Minnesota magazine, Summer 2015

MADE POSSIBLE BY THE MEMBERS OF THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION | SUMMER 2015

Former Gopher Ben Utecht faces life after concussion head-on

ALSO: PREVENTING SEXUAL ASSAULT ON CAMPUS / WEIRDOS OF THE UNIVERSE / 2016 ALUMNI TRAVEL GUIDE

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UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION

NEU TRINOS: YUKO SHIMIZU • TRAILBLAZERS: MOIRA LENNOX • CASTLE: COURTESY GOHAGA N TR AVEL

Volume 114 • Number 4 / Summer 2015

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Features

4 Editor’s Note 6 Letters 8 About Campus

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Championships never get old, pipe dream fulfilled, and transgendering U.S. history

34 Alumni Stories

What Bay Area alumni are up to and childbirth gets its due

38 Gophers Forever

We welcome our new life members.

40 Travel Guide A guide to the Alumni Association travel program’s tantalizing 2016 destinations

12 Whose Responsibility?

Trailblazing new initiatives at the U are engaging all students in conversations about preventing sexual assault.

BY SUSAN MA AS

18 Unstoppable

Alumni Cheryl Robertson, Rob Stewart, and Ben Utecht have taken very different life paths. What they have in common is perseverance.

BY MELEAH MAYNAR D, ANDY STEINER , AND R ICK MOOR E

46 Gopher Connections

Make the most of your member perks: The Raptor Center and the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum

28 Weirdos of the Universe

Understanding the enigmatic neutrino might be the key to explaining why we’re here. U physicists are at the forefront of unraveling the mystery.

BY DEANE MOR R ISON

48 Campus Seen

Our photo finish

MinnesotaAlumni.org

ON THE COVER: Ben Utecht, photographed by Mark Luinenburg

BOARD OF DIRECTORS Chair Jim du Bois, ’87 Chair-Elect Alison Page, ’96 Vice Chair Dan McDonald, ’82, ’85 Secretary/Treasurer Sandra Ulsaker Weise, ’81 Past Chair Susan Adams Loyd, ’81 President and CEO Lisa Lewis

Judy Beniak, ’82, ’10 Wendy Williams Blackshaw, ’82 Natasha Freimark, ’95 Gayle Hallin, ’70, ’77 Randy Handel Linda Hofflander, ’83 Douglas Huebsch, ’85 Janice Linster, ’83 Laura Moret, ’76, ’81 Alex Oftelie, ’03, ’06 Amy Phenix, ’08 Roshini Rajkumar, ’97 Clinton Schaff, ’00 Kathy Schmidlkofer, ’97 Alfonso Sintjago, ’14, ’15 Joelle Stangler, ’16 Dave Walstad, ’88, ’91 Jean Wyman UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA GOVERNANCE President

Eric Kaler, ’82 Board of Regents

Richard Beeson, ’76, chair Dean Johnson, vice chair Thomas Anderson, ’80 Laura Brod, ’93 Linda Cohen, ’85, ’86 Tom Devine ’79 Michael Hsu, ’88 Peggy Lucas, ’64, ’76 David McMillan, ’83, ’87 Abdul Omari, ’08, ’10 Darrin Rosha, ’90, ’91, ’93, ’96 Patricia Simmons

Contact the Alumni Association To join or renew, change your address, or obtain benefit information, go to MinnesotaAlumni.org or contact us: McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040 800-862-5867, 612-624-2323 umalumni@umn.edu The University of Minnesota Alumni Association is committed to the policy that all persons shall have equal access to its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, religion, color, sex, national origin, handicap, age, veteran status, or sexual orientation.

Editor’s Note

MINNESOTA PUBLISHED BY THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA ALUMNI ASSOCIATION SINCE 1901

A Common Good Discussion

President and CEO

Lisa Lewis

W

Cynthia Scott (M.A. ’89) is the editor of Minnesota.

She can be reached at scott325@umn.edu.

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Vice President of Marketing and Communication

Jerry Abrams Editor

Cynthia Scott Senior Editor

Meleah Maynard Copy Editor

Susan Maas Contributing Writers

Greg Breining, Erin Hinrichs, Shannon Juen, Susan Maas, Rick Moore, Deane Morrison, Erin Peterson, Andy Steiner Art Director

Kristi Anderson, Two Spruce Design Media Partners

Access Minnesota Gopher Sports Update Advertising Rates and Information

Ketti Histon 612-280-5144, histon@msn.com

Minnesota (ISSN 0164-9450) is published four times a year (Fall, Winter, Spring, and Summer) by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association for its members.

Copyright ©2015 by the University of Minnesota Alumni Association McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak Street SE, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040 612-624-2323, 800-862-5867 fax 612-626-8167 www.MinnesotaAlumni.org To update your address, call 612-624-2323 or e-mail alumnimembership@umn.edu Periodicals postage paid at St. Paul, Minnesota, and additional mailing offices.

POSTMASTER: Send address corrections to: McNamara Alumni Center 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200 Minneapolis, MN 55455-2040

S HER STONEM AN

hen I was in graduate school at the University’s School of Journalism & Mass Communication, I took a course in interpretive reporting from the venerable Professor Jean Ward. Jean, who was full of common sense and had a talent for getting directly to the heart of the matter, expected reporters to zero in on the context of a story and tell readers why it was important. Context, she said, is everything.

Education reporting, Jean felt, generally fell short of this standard, with too much of it focused on the minutiae of funding and too little on what was happening not just in schools but in the communities they serve; how well, or not, students and families were faring and why; and what was at stake.

I thought of Jean as I was reflecting on a historic conversation that took place on May 4 on the stage at Northrop. The Office of the President and the College of Education and Human Development hosted a discussion among all six of the University of Minnesota’s living presidents: C. Peter Magrath (1974–1984), Ken Keller (1985–1988), Nils Hasselmo (1988–1997), Mark Yudof (1997–2002), Bob Bruininks (2002–2011), and Eric Kaler (2011–present). Moderated by Star Tribune writer Lori Sturdevant, the subject of the conversation was the future of higher education and Minnesota.

The conversation turned early and often to the subject of funding, which, as President Magrath noted, is “extraordinarily more difficult” than it was during his tenure. Indeed, you do not need to go back to the Magrath administration to see the sharp decline in public funding. In 1997, as just one measure, state funding covered 70 percent of the cost of educating a student at the U and tuition covered 30 percent. In 2015, the proportion was reversed, with the state covering 42 percent and tuition 58 percent. What’s going on here?

People far more qualified than I have spent years addressing that question.

But I think the presidents got to the crux of the matter with their observations that higher education is increasingly viewed as a private good, not a common good. Hasselmo said he is “alarmed” at the change of attitude on this point among Minnesotans since he served at the U. Keller called the idea that education is not a public good “devastatingly bad.” And Yudof pointed out that higher education is just one of several institutions whose standing as a public good have eroded.

Gated communities, private police departments, and private armies, to name a few, are all expressions of this phenomenon, he noted.

Keller called on universities to assert their value as a public good. I don’t know how better to do that than lift up the stories of how University research changes lives and how alumni impact their communities. We have several shining examples in this issue. As you read about David Carr, Cheryl Robertson, Ben Utecht, Rob Stewart, the NOvA project, and others, consider how the University of Minnesota fulfills its mission as a public good.

Reasonable people can and should debate vigorously many aspects of higher education. But there should be no confusion about its essential value as a public good. After all, context is everything.

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Letters Department MADE POSSIBLE

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REFLECTIONS ON ‘FOREIGNER’

Thanks for your article and sensitivity toward the use of the word foreigner [Spring 2015]. I joined the University of Minnesota graduate school in physics in late 1968. Having come from Lebanon, I had to work with the Foreign Student Advisers Office, then under the direction of Dr. Josef Mestenhauser. About two years later I headed the International Student Association and, in consultation with Dr. Mestenhauser, we decided to move away from the term “foreign” to “international” for the same reasons you eloquently stated.

Yousef Makdisi (Ph.D. ’76) Port Jefferson, New York

Editor’s Note: Distinguished International Emeritus Professor Josef Mestenhauser (Ph.D. ’52) was a revered teacher in the College of Education and Human Development. He died on March 14 at age 89. The Mestenhauser Legacy Initiative of the University’s Global Programs and Strategy Alliance recognizes his long career of advocacy for and commitment to students.

