Alumni Update - February 28, 2008
2/28/2008 | | Could Olive and Femke reduce your risk of heart disease? An Alumni Association staff member sure hopes so. |
Better than Cats? Not for your heart.
In one of the more curious findings out of a broad and lengthy health study, people who own cats have a significantly lower level of death from heart disease, according to research presented by the University of Minnesota's Stroke Research Center.
Read a Minnesota Daily article here.
Read an ABC News story here.
Regents Professor Lecture Series
The new Regents Professor Lecture Series, highlighting the work of the University's most distinguished faculty, begins on March 4. Regents Professor Frank Bates, head of chemical engineering and materials science, will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Cowles Auditorium at the Humphrey Center. His lecture is titled, “Forty Years Later the Answer Is Still ‘Plastics.’” Learn more about Regents Professors and other top faculty awards here, on our Scholars Walk page.
Ten Things to Know
It was founded seven years before Minnesota was even a state and more than a century and a half later it has awarded 13,691 degrees in one year, the most ever. The University of Minnesota  | | Progress on the TCF Bank Stadium in late February, as seen from the fifth floor of the McNamara Alumni Center. Click on the photo to see the bowl of the stadium taking shape, along with two large sections of steel. |
recently released its “10 things you need to know about the U,” a list of important university facts, stats and fun tidbits. View the top 10 here (PDF format).
Support the U Day draws a crowd
Hundreds turned out February 20 to back the U's legislative agenda. See video highlights here.
TCF Bank Stadium Tour highlights
The athletics department released a promotional video tour of the under-construction TCF Bank Stadium earlier this month. Click here to see a video of some highlights of the tour.
U of M YouTube channel
See more U produced videos here, on the Univeristy of Minnesota YouTube Channel.
Timing is Everything
Did you know that retired U professor Franz Halberg is known as the leader of American chronobiology, the study of the body's rhythms and how they affect health and health care? A short article is here. Read a PDF of an excellent profile and background article from Minnesota Medicine here. Or, visit the Halberg Chronobiology Center's Web page here.
Saint  | | Micropropigation, by Amy Youngs, part of the Culturing Nature : : Culturing Technology exhibit at the Katherine Nash Gallery |
Paul Campus Planning -- Speak Up!
A chance for alumni and community members to speak up about St. Paul Campus planning will be March 4 and 5. The session will offer a chance to discuss a new working draft of a campus plan. Click here to see details and to download a copy of the working draft.
Upcoming Events
There are lots of Leap Day events on campus tomorrow, including a show by the 10-year-old the St. Paul hip-hop group Heiruspecs at Coffman Union .
See other Leap Day events here at the U's Events Calendar.
The Spark Festival of Electronic Music is underway already on the West Bank. Events continue through the weekend.
Culturing Nature :: Culturing Technology features seven women artists challenging the boundaries of nature and technology. The exhibition runs through March 27 with a public reception Friday, February 29 from 6-8:30 pm. Participating artist Amy Youngs will present a public lecture on her work at 7 p.m., Wednesday, March 12 in the IN-FLUX Space, Regis Center for Art.
The next two weeks are the last chance to see the  | | The smiles, the banner and the trophy say it all - champions! Photo courtesy of University of Minnesota Athletics. |
Minnesota sesquicentennial exhibition “Becoming Minnesota” featuring special one-of-a-kind items from Univeirsty Archives and special collections.
The Bell Museum has an ongoing series of exhibits on Climate Change in the Big Woods.
Sports: Champs again
The women's swimming and diving team returned to the top of the Big Ten, winning the 2008 conference title last weekend, their first since back-to-back titles in 1999 and 2000. The team set 14 school records in the process. The men's swimming and diving squad, a perennial conference contender with six titles in the last eight years, is in Ann Arbor to defend their title this weekend.
Closer to home, two teams hope to make waves in home Big Ten championship contests. The women's track and field team looks to defend their first-ever Big Ten indoor title on their home track. Info on the March 1-2 meet is here.
The following weekend the 2007 NCAA champion wrestling squad hosts the Beg Ten meet in  | | Doris Taylor highlights the 2008 Annual Celebration. Photogrpah by Patrick O'Leary |
Williams Arena. Event and ticket info is available here.
Alumni Association Events and Updates
Tickets for the 2008 Annual Celebration will go on sale by March 10. Cardiac repair researcher and U professor Doris Taylor will highlight the event, along with Medtronic founder Earl Bakken. The May 29 event features dinner on Northrop Mall and a presentation in Northrop Auditorium.
While chapters and societies are active with numerous events in March, two big Alumni Association events are set for April.
Senior Send-Off, a free celebration for graudating students is set for April 2. The event features free lunch, prizes, and a motivational speech by former Gopher and NBA star Trent Tucker.
The Distinguished Teach Awards Ceremony, a chance to thank and to hear from the U's greatest teaching professors, is set for April 28.
Minnesota magazine's March-April issue, featuring the 2008 Fiction Contest winner, along with great historical articles, profiles, sports, campus news and more, is arriving in early March. Check your mailbox in the next few weeks or keep coming back to the magazine'sWebsite to see the latest issue of the award-winning members-only magazine.
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