 | Alumni Association Angle
9/1/2008 10:25 AM | | Homecoming 1977. PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES |
Homecoming 1977. University Avenue ballooned with Gopher pride on October 15, 1977, during the homecoming parade. This year, the parade—still on University Avenue— begins at 9 a.m. on November 1, prior to the 11 a.m. kickoff against the Northwestern Wildcats, the same school the Gophers defeated 13–7 in 1977. It’s the last chance Minnesota fans have to raise the roof on the Metrodome before the Gophers move back to campus in 2009.
Exceptional Docs to be Honored
The Medical Alumni Society will honor five exceptional physicians on September 26 as part of the Medical School’s alumni reunion weekend.
Lester Breslow (B.A. ’35, M.D. ’38, M.P.H. ’41) and John V. Thomas (M.D. ’46) will receive the Harold S. Diehl Award, the Society’s most prestigious award for lifetime achievement. Breslow has been a consultant to local, national, and world health agencies during his seven decades in medicine and public health. He was a physician, California’s public health director, and dean of the University of California, Los Angeles School of Public Health before he retired in 1980.
Thomas is a founder of the University of Minnesota Duluth School of Medicine, now known as the University of Minnesota Medical School–Duluth campus. He served Duluth as a general surgeon at St. Luke’s Hospital and helped shape the curriculum and organization of the medical school. He shared his practical knowledge with students by teaching there from 1972, when the school opened, until his retirement in 2006.
Dale C. Betterton (M.D. ’73) and Leif I. Solberg (M.D. ’63) will receive the Distinguished Alumni Award, presented to graduates who have made outstanding contributions to their community. Betterton, a resident of New Orleans, has devoted the past 15 years to volunteer medical service and has traveled to some of the world’s most impoverished countries to provide free medical care. After Hurricane Katrina, Betterton established a humanitarian and medical relief operation in Mississippi and Louisiana. He and his wife, Dorothy Davison, co-founded the International Medical Alliance, a nonprofit medical relief organization.
Solberg is a nationally recognized expert on systematic improvement in health care, especially in preventive services and chronic disease care. As a clinical professor in the Department of Family Medicine and Community Health he has inspired excellence in countless clinicians and researchers.
Arne Vainio (M.D. ’94) will receive the Early Distinguished Career Award, given to a physician for exceptional accomplishments within 15 years of graduation. Vainio has emerged as a leader in the Native American medical community. In addition to being a beloved family physician on the Fond du Lac Ojibwe Reservation, Vainio writes a regular health column for the national News from Indian Country newspaper, helps recruit Native American students into medicine, and volunteers as a preceptor for students at the Duluth campus.
For more information about the reunion weekend, contact 612-625-0336 or 800-922-1663.
Celebrate Homecoming 2008. . .
Join alumni and friends of the University of Minnesota in a show of Gopher pride during Homecoming 2008, which culminates on November 1 with the Gophers taking on the Northwestern Wildcats at 11 a.m. at the Metrodome.
Prior to the game, the homecoming parade will step off on University Avenue under the very special direction of Grand Marshall Stan Freese (B.A. ’67). Freese has served as director of bands for Walt Disney World and Disneyland, as well as show director, entertainment producer, musical show director, and, in his current position, as talent booking and casting director. He was the featured guest at the 2007 University of Minnesota Alumni Association annual celebration.
Other highlights of homecoming week include the annual Red Cross blood drive at Coffman Union on October 28 and the pep rally at 5 p.m. on October 30. Other events are being planned; for more information, go to www.homecoming.umn.edu.
. . . and Beyond: Alumni Wanted!
The Minnesota Programs and Activities Council (MPAC), which plans homecoming-related events, wants to meet with alumni from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s to learn more about game-day activities and homecoming festivities they took part in as students. Alumni feedback will be instrumental in revitalizing traditions in conjunction with the opening of TCF Bank Stadium next year. Alumni who are interested in learning more about participating can contact MPAC at www.homecoming@umn.edu, or contact Molly Gale at 612-625-1685. Homecoming  |
2009, which has been dubbed “The Ultimate Homecoming,” is scheduled for October 10, when the football Gophers host Purdue.