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David Newman (B.A. ’50) Rochester, Minnesota

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The article “The Great Bird Shower of 1904” [Spring 2015] makes one wonder: would such an event today bring claims of “climate change”?

GoHow Fouzia . Saeed changed Pakistan M.A.G.I.C

GLOBAL ALUMNI TAKE ACTION

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• PLUS •

WINTER READING page 40

ALSO

Thriving in Sioux Falls / The Great Bird Shower / The Brothers Grimmer

I wanted to express my appreciation for your Editor’s Note in the Spring issue. Having worked in alumni relations, having spent years on diversity committees, and just being one of those guys who doesn’t fully understand the negativity that some have toward “others,” I both enjoyed your missive and found it a valuable, powerful message. Thank you for reminding Minnesota readers that we thrive best as a society when we welcome difference, experience diversity, and practice a lifelong education of the human experience.

Michael Wall St. Paul

SKY-U-MAH!

I fly a lot and often leave the magazine in the seat pocket, hoping subsequent passengers will draw inspiration from all the good things happening at my alma mater, a place that changed my life for the better in so many ways. I felt especially proud to leave the Spring 2015 issue for others.

Rob Britton (B.A. ’73, M.A. ’76, Ph.D. ’78) McLean, Virginia

CORRECTION

The article “Devoted to Congolese Farmers” [Spring 2015] incorrectly stated the number of arable acres in Democratic Republic of Congo. The correct figure is approximately 197 million acres.

Submit a letter at MinnesotaAlumni.org/ opinion or write to Letter to the Editor, Minnesota Magazine, McNamara Alumni Center, 200 Oak St. SE, Suite 200, Minneapolis, MN 55455. Letters many be edited for style, length, and clarity.

THE TWEET BEAT News and views from Gophers on social networks University of Minnesota Alumni Association @UMNAlumni Congratulations to alum Steve Dowling (CLA), Apple’s newest VP of communications.

Kappa Alpha Theta @umntheta We had so much fun volunteering with alumnae last night at Feed My Starving Children. We packed 14,040 meals, which is enough to feed 38 children for an entire year!

Coach Marlene Stollings @Stollings Congratulations Amanda Zahui and Shae Kelly for being WNBA draft picks! Proud day for Gopher women’s basketball.

Now Showing:

Three Timelines of University History Enjoy three different looks at the University of Minnesota’s achievements throughout its 163-year history in one rewarding visit. The Heritage Gallery in the McNamara Alumni Center presents three separate historical timelines; each based on one of the three founding principles of the University….Education, Research and Service. Each timeline is distinctive and packed with information, photographs, graphics and historical objects to reward the casual visitor or the in-depth reviewer. Make plans to visit the Heritage Gallery…then stay for lunch at D’Amico & Sons!

Amanda Zahui B. @AmandaZahuiB Välsignad. Dieu Merci Tulsa Shock #32.

Coach Nikita Lowry Dawkins @ CoachNikDawk Minnesota WBB: 1 of only 5 programs in the nation to have multiple WNBA draft picks last night. Will YOU be NEXT? @koalasibala From the Great Lakes to Guangzhou, I’ll always be a Gopher.

Todd Reubold @treubold Way to go, @GopherM tennis! First Big Ten title in 20 years!

Research Listening @StudyListening Was time for my #UMNAlumni membership renewal, so I’ve become a @UMNAlumni lifetime member.

MinnesotaAlumni.org

The Heritage Gallery is open most Mondays thru Saturdays.

Please call ahead at 612-624-9831 for daily viewing hours.

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About Campus

It Never Gets Old The Gopher women’s hockey team won its sixth national title overall and third in four years on March 22 at Ridder Arena, defeating Harvard 4–1. “It’s somewhat surreal, but when you’ve 500 screaming fans cheering for you, it sure gives you an extra boost,” says Coach Brad Frost. Pictured are seniors Rachel Ramsey (No. 5) and Rachael Bona (No. 7) and sophomore Lee Stecklein (No. 2). To listen to the match start to finish, go to the March 25 show on GopherSportsUpdate.com.

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So Long, Old Country Geographer John Fraser Hart, the University’s oldest professor, retired in May at the age of 91. Since 1967, shortly after he joined the U, students in Hart’s Geography of the United States and Canada course have been captivated by his extraordinary lectures.

Calling himself “just an old country geographer,” Hart is a firm believer that the best way to learn about geography is to see it. On research trips, he visited all kinds of places, from small farms to big cities, taking pictures and talking with people along the way. Over the years, he turned those photos into more than 40,000 slides, 25,000 of which he used regularly in class while telling stories of what he saw, heard, and experienced. “I can’t take students on a helicopter ride, so I do the job that students can’t do. I go out, take pictures, bring them back and show them what it’s like,” he says.

Though he once told his mother that teaching was the last thing he would ever want to do, Hart recently enthused, “Academia is the best life in the world.” In retirement, he plans to spend more time with his wife, Meredith, and the rest of his family. —Meleah Maynard

HOCKEY: ERIC MILLER/GOPHER ATHLETICS • HART: LISA MILLER/UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA

Transgendering U.S. History The University of Minnesota Libraries’ Jean-Nickolaus Tretter Collection in Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender Studies is one of just a handful of GLBT archives in the country, housing more than 100,000 books, magazines, reference books, and other items. A new oral history project is about to significantly expand the collection’s materials related to the transgender community.

Funded by a $256,000 grant from the Chicago-based Tawani Foundation, the Transgender Oral History Project is a collaboration between the Tretter Collection and the U’s Program in Human Sexuality, one of the world’s largest clinical, teaching, and research programs dealing with human sexuality. Over the next three years, up to 400 hours of oral histories will be gathered from as many as 300 transgender men and women of all ages in the Upper Midwest.

Tretter Collection curator Lisa Vecoli says the project is the largest and most ambitious of its kind ever undertaken in the United States. The oral

histories will, she says, reflect changing attitudes about gender.

“We want to hear from people who were around when the University was doing sex reassignment surgeries in 1967, as well as young people who more and more seem to be rejecting the concept of gender as binary and thinking of themselves as somewhere between male and female,” she explains. “I can’t imagine how we’ll be talking about gender in another 50 years, but I want to document as much as we can now.”

The Tretter Collection is named for its founder, Jean-Nickolaus Tretter. He began collecting books, photographs, and historical documents in the early 1970s after leaving the Navy, where he was a decorated linguist during the Vietnam War. His collection was housed in his tiny St. Paul apartment until he donated it to the University in 2000.

—M.M.

And still no TV. . .”

Facebook commenter Greg Amluxen on Gophersports.com after a story about the women’s hockey Gophers winning their sixth national championship.

Their games are not televised.

Learn more about the Tretter Collection in a video interview with Lisa Vecoli at AccessMinnesotaOnline.com. Go to the February 11 broadcast.

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About Campus Pipe Dream Fulfilled

Could a microbiome shaped by parasites lead to better health? Elise Morton, a postdoctoral ecologist at the University of Minnesota, is examining the microbiome—the trillions of bacteria and other microscopic organisms that live in the human gut—from rural villagers in western Africa. Her work may help shed light on a popular debate: If we had the microbiome of our huntergather ancestors, would we be free of modern diseases such as allergies, asthma, obesity, and inflammatory bowel disease?

Morton and colleagues, including Laure Ségurel, a researcher from the French National Center for Scientific Research in Paris, and Morton’s adviser, assistant professor of genetics, cell biology, and development Ran Blekhman, have sequenced the gut bacteria of 64 people from three subsistence groups in the Cameroon rainforest. Some were farmers, others fishermen, and others hunter-gatherers.

Their microbiomes differed markedly from those of industrialized people and from one traditional group to another. Diet played an important role, but the biggest shaper of the gut community was parasitic infection. Presence of the amoeba Entamoeba produced a microbiome that was more diverse in the number and composition of microbes.

Just why wasn’t clear. Perhaps the ameoba changed the community directly by preying on various classes of microbes. Or perhaps the amoeba triggered the humans’ immune response in a way that changed the makeup of the gut community. It’s possible that the parasitic infection was beneficial, important for immune system development while doing no harm to the human host.

