a permanent home after 50 years in temporary quarters.
The Great American Think-Off
In 1992, the tiny town of New York Mills, MN, had a groundbreaking idea: bring together deep thinkers to ponder some of life's mysteries. The Great American Think-Off is likely the only international debate competition whose finals take place in a rural Midwestern town of 1,300 people. This year, Gophers dominated the competition.
Teeing up a smile
What makes you happy? For many adults, this can be a hard question to answer. But when kids at M Health Fairview Masonic Children’s Hospital were asked to draw what brings them joy for a creative installation at the 3M Open PGA golf tournament, they got right to work—sketching out their pets, their families, their schools, sports, sweets, and more. See their illustrations.
Called to serve
Certain people we meet in our careers leave an indelible impression. For Emeritus Professor Frank Wood—and many others across the Colllege of Education and Human Development, the University, and Minnesota—Frank Wilderson, Jr. is that colleague. Learn more about how Wilderson revolutionized special education, diversity, equity and inclusion, and mental health services at the University and across Minnesota.
CURA releases Minneapolis Rent Stabilization study
In November, question number 3, “Authorizing City Council To Enact Rent Control Ordinance,” will be on the ballot for Minneapolis voters. Before the election, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) built a version of the Minneapolis Rent Stabilization study with a high-level executive summary and conclusion and expanded infographics and data visualizations. The study examines the city’s rental housing stock, population, and income trends over the past 20 years, as well as the city’s rent affordability gap.
Oct. 7 - Headliners: Therapeutic Approaches for Healthy Aging
Hosted by Lifelong Learning in the College of Continuing and Professional Studies, Headliners kicks off its 16th-anniversary season with a presentation by Laura Niedernhofer and Paul Robbins, director and associate director, Institute on the Biology of Aging and Metabolism, Medical School. Niedernhofer and Robbins will present their work on developing therapeutics approaches to support healthy aging. Online via Zoom. No charge, but registration is required.
Oct. 12-14 - Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education
The University will be a host institution for the virtual Global Conference on Sustainability in Higher Education. This year's conference theme is "The future is..." All Twin Cities faculty, staff, and students are invited to participate at no charge, made possible through support from It All Adds Up and Sustainability Education at the Institute on the Environment.
Libraries exhibit: ‘The YMCA and Relief for War Victims during WWI’
Between 1914 and 1918, one of the largest, deadliest wars ravaged much of the world. As tens of millions became entangled in the conflict, men and women from the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) waged a parallel fight—to comfort, heal, and uphold the spirits of those affected by the war. The exhibit from the YMCA Archives runs through Feb. 18, Elmer L. Andersen Library, First Floor Gallery.
Campus Club fall membership drive
Faculty, staff, students, and departments can join the Campus Club during its fall membership drive for $88 in dues, with special incentives and freebies through Dec. 31.