The Old Oak Gopher
When the old oak tree in his yard died, steadfast Gopher fan Jim Beach decided there was only one sensible thing to do: create Goldy Gopher from the trunk. So he hired a woodcarver, and over the course of several weeks Goldy came life. “I went along with it reluctantly,” says Jim’s wife, Jan. But, she says, “I fell in love with Goldy along with many others on the day the carver gave him his personality with the big grin and big eyes.” The Beaches, who live in Freeborn, Minnesota (population 301, counting Goldy), have been football season ticket holders for 33 years, and Jim has been going to games for more than 45 years. “I didn’t become a Gopher fan until I married Jim in 1971,” Jan says. “It was sort of a prerequisite.”
Saturday Scholars
September is back-to-school time for alumni, too—but without the grades or pop quizzes. The College of Education and Human Development Alumni Society will host the 2008 Saturday Scholars program on September 27 from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Coffman Union. An optional tour of the Weisman Art Museum will follow the program. Scholars from the University will lead discussions on a range of topics, including child trauma intervention, autism, online learning, and the impact of study abroad programs. Participants will also vote for president and Minnesota’s senator in a straw poll; results will be announced during lunch. CEUs are available. Alumni Association members pay a reduced tuition of $25. For more information, go to www.cehd.umn.edu/alumni/scholars.
Gopher Football Discounts
Alumni Association members qualify for discounts on tickets to Gopher home football games. Remaining home games this season include Big Ten opponents Indiana, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa. The amount of the discount varies depending on the game. Go to www.gophersports.com or call 1-800-U-GOPHER.
Get LinkedIn
Expand your global network of fellow Gophers and make valuable career connections while you’re at it. The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is now an official group on LinkedIn, a career-oriented networking Web site for professionals in more than 150 industries. It’s free to join. If you’re already a  | | Join the Family. PHOTOGRAPH BY PATRICK O'LEARY |
member of LinkedIn, join the Minnesota group at www.alumni.umn.edu/alumniconnections, or call Alumni Association member services at 612-624-9658. If you’re not a member of LinkedIn, go to www.linkedin.com to get started.
Join the Family
The Alumni Association has partnered with the University of Minnesota Parents Association to offer a special joint membership for parents and their son or daughter who is enrolled at the U. The one-year membership fee of $55 gives parents a membership in the Parents Association and the Alumni Association, and the student a membership in the Alumni Association. Special communications and services especially for parents are included with membership; among the programs planned for this year are monthly chats on fraternity and sorority life, learning abroad, parents’ role in career planning, and campus safety. To date, more than 700 parents and students have joined and are helping create a dynamic community of U families. For more information, or to join, go to www.parent.umn.edu/association or call 612-624-9658 or 800-862-5867. Mention promotional code N8PSO to take advantage of this special offer.
Save  | | Save on U Theater Tickets. PHOTOGRAPH BY V. PAUL VIRTUCIO |
on U Theater Tickets
Alumni Association members qualify for reduced-rate subscriptions to a full season of entertainment and artistry offered during the 2008-09 University Theater and Dance subscriber series. This season’s offerings include the third year of the Diverse Voices collaborative; two eccentric comedies written by Noel Coward; a restaging of the modern dance masterpiece Missa Brevis; and more. Flex packs are available for four or all six season productions, beginning at just $44. That’s a savings of $8 off the general public subscription price. For more information, go to www.theatre.umn.edu.
Comment on Minnesota Articles
Does the article in this issue on the roller derby girls have you riled up? Are you moved to make a statement on the Warrior to Citizen Campaign? We invite you to comment on these and other feature stories by visiting the Alumni Association Web site at www.alumni.umn.edu/minnesota. Click on the stories you want to comment on or write a letter to the editor. While you’re there, check out our other online extras as well.
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