While Morton’s work doesn’t yet answer the question whether there’s a Paleo-gut shaped by parasitic infection that will restore modern humans to health, it does support the idea that the microbiome is highly adaptable.

“The microbiome is a core component of our physiology that affects many aspects of our health and even behavior. It’s clearly something that we can control in a way that can have significant effects on our health,” Morton says.

—Greg Breining

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Springing to Their Feet Alumni Association Board Chair-Elect Alison Page (M.S., M.H.A. ’96) leads the crowd in applauding speaker Kenny Blumenfeld (B.S. ’01, M.A. ’05, Ph.D. ’08) at A Toast to Every Season, the UMAA’s Annual Celebration, at the McNamara Alumni Center on April 17. Page will begin her term on July 1, succeeding Jim Du Bois (B.A. ’87).

In my wildest imagination I didn’t think it would come to pass.”

Rob Kuznia (B.S. ’99), who learned on April 20 that he won a Pulitzer Prize for uncovering and reporting widespread corruption in a Los Angeles County school district. The stories by Kuznia and two colleagues at the Daily Breeze led to the firing of the superintendent and an ongoing investigation by the FBI.

DISCOVERIES: GEMMA CORRELL • APPLAUSE: JOEL MOREHOUSE

DISCOVERIES

The Northrop’s Aeolian-Skinner Opus 892 pipe organ will finally be restored, thanks to a $4 million gift to the University of Minnesota from alumnus Dr. Roger Anderson (B.S. ’47, M.D. ’52).

President Eric Kaler (Ph.D. ’82) made the announcement during his annual State of the University address on April 2.

Installed in the Northrop in 1930, the famed organ has 6,975 pipes, is approximately 40 feet tall, and spans the width of the main stage. The restoration will cost $2.8 million. The remainder of Anderson’s gift helps fund a new home for the Bell Museum of Natural History on the St. Paul campus and a new position at the Weisman Art Museum.

No Expiration Date Who needs to comb through scholarly journals when you can watch research in action on stage? In June, Minneapolisbased Pangea World Theater in Minneapolis will premier the play No Expiration Date: Sexuality & Aging, a theatrical interpretation of the qualitative data from a study conducted by Sara Mize and Alex Iantaffi, faculty in the University of Minnesota’s Program in Human Sexuality. Written by playwright Meena Natarajan, the play draws from the focus group narratives of 61 seniors of diverse backgrounds and sexual orientations who discussed their experiences of sexuality and aging with researchers. For dates and times, visit PangeaWorldTheater.org.

Human Subjects Team Moves Forward The team charged with implementing improvements to the University of Minnesota’s human subjects research practices has submitted the draft of its action plan to President Eric Kaler (Ph.D. ’82). A public comment period ended on June 1. The final report is expected in early June; it is likely to include both short-term and longterm steps aimed at implementing recommendations made by an external review panel to improve protections for human research subjects.

To read more about the recommendations and action plan, visit research. umn.edu/advancehsr.

Tweets of Yore If we had Twitter 100 years ago, what would your alumni association have been tweeting? We looked back to see what was trending:

The December 1957 Gopher Grad announced plans to build a two-level bridge with a moving sidewalk to shuttle students across the Washington Avenue Bridge. Officials called it a logical means of getting students across the river between classes. #OnSecondThought The October 16, 1916, Minnesota Alumni Weekly reported that an angry Professor C.P. Bull was on the lookout for the “absentminded professor” who walked away with his derby hat from the annual faculty supper. Someone else’s derby was left in its place, but it did not fit Professor Bull. #RagingBull

ERIC HANSON

Get the latest from the Alumni Association.

Follow us on Twitter @UMNAlumni.

MinnesotaAlumni.org

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hat’s the premise underlying the University of Minnesota’s approach to combatting sexual assault and fostering healthy relationships. Campus sexual assault isn’t a new problem, but several high profile cases, combined with survivor advocacy campaigns, heightened media scrutiny, and recent attention from Congress and the White House have made addressing it a growing priority for many colleges and universities. And at the U, addressing it includes getting at its root causes—with increasing involvement from male students.

“Let’s be honest: Women are tired of being told how to protect themselves from violence,” says Katie Eichele, executive director of the U’s Aurora Center for Advocacy & Education, which provides support to victims of sexual violence while raising awareness about how to end it. “We need to enlist men, too.”

Or as freshman Jackson Ridl, a Beta Theta Pi member and volunteer violence prevention educator with the Aurora Center, puts it, “You can’t make 100 percent change by only including 50 percent of the population. We have to all have an understanding that sexual assault is something we’re not going to allow.”

The U’s prevention efforts are five-fold: educating students about consent and healthy relationships, empowering women, teaching bystander intervention skills, promoting gender equity, and reevaluating what it means to be a man. Of these, the fifth is a novel

MinnesotaAlumni.org

Trailblazing initiatives to engage students in conversations about masculinity are key to the U’s efforts to prevent sexual assault.

By Susan Maas Illustration by André da Loba

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initiative that’s prompted campus-wide conversations. Under Eichele’s guidance and with leadership from students in the Greek community, Athletics, and residence halls, the conversations are happening in sometimes unexpected places.

Creating male allies Eichele and other staff have been deliberate and methodical in reaching out to young men at the U, including athletes and fraternity members. Presentations on sexual violence prevention— some focused on defining consent, some on bystander intervention tactics aimed at stopping assault—are now incorporated into first-year programs, as well as programs for freshman residence halls and fraternities and sororities.

Step Up, Aurora’s bystander intervention program, guides male and female students in how to respond when they witness a sexual assault unfolding. A fundamental part of Step Up’s effectiveness is simply giving bystanders permission to be involved, says Peyton Owens III, assistant director of athletics in charge of student athlete development.

“Because the initial recognition [that something might be unfolding right before them] can just paralyze people, we’re trying to give them a blueprint so they have various ways to 14

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address it, whether that’s inserting themselves into it, working collectively as a group to stop it, or looking for authorities to help,” Owens says.

Student athletes are introduced to Step Up training via team meetings, in addition to participating in other presentations and discussions during the spring, Owens says. “For our student athletes, these events are mandatory. That’s our expectation: This is no different than having to go to class or team practice. This is part of your education and it’s non-negotiable—it’s vital to the success and safety of our entire University.”

The U’s Greek system has embraced the approach, which, according to assistant vice provost for student life Lamar Hylton, may be key to fraternities’ survival. As a Phi Beta Sigma alumnus, that’s important to him. “When I’m walking around campus in my three letters, I don’t want there to be unfair assumptions about me: If reputation is going to be the ‘hook’ that gets fraternities engaged, that’s where we can start,” he says.

Some are already engaged. Last November, Phi Beta Sigma organized a panel discussion about what they called “toxic masculinity.” The event was the brainchild of senior George Darvehn, who suggested to his fraternity brothers that they hold a public forum after watching the film “The Mask You Live In,” which

MOIRA LENNOX

Peyton Owens III, Jackson Ridl, and Katie Eichele

How Prevalent?

In 2013, University of Minnesota students were surveyed* about their experiences with sexual assault, defined as actual or attempted sexual intercourse or other sexual touching without one’s consent or against one’s will. The research found: 22% of female students have experienced a sexual assault in their lifetime 6.6% of those occurred within the previous 12 months 5% of male students have experienced a sexual assault in their lifetime 1.6% within the past 12 months Of the students who indicated they have experienced a sexual assault, only 29.1% said they reported the incident 13.2% reported it to the police 29.7% reported it to a health care provider * The 2013 College Student Health Survey, conducted by Boynton Health Service at the University of Minnesota, was sent to undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in 29 postsecondary institutions in Minnesota. It collected information about students’ experiences and behaviors in a wide range of health concerns, including sexual health and sexual assault. Of the 44,688 students who received the survey, 6,000 were from the University of Minnesota Twin Cities. Of those 6,000 students, 2,071, or 34.5%, completed the survey.

explores how restrictive social norms and expectations around masculinity hurt boys and men, as well as girls and women.

“They were all for it,” Darvehn says, calling the panel “phenomenal.”

Participants spoke about how stereotypical ideas of manhood—stoicism, extreme independence, physical toughness, and sexual promiscuity—harm both women and men. “The audience really got into the question of, ‘what does it mean to be a fraternity man on this campus?’ We got a lot of positive feedback.

People are happy to be having this conversation.”

In fact, the event drew so much interest that Sigma Phi Epsilon convened a follow-up panel. Several hundred students, many of them fraternity and sorority members, packed an auditorium in the Tate Laboratory of Physics on April 14 to delve into the ways rigid definitions of manhood enable and fuel sexual violence.

Among the topics explored was how alcohol can intersect with sexual assault. Panelist Tim Garay (B.S. ’14), an Aurora Center volunteer, says he and his colleagues advise students that consensual sex and heavy drinking don’t mix. “If someone has been drinking a lot, you honestly don’t know if they’re able to give consent. If you have to question it, maybe you shouldn’t be having sex. Wait until the next day.”

MinnesotaAlumni.org

What is Consent?

Last year, California became the first state to pass a law requiring mutual, unambiguous affirmative consent between college students before they have sex. The so-called “Yes Means Yes” approach is intended to clarify what it means to give consent.

The University of Minnesota’s current policy reads: Consent: Informed, freely and actively given, and mutually understood. If physical force, coercion, intimidation, and/or threats are used, there is no consent. If the victim/ survivor is mentally or physically incapacitated or impaired so that the victim/survivor cannot understand the fact, nature or extent of the sexual situation, and the condition was or would be known to a reasonable person, there is no consent. This includes conditions due to alcohol or drug consumption, or being asleep or unconscious.

The Minnesota Student Association is exploring an “affirmative consent” policy that would require a “yes” by both parties. Advocates at the University believe such a change would eliminate needless ambiguity and encourage students to talk more openly about what they do or do not want.

—S.M.

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Owens is facilitating discussions about gender roles among student athletes, too. “These are the conversations I really enjoy—when we’re discussing some of the things they’re seeing in their everyday life.

They start to put on a different lens and say, ‘Hmmm. What is this really saying about women? About relationships?”

Aurora Center volunteer Enoch Sun has been trying to start such discussions

in his residence hall. “I live on the international student floor, and I have tons of friends who are also from other countries. Everybody has different cultural backgrounds, and many of them have little understanding of sexual assault, stalking, or relationship violence,” Sun says.

Even among U.S.–born students, freshmen arrive with a vast range of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives,

say Owens and Hylton, adding a layer of complexity to the challenge of reaching them all. “We have students from the South, students from the West, students from rural areas, students from the city.

Everyone has a different idea of what’s acceptable. So we start the dialogue about being ambassadors for the maroon and gold: expectations of the University, and of the law, first and foremost,” Owens says.

“From there, the conversation takes a different shape every time. We really try to meet them where they are.”

Hylton is optimistic that the conversations are yielding change. To see fraternity men stepping up to organize panel discussions on sexual violence and masculinity— to have Greek men participating enthusiastically in conversations with Aurora Center volunteers, and becoming Aurora Center volunteers—makes him happy as an administrator and as a Phi Beta Sigma, he says. “I’m just so thankful for the leadership of the students,” he adds.

He also credits the Aurora Center. “This is the first institution I’ve worked for that has a place like Aurora, with dedicated staff for prevention and advocacy around sexual assault. That says something about the priorities here,” Hylton says. Those priorties were reinforced this spring when the Office of Student Affairs gave the center funding for a new men’s engagement coordinator position.

Hylton sees a need to broaden the discussion about relationship violence.

“Same-sex gender violence does occur, and to exempt that from the discussion would be short-sighted,” he says. And although women assaulting men is less common than men assaulting women, Hylton thinks it should be part of the discussion, too. ”We need to look at sexual violence broadly in terms of who is impacted,” he says.

Owens maintains that the effort to end sexual assault has gone from a monologue to a dialogue at the U. “We’re not here to point fingers. We’re going to talk, and we’re going to ask you, ‘What do you hear? What do you think?’ And with this approach, we’ve gotten more men on board, and they’re coming up with ideas and solutions. That’s been terrific, because this is not just a women’s issue.”

Q Susan Maas is a Minneapolis-based writer and the copy editor of Minnesota.

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of Minnesota 3rd grade students are not achieving reading standards

of white students in Minnesota graduated, compared to of black students and of American Indian students in 2013

TO HELP CLOSE THE ACHIEVEMENT GAP IN SCHOOLS, WE’RE BROADENING OUR APPROACHES TO LEARNING.

in

kindergartners in Minnesota did not reach the 75% achievement level for overall school readiness

We believe nothing should ever limit a child’s opportunity to succeed in school.

That’s why the University of Minnesota is imagining innovative new ways to

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design classrooms and learning experiences. With local teachers and leaders, we applied our research expertise to create initiatives that blend science, technology, engineering, math and literacy skills to get kids more engaged in

of 8th grade students in Minnesota are not achieving math standards

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even more attainable. It’s one more way the future is being Made in Minnesota.

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learning. Together, we’ve created new models that make academic achievement

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Rochester

Twin Cities

umn.edu © 2015 Regents of the University of Minnesota. All rights reserved.

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ny romantic notions that Cheryl Robertson (M.P.H. ’88, Ph.D. ’00) might have had about being a public health nurse were shattered in 1985, when she found herself driving down a rutted road in a beat-up Land Rover, trying to get a dying pregnant woman to a hospital in Uganda’s capital city, Kampala. Howling in agony in the backseat, the woman desperately needed a cesarean section to save her and the baby, which was positioned sideways.

“Move, move, move, a woman is dying here!” screamed Robertson, honking the horn at the drivers of two trucks that were blocking the road. One of the men was smoking while the other ate lunch. Instead of moving, they just stared at her, so she jumped out of the car and implored, “Can’t you hear her screaming?” They could, and they did nothing. Finally, when they’d finished their break, the men slowly got into their trucks and made way for the Land Rover to get through.

As Robertson rumbled past, one of the drivers leaned out of his window and said matter-of-factly, “What’s another dead woman in Uganda?”

His remark went against everything Robertson, then 30 and on her first trip abroad as a public health nurse, believed about people’s inherent goodness. But her own reaction to the man 20

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upset and confused her even more: “I thought, ‘I hate this.

Why am I here?’” she recalls. Up until that point, she had imagined global public health work was “sitting on the ground with village women sharing stories and teaching health.” Later, while mulling over what had happened after the woman died at the hospital, she realized that not caring whether women live or die isn’t okay in anybody’s culture. “And that was the beginning of my thinking that what I was seeing wasn’t normal, that something was very wrong,” she says.

From that point on, Robertson, an associate professor in the University of Minnesota’s School of Nursing, stopped seeing herself as a do-gooder providing primary health care around the world. Instead, she began trying to understand what happens to people and their communities when they suffer the worst things imaginable. One thing she learned for certain: Unending war, trauma, and displacement destroy community and civility. “People often expect those who suffer horribly to behave honorably,” Robertson says. “But that doesn’t always happen. Chronic violence often breeds coarseness, self-preservation, and cruelty.”

Gidget Goes to Africa Straight talking and five feet tall with short, bright red hair, glasses, and a knack for coordinating mismatched jewelry with jumpers worn over leggings, Robertson, 60, looks more like an artist than a nurse researcher. Since she first lived in Uganda, she ’s worked in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Liberia, Tanzania, and elsewhere in the world. For her dissertation, she went to Bosnia, during and after the war, working with mothers and children after the fall

of Srebrenica. To escape the ethnic cleansing that had taken most of the men from their villages, the women told Robertson how they had fled with their children into the forest where they survived as best they could.

Prior to joining the U, Robertson served as director of international programs at the St. Paul–based Center for Victims of Torture, a role that took her to some of the most turbulent and impoverished parts of the world. Such long-term global engagement has afforded her the opportunity to witness both great change for the better—as in the case of Uganda—as well as seemingly bottomless suffering in the DRC. Thirty years of practice in struggling countries continues to inform her research on community-based healing in the aftermath of war and civil conflict, her work with refugee families in Minnesota, and with displaced communities abroad. It has also informed her teaching. “It has been an amazing synergy,” says Robertson, who this fall will co-teach one of the University’s new Grand Challenges courses, Seeking Solutions to Global Health Issues. The curriculum is part of the U’s commitment to helping solve some of Minnesota’s, and the world’s, most complex and urgent problems.

Robertson insists she is not fearless. Rather, she says, what enables her to go places others fear is her faith that most people are good and that the odds are in her favor. Born in Los Angeles the week that Disneyland opened, she could see the fantasyland’s Matterhorn bobsled ride from her front yard.

That sight, she figures, forever colored her worldview. “I just always think it’s all gonna be okay,” she says, laughing while stroking one of the two fat, fluffy cats who share her Minneapolis townhouse. “I get teased sometimes for being naïve, because I say that I depend on the kindness of strangers, but I do,” she admits with a shrug. “Most of the time, for most people in most parts of the world, nothing bad happens. That doesn’t mean something horrible won’t happen, but it usually doesn’t.”

Raised by loving parents who met at a roller rink as teenagers and had limited education—her dad finished eighth grade and her mom, high school—Robertson never even thought about going to college. Her dad often worked as a jockey and bareback bronco rider in the county fair circuit; her mom was mostly a homemaker until later in life, when she took a job with Weight Watchers. Like her dad, Robertson has always loved horses, and she rode “girl” rodeo in high school. At age 20, she moved to northern Arizona, taking up residence in a commune with a boyfriend she met in the back of a cattle truck.

She was taking anthropology classes at Prescott College when she spotted an ad in the Prescott Courier for nursing courses at nearby Yavapai College. “Be a Nurse for $100,” it read. Robertson, who had not considered nursing until that moment, now says it was the best $100 she ever spent. By 1978, with her two-year degree in hand, she was training to be a public health nurse on the Yavapai-Prescott Indian reservaMinnesotaAlumni.org

tion. “I remember driving up north and drinking coffee with the young mothers while I talked with them about their new babies, and I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I can get paid for having fascinating conversations?’ I just fell in love with public health nursing.”

From there, she studied Spanish and anthropology for a year in Mexico City, earned a bachelor’s degree in anthropology and Ibero-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and worked as a public health nurse in migrant communities, homeless shelters, and in local families’ homes.

In 1981, Minneapolis accidentally became Robertson’s home when she totaled her car downtown while driving through on her way back to the Southwest. Over the next 19 years, she married, raised three children, got divorced, and attended the U, earning a master’s degree in public health, followed by a Ph.D. in nursing. During that time, she traveled back and forth to Africa many times, starting with that first fateful first trip to Uganda, where she lived for an eventful two years that included being held hostage briefly while trying to flee the country during a military coup. “It was like Gidget Goes to Africa,” she says, flinging her arms out wide. “I had no idea what I was doing, but boy did I get educated.”

“The Dork Factor” Robertson usually spends Christmas with her parents in California. Last year, though, she conjured up a story so they wouldn’t worry and settled in at home to wait out her mandatory 21-day quarantine following a month-long trip to Ebola-ravaged Liberia in late November. The Minneapolis-based American Refugee Committee (ARC) invited her and Dorcas Kunkel, a clinical assistant professor in the School of Nursing, to join a team of health professionals to help open a new Ebola treatment center in Fish Town, a remote community near the Ivory Coast border.

With Ebola killing dozens of people by the day, she thought, “I’m a nurse. I’m Catholic. It only makes sense to go.”

During the monthlong trip, Robertson focused on helping team members cope with the frustrations that come with working in the developing world while Kunkel identified excellent nurses in the community. After training in underfunded, understaffed treatment centers in Monrovia where dying patients of all ages lay on plastic mattresses in hot, ill-equipped tents, she and the team experienced the uncoordinated “hurry up and wait” scenario that comes with global emergency response. “One of my goals was to help people on the team accept the messiness inherent in the situation and identify ways to contribute,” she recalls. “People would say to me, ‘This is so incredibly disorganized,’ and I would say, ‘Yes, it is. It’s like trying to turn around the Titanic.’ I was very proud to be on the ARC team.”

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county. At the most remote clinic, a three-and-a-half-hour hike west of Fish Town, the team was greeted by the Joproken village chief and soon found themselves hosting a community meeting, complete with dancing and singing. “It was not planned, and we were ill prepared, of course, but it was a great opportunity to answer questions and hear what people are worried about,” she says. Some of the best opportunities for learning are often accidental, says Robertson, who in April received the University’s 2015 Faculty Community Service Award, recognizing her leadership on the Ebola response team. “If you want to work in global health, the only way to cope and be of use is to be willing to do things outside of your skill set,” she explains. “You have to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.” It’s a message she conveys to her students every chance she gets, most pointedly in a lecture she calls “The Dork Factor.”

“Everywhere I go, I’ll always be a dorky white girl,” Robertson says. She teaches students that getting to know a community means spending time with people and listening to their stories. “Part of being a dork is understanding that everyone knows you don’t belong there. If you never want to be uncomfortable, you’re not going to learn very much.”

And there is always something to learn. For the last five years, Robertson has been an integral part of the Responding to the Need for Family Planning (RESPOND) project.

Funded by the United States Agency for International Development, the program, led by the University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, is building public health workforce capacity to address emerging infectious diseases in Central and Eastern Africa and Southeast Asia. Robertson has been the U’s liaison to the DRC. Of all the difficult places in the world Robertson has worked, she readily says DRC was the hardest. Rich in timber, diamonds, and minerals, the country’s people are among the world’s poorest, averaging just one meal a day. Millions have been maimed, raped, and killed as armed conflict has raged for years. Battered by shelling, the walls and ceiling of Robertson’s dank classroom at the University of Kinshasa were partially caved in. More than 1,500 nursing students crowded in to hear her lecture, which she delivered in a yell so the people leaning through the broken windows and perched in nearby trees had some hope of hearing her. Later, when she met with faculty at the University of Lubumbashi in a similarly devastated classroom and asked them to discuss possible research questions, a faculty member asked, “Can a goat get worms?” Another raised her hand: “Can a woman survive a sonogram?”

Robertson stood, silently composing herself. “I realized then that I needed to throw away my slides,” she recalls, her eyes tearing up. “I actually feel choked up because it’s just so unfair that faculty and students don’t have the means to leave the country and go to conferences and work with international 22

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groups,” she explains. “Without access to literature, without access to the Internet, how can they know what is already known?” But the problem, as she has long known, is much deeper than that. At Lubumbashi, while teaching a class on armed conflict and health, a faculty member stood and said, “I’m interested in this class, but I’m not sure how relevant it will be because I don’t feel like my life has been affected by conflict.”

Looking around at the devastated room, she thought, “Oh my gosh, yes, you have.” But, seeing the normalcy the man felt, she replied, “Well, just bear with me, okay?”

Robertson sees hope. She notes that in the last 30 years Uganda has successfully rebuilt from conditions similar to those in DRC today. With the RESPOND Project funded for a second phase, she plans to return there to work. For inspiration, she looks to the smart students from the U and from the African network universities with whom she has been working for the last several years. “This kind of youth involvement taking control of the complex problems their countries face was unimaginable 30 years ago,” she says. “But we’re really seeing a new cadre of young people who are very determined to tackle the toughest problems and it’s incredibly exciting to be a part of that.”

Q Meleah Maynard (B.A. ’91) is senior editor of Minnesota.

Unbowed Rob Stewart turned his life around in prison—and became an advocate for voting rights.

take advantage of all the opportunities that were available.”

Stewart was sentenced to 100 months of correctional control—a combination of incarceration and supervised release—for his 2007 conviction. He reduced his time behind bars by taking part in a boot camp program for nonviolent drug offenders at the Minnesota Correctional Facility at Willow River/Moose Lake. It proved to be a key part of his recovery.

“You get out of bed at 5:15. You go to bed at 9:15 every day. You don’t take a nap.

By Andy Steiner You can’t sit on your bed during the day. It is a very regimented, structured program.

That was very helpful for me because I hadn’t had that type of structure for a very long time,” Stewart says.

Stewart—who had spent nearly a year at Hamline University in St. Paul after graduating high school—tutored other inmates in St. Cloud and taught adult basic education and helped prepare them for General Education Development testing.

As someone who had grown up middle class and had a supportive family, Stewart ob Stewart (B.A. ’12) doesn’t make excuses knew he had advantages over his peers who had limited supwhen he talks about going to prison. Even port and little education before they were incarcerated. Such before his arrest and conviction in 2007 for basic inequities, which often broke down along class and racial first-degree felony possession of cocaine and methamphet- lines, were striking to Stewart.

“Look at my situation: When I was released in 2009, I walked amine with intent to sell, his life was centered on drug use. “I into a good, supportive family that was willing and able to help was spinning in a downward trajectory,” he says.

Stewart, who is from Owatonna, Minnesota, started using me get back on my feet. That has made a lot of the difference drugs and alcohol at age 15. In 2005, when he was 24, he was post prison, compared with my peers who didn’t have a family arrested with four pounds of marijuana in his car and three that was able to be supportive financially and emotionally. There months later was arrested for possession of a meth pipe. Both are many supportive families out there who are willing to help offenses are fifth-degree felony controlled substance posses- get their loved ones back on their feet, but they are unfortunately sion and resulted in a four-month jail sentence in prison in St. not able. While I was incarcerated, I started to feel really passionate about that type of thing,” Stewart says.

Cloud, Minnesota, and probation.

Stewart spent his first year out of prison on intensive In some ways, the isolation of prison life was a godsend for Stewart, 34. After he was found guilty in 2007, he went back to supervised release, completing a year of studies at Alexandria his cell and cried for three days. “Then a friend who was also Community College and living in his parents’ cabin. In fall in jail came and knocked on my cell door. He said, ‘You have 2010, after the terms of supervised release were completed, to come out and have lunch. There’s nothing you can do about he moved to the Twin Cities and enrolled at the University, it so you might as well make the best of it.’” Stewart came out completing his bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in the of his cell, ate, and began what turned out to be an extreme sociology of law, criminality, and deviance in 2012. He’s now on track to complete his Ph.D. in sociology in 2017 with a focus on life makeover.

“I decided that I would try to make the most of my time punishment, law, crime, and collateral consequences.

In the years since his imprisonment, Stewart has commitwhile I was in there,” he says. “I started going to programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous. I ted himself to advocating for equal footing for ex-offenders.

An important foundation for building this equal footing is started going to Bible study, life skills classes, just trying to MinnesotaAlumni.org

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enhancing voting rights for people who have served time behind bars.

“The American penal system is based on the belief that people can redeem themselves, so if we support this concept, we should give former felons the opportunity to rejoin society,” Stewart says. “The more people that can vote, the better. When people have a say in their community, they feel tied to that community. I think that can have only positive benefits.”

Stewart views voting as a behavior that people learn from their parents—thus, denying voting rights has a negative multigenerational impact. “If your parents voted a lot, then you’ll vote. You’ll see the importance and you’ll believe that you have power in your community. Children whose parents can’t vote are less likely to vote when they become adults,” he says.

Minnesota law bars felons from voting until they have completed their full sentence, including probation and supervised release. And Minnesota has some of the longest probation sentences in the nation, says Stewart. “There are a significant number people in this state who get 10, 20, 30 years of probation. Imagine a 25-year-old who’s on felony probation and can’t vote for over a decade. That’s a pretty significant amount of time to be paying taxes, to have kids going through the school district, to live in a town, own a business, but have absolutely have no say in the different laws and restrictions you’re subject to.”

It’s not just felons who lose out when their voting rights are denied. Society does, too, says Stewart’s adviser Chris Uggen, a University of Minnesota professor of sociology who studies the effects of mass incarceration. “We are locking up a large percentage of males between the ages of 25 to 54,” Uggen says. “It’s hurting society in many ways.”

The issue particularly impacts African American men, he says—as many as 1 in 4 are blocked from voting due to felony convictions.

Many of these convictions, Uggen says, are a result of stiffer federal sentencing guidelines for nonviolent drug offenses handed down beginning in the 1970s. In subsequent years, lawmakers have tightened penalties; in some parts of the United States, people convicted of drug crimes may spend years in prison and decades on probation or supervised release without the right to vote in local or national elections.

Minnesota, Uggen says, has significant racial disparities in arrest rates: For African Americans, the annual arrest rate is 227 per thousand—seven times the white rate of 32 per thousand.

Technology further limits the ability of people to get out from under the shadow of their criminal records, Uggen says. “Technology makes criminal history so much more 24

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widely available. A few years ago, it was fairly typical for young men to have a brush with the law and then later go on to grow up, find jobs, have families and settle down.

Now it is so much more difficult to outrun those records.”

Because past convictions appear on background checks, and mug shots can show up on a simple Google search, people who have served time in prison have a harder time finding employment or stable housing, Uggen says.

“I had a student who had a conviction over 10 years ago. After that, he was a model employee, but he had a very difficult time getting housing. When I was younger, if I had had an arrest record, I could simply move from Minnesota to Wisconsin and nobody would ever know about my past. In those days you could leave things in the rearview mirror.”

Uggen has found that a record of even low-level offenses limits the likelihood that an applicant will land a job interview. “Fourteen million people are arrested every year in the United States. The percentage of people arrested for serious violent crimes is a tiny fraction of that. In some of my research, we sent people out to apply for jobs. If they had a three-year-old disorderly or other low-level arrest on their record, they had a hard time getting a call back from potential employers,” Uggen says.

He sees some progress. A 2014 Minnesota law, for instance, requires employers to wait until later in the hiring process—at the interview stage or when a conditional job offer has been extended—before asking an applicant about his or her criminal record or conducting a criminal background check. “It means that the applicant can at least get in the front door,” Uggen says.

Stewart was brought up in a family that valued political participation, so not being able to vote for so many years has been tough. Since his supervised release will be over later this year, he will be eligible to vote in the next election.

A couple of years ago, Stewart became active in the Second Chance Coalition, a partnership of over 50 Minnesota organizations that advocate for laws, policies, and practices that enable former inmates to redeem themselves and rejoin society. He is a Second Chance volunteer spokesperson and advocates at the Legislature to change laws on felon voting rights.

“When it’s the first Tuesday in November and everybody else is walking around with a little red sticker that says, ‘I Voted,’ but you can’t, it’s a pretty depressing experience,” Stewart says. “The ability to vote conveys a signal of inclusion. When a community says, ‘You can vote,’ that’s basically saying, ‘You’re an important, valuable part of this community.’ That’s a message more of us need to hear.” Q Andy Steiner is a writer and editor living in St. Paul.

en Utecht (B.A. ’03) never imagined the day last year when he found himself sitting on a plane pouring out his love and fears in a letter to his wife, Karyn, and their daughters. Having suffered five confirmed concussions in his Gopher and pro football careers, Utecht was staring in the face the possibility that memory loss, early onset Alzheimer’s, or another brain disease might someday render him unable to express his feelings for his family.

Utecht was a strapping 6-foot-7-inch tight end for the Gophers with great hands and a golden voice when he met Karyn Stordahl (B.S.B. ’03), who was also a U student athlete. She first noticed him singing the national anthem before a Gopher hockey game and thought to herself, “Why can’t I meet a guy like that?” She ultimately did, they married, and they now have three daughters, with a fourth on the way.

Utecht gushes when he talks about his wife.

“She was Miss Minnesota [in 2005], she was the captain of the women’s golf team, state champion out of Owatonna, top of her class from Carlson School,” he says, then starts to chuckle. “I mean, I married up big time, seriously. She’s amazing.”

His heartfelt letter became the basis for a song he cowrote titled, “You Will Always Be My Girls.” In the accompanying music video, which has more than a million YouTube views, Karyn breaks down sobbing next to Ben’s hospital bed. It’s an emotional, albeit fictional, moment that Utecht is working hard to avoid in real life through his advocacy for concussion awareness and brain health.

Utecht’s first concussion came in his freshman year for the Gophers in a game against Baylor, when he was briefly knocked unconscious. Three more concussions were interspersed in a decade of football success. In Utecht’s senior season in 2003, Glen Mason’s Gophers went 10–3—the team’s only 10-win season since 1905. Utecht finished his Minnesota career second all-time in receptions and receiving yards by a tight end. He then played four years for the Indianapolis Colts, catching 37 passes on the way to the Colts winning Super Bowl XLI, before moving to the Cincinnati Bengals in 2008.

His last concussion came during a training-camp blocking drill for the Bengals in 2009. He was knocked out for 90 seconds.

“It took about eight months before I was cleared to go back and play if I wanted to,” he says.

In the ensuing months, one moment in particular shook him. He was at the home of former Gopher teammate Matt MinnesotaAlumni.org

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Anderle (B.S. '03) with both of their wives, talking about Anderle’s wedding. “I chimed in and said, ‘Why wasn’t I able to be at your wedding?’” Utecht says.

After some awkward silence, Anderle and his wife retrieved their wedding album. “Page after page, there I was as a groomsman in the wedding,” Utecht says. “I sang at his wedding. And I don’t have any memory of that. I don’t have any memory of that today. Those kind of situations began happening and my wife and I decided I just couldn’t, in good conscience, continue to play. ”

The Mysterious World of Concussions

Scenes from the video “You Will Always Be My Girls,” which stars Ben Utecht and his wife, Karyn

“I still don’t feel like we know anywhere what we need to know about the psychology of concussion.”

—U RESEARCHER DIANE WIESE-BJORNSTAL

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In the aftermath of Utecht’s penultimate concussion—a blow to the back of his helmet when he played for the Indianapolis Colts in 2007—the former Gopher had one prevailing thought. “Shake it off and let’s get back in there and play. That’s kind of where we were at with the game at that point,” he says. “Concussions were not high on the radar.”

Less than a decade later there’s been a dramatic shift in concussion awareness. In April, a federal judge approved a $1 billion plan to resolve thousands of lawsuits by former National Football League players who are actively experiencing—or believe they may be developing—dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). And this past March, 24-year-old former Wisconsin star linebacker Chris Borland announced his retirement from football after his rookie season in the NFL, a preemptive move over fear of the long-term effects of repeated head trauma. “From what I’ve researched and what I’ve experienced, I just don’t think it’s worth the risk,” he said.

But for all that has been learned about the ubiquitous sports concussion—which afflicts not only football players but also athletes playing hockey, basketball, soccer, rugby, even volleyball—much remains a mystery.

“I think we’ve gotten much better at understanding the seriousness of this problem,” says University of Minnesota School of Kinesiology researcher Don Dengel. “We’ve had really significant improvements in handling them. What I think we’re lacking now is understanding, ‘When do I put the athlete back in?’”

Part of the problem is that concussions, unlike, say, knee injuries, are largely invisible to diagnostic equipment. “The brain is very different than any other organ you have in your body,” Dengel says. “One reason is that it’s encased in a very hard shell and floating in a bath . . . and that makes it very difficult to look at.”

Dengel has been researching the functional physiology of the post-concussion brain by increasing levels of carbon dioxide in the blood, which in turn stimulates the brain to dilate its blood vessels—an effect that shows up in imaging. The more and faster they dilate, the healthier the brain.

Dengel’s colleague Diane Wiese-Bjornstal examines the psychological aspects of sports injuries in general, and began focusing on concussions a couple of years ago when the U’s

Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport coproduced a video examining the dearth of research on concussions in female athletes.

One thing she’s discovered is that people may have preexisting conditions that can complicate their recovery from a concussion. Some examples are attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities, and post-traumatic stress syndrome—the latter either in returning veterans or in athletes who have had a traumatic injury.

Take someone with ADHD, which can be characterized by impulsivity or an inability to focus and concentrate. “Well, those are also consequences of concussion,” Wiese-Bjornstal says. “So if you already have a problem with that and then it’s compounded by the [concussion] injury itself and the neurological complications of that, then you can see why it might be a double whammy.”

Research also suggests that there are some differences in how the sexes experience concussions, she says. Female athletes have a higher rate of concussions per time spent playing the same sports, like hockey, basketball, and soccer. This could be a result of females being more likely to report their concussions, she says, or musculoskeletal differences may be at play—for example, women’s necks not being as proportionately strong as men’s.

Female athletes also tend to report more symptoms, she says, which again could simply be a function of better reporting systems or perhaps an increased sensitivity toward those symptoms.

As for what goes on in the brain in terms of mental recovery, “I still don’t feel like we know anywhere near what we need to know about the psychology of concussion,” she says. Many athletes struggle with cognitive deficits, depression, anxiety, and other mental health challenges after a concussion, yet often receive little therapy or psychological care aimed at alleviating these symptoms.

Dengel adds that while education continues to be paramount, there is no way to eliminate concussions altogether, especially in athletes—let alone in violent sports like football.

“Many of us have probably had a concussion—it’s very difficult to find someone who hasn’t—but the severity of what we’ve probably experienced is much different from a soldier with a concussion blast or a football player getting hit by another helmet or bouncing off the playing surface. There are so many variables that we just can’t control, and [much to understand about] how the brain really takes that blow.”

Family, Music, and Brain Health Soon after his last concussion, Utecht exhibited some uncharacteristic behaviors—namely, anger and lashing out—that startled family members. Those behaviors have disappeared, as have most of his primary concussion symptoms, although he suffers an occasional headache and long-term memory gaps still occur.

But, he says, they haven’t gotten any worse. In April he started MinnesotaAlumni.org

a 20-week cognitive skills training program designed to work different parts of the brain and strengthen short-term memory, long-term memory, and speed in brain processing.

Since he retired from football, Utecht—who comes from a musical family—has pursued a professional singing career. Growing up in Hastings, Minnesota, Utecht was in theater and played tuba in the band. Then in 10th grade he switched his focus to singing. “I was in five choirs. I was in more choirs than I was in sports,” he says.

In college, he started singing national anthems, both at the University and for just about every professional sport in town.

Mason even asked Utecht and his singing partner, former U placekicker Dan Nystrom (B.S. ’03), to sing the anthem at the game immediately following the 9/11 attacks.

In Indianapolis he met Christian singer Sandi Patty, who became a mentor and a coach. “She was really the one that said, ‘Man, you really should pursue this professionally,’” he says. In the ensuing years he’s released several records, including a Christmas album, performed at many symphony shows, and toured nationally in 2012.

And Utecht has become an advocate for concussion crisis awareness and brain research. “I was beginning to have a passion to emotionally connect people to the importance of their brains, but I didn’t really know how to do it,” Utecht says. “At the same time, the American Brain Foundation and American Academy of Neurology (AAN) were looking for a committed person who was going to help them get people emotionally connected to their brains.” He smiles. “This will be the second year that I’ve joined forces with them, and we’re just getting started.”

Last summer he testified before the Committee on Aging in Congress, and his public service announcement for the AAN aired during the state high school tournaments in March. Titled “When in Doubt, Sit it Out,” the spot urges coaches, parents, and athletes to have concussions properly assessed. He was the recipient of the 2014 Public Leadership in Neurology Award.

The video for “You Will Always Be My Girls” struck a chord worldwide. Utecht says the producers had originally wanted an actor to portray his wife. “I said, ‘Guys, you just gotta trust me on this. I know my wife, and honestly, she’s going to go there.’ It was amazing. Honestly, everyone in the room was just weeping. All that was natural—there was no acting. But it was hard, because she had to think about the worst.”

Thinking about the worst has elicited the best from Utecht, from that letter penned on the plane to his efforts to help others.

“I’ve learned that living for what is right overshadows any concern for what could be wrong in the future,” he says. “My story has really affected people. It’s been able to bridge the mind and the heart. . . . It’s a way to get people to care about their minds and their brains and then lead them down a path, hopefully, where they begin to understand the importance of research.”

Q Rick Moore is a writer and editor for University Relations.

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Understanding the enigmatic neutrino might be the key to explaining why we’re here.

U physicists are at the forefront of unraveling the mystery of these peculiar particles.

BY DEANE MORRISON ILLUSTRATION BY YUKO SHIMIZU

MinnesotaAlumni.org

LIKE A SECRET HIDING RIGHT UNDER OUR NOSES, NEUTRINOS

fly through our bodies by the billions every second, carrying with them—physicists hope—clues to the biggest riddle of all: Why are we here?

With no electric charge and the tiniest mass of any subatomic particle, neutrinos are produced in the sun and by radioactive decay of atomic nuclei. They zip right through the Earth at close to the speed of light, almost never interacting with—hitting—anything. These so-called “ghosts of the universe” are also its most abundant denizens, haunting its every nook and cranny.

Their reluctance to interact has made neutrinos one of the most difficult particles to probe and understand. They have become the object of intense scientific scrutiny because their behavior may point to why our infant universe didn’t self-destruct the instant it was created. “Neutrino research is a journey to discover how our universe began,” says Marvin Marshak, University of Minnesota professor of physics.

The six-year, $283 million, federally funded NOvA project seeks to discover whether neutrinos have potential as key actors in that early drama. First proposed by University of Minnesota physicists and colleagues from other institutions, NOvA involves 208 scientists and engineers from 38 institutions, including U professors Marshak, Kenneth Heller, Daniel Cronin-Hennessy, Gregory Pawloski, and Ronald Poling. Along

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— U RESEARCHER RONALD POLING —

with graduate students, postdocs, and others, the U is fielding the largest university contingent.

NOvA begins in Batavia, Illinois, at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Lab, Fermilab, which generates an intense beam of neutrinos. Those neutrinos sail through the earth to a University lab, constructed in cooperation with Fermilab management, in Ash River in northern Minnesota. There, a very few are detected and studied. NOvA stands for NUMI Off-axis electron Neutrino Appearance. NUMI, in turn, refers to

Fermilab, in Batavia, Illinois, shoots a beam of neutrinos to a University of Minnesota laboratory in Ash River, Minnesota.

Neutrinos at the Main Injector, the main injector being one of the particle accelerators at Fermilab. NUMI is the name of the beam.

NOvA puts the U at the forefront of the world’s current neutrino experiments, with more planned. “Minnesota has a commanding position at the center of the U.S. accelerator-based neutrino program for the next several years, a great opportunity for the U and especially our students,” says Poling, head of the School of Physics and Astronomy.

Epic—but shorT—BaTtle If neutrinos helped save the universe, they must have done so in the first few nanoseconds of its existence. Physicists believe the universe was born in the Big Bang 13.8 billion years ago, when intense energy generated unimaginably large numbers of particles.

All should have been created in pairs—twin particles of matter and antimatter, which promptly annihilated each other. As the universe rapidly expanded and cooled, particle creation ground to a halt, but 30

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annihilation went on. The universe should have destroyed itself in mere nanoseconds. Yet somehow, one billionth of the matter survived to form galaxies, stars, planets, and us. That means one billionth more matter than antimatter must have been created—a case where the symmetry of the universe was broken. This is a fly in the ointment of physics theory, because the creation process had no obvious reason to favor matter over antimatter.

“Humans like symmetry, so we tend to think that the universe should have no preference. . . . The numbers of particles on both sides of [the matter/antimatter divide] should be equal and their behavior the same,” says Heller.

A major question for the NOvA physicists is whether an imbalance in the behavior of neutrinos vs. their twins, the antineutrinos, could have led to this symmetry break. Fermilab generates beams of both, and NOvA will test whether these particles behave differently on their 500-mile journey to Ash River. If they do, and to a large enough extent, that data would help build new theories about their possible role in the mechanism that allowed a remnant of the universe to survive.

Neutrinos are the only known particles whose behavior might harbor enough asymmetry to have had such a profound effect. During the first few nanoseconds of the universe, no atoms had yet formed. Besides neutrinos, all matter and antimatter existed as elementary particles like quarks, which later combined to form the protons and neutrons of the first atomic nuclei. “Some asymmetry has been measured, for example, in interactions of quarks, but not enough to account for the excess of matter. If the asymmetry is in known physics, it could only be in neutrinos and antineutrinos,” says Heller.

The strangE pediGrEE of neutriNOs The 40-year-old Standard Model theory describes nature’s fundamental forces and particles and how they interact. It lists 12 particles: six quarks, three varieties of neutrinos, and three other particles—in ascending order of mass, they are the electron, the muon, and the tau.

To be detected, a neutrino must collide with an atomic nucleus in the detector and be transformed into another particle. By definition, an electron neutrino is one that turns into an electron, a muon neutrino turns into a muon, and a tau neutrino transforms into a tau. Only at the instant of detection does it acquire its identity.

That’s because, due to weird quantum effects, each neutrino is actually a mix of all three varieties, which physicists call “flavors.”

2015 // 16

NORTHROP SEASON Series packages on sale now.

Subscribers get the best seats, discounts, and benefits!

Single tickets on sale June 15.

2015

Special jazz/film classic event

Ballet West Sat, Oct 3, 8:00 pm

The Triplets of Belleville

Seán Curran Company Sat, Oct 24, 8:00 pm

Wed, Feb 17, 7:30 pm

Dorrance Dance with Toshi Reagon and BIGLovely

Thu, Nov 19, 7:30 pm

2016

with Benoît Charest and Le Terrible Orchestre de Belleville

Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater Tue, Mar 1, 7:30 pm Mark Morris Dance Group Wed, Mar 30, 7:30 pm

Hubbard Street Dance Chicago Sat, Jan 30, 8:00 pm

Les Grands Ballets Canadiens de Montréal Wed, Apr 6, 7:30 pm

Jessica Lang Dance Sat, Feb 13, 8:00 pm

Miami City Ballet Wed, Apr 27, 7:30 pm

Miami City Ballet’s Emily Bromberg.

Photo © Alberto Oviedo.

This photo is from a YouTube time-lapse video of construction of NOvA’s far detector in northern Minnesota.

More than seven cameras recorded the two-year-long building process, which involved more than 700 University of Minnesota students.

It’s like having three flavors of ice cream in one carton. Unlike ice cream, however, a single neutrino can shift the proportions of its flavors, becoming a different mix. For example, shifting to a mix with more of the electron flavor means the neutrino is more likely to be detected as an electron neutrino.

This shifting, called oscillation, is key to unlocking neutrinos’ role in the early universe. The Standard Model originally predicted neutrinos would be massless, which would mean they couldn’t oscillate. This was disproved by, among others, the Minnesota-based multinational experiment Main Injector Neutrino Oscillation Search (MINOS). It measured the apparent loss of muon neutrinos traveling between Fermilab and the U’s Soudan lab in Soudan, Minnesota. In fact, the “lost” neutrinos had simply oscillated into a new mix with less muon flavor.

NOvA will compare the rates at which neutrinos and antineutrinos from Fermilab oscillate during the trip to Ash River. A big difference in rates would signal a break in symmetry and a possible— though not definite—role for neutrinos in the universe’s survival.

PhysicS for the masSES Neutrinos, besides possibly helping save the universe, may tell us something about one of the most basic properties of matter: how its building blocks—the elementary particles—acquire mass. Neutrinos come in only three mixes, each with unique proportions of the flavors. The masses of two mixes are known, and NOvA aims to find the mass of the third. Called mix 3, it is richest in tau flavor. It is either the most or the least massive mix, and settling the matter is of great interest to physicists.

If neutrino masses fit neatly into the Standard Model, NOvA will find that mix 3 has the highest mass. This makes sense, because tau neutrinos transform into the heaviest of the neutrinoassociated particles—the tau. But if mix 3 should be the lightest, physicists would need to explain why the lightest neutrino should be paired with the heaviest particle.

This strange result could happen because mass, and especially 32

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neutrino mass, is poorly understood. For one thing, particles—like the quarks and electrons that form the bulk of everyday matter— acquire their mass by interacting with the Higgs field, an energy field that pervades the universe. But tiny neutrinos must interact with it very weakly, and some scientists think other mechanisms must at least partly explain the low value of the neutrino mass.

Finding answers would mean wading deeper into questions of how different forms of matter acquire mass and how mass changes during interactions of particles. These enigmas lie at the root of cosmology, the study of the universe’s origin. “We need information about every particle and phenomenon to find the right theory to explain how the universe formed and the rules that govern it—what we call a Theory of Everything,” says Pawloski.

A litTLe LIghT rEadinG NOvA began collecting data last summer, using a detector that’s as big as neutrinos are small: 256 feet long, 59 feet wide, 59 feet tall, and tipping the scale at 14,000 metric tons. Its innards are 344,000 cells of PVC plastic filled with a scintillator fluid and wired with fiber optics. When a neutrino interacts with an atomic nucleus in the fluid, energy from the collision is converted to a light signal that tells which type of neutrino—muon or electron—is involved.

To assemble, test, and ship the components of the detector to Ash River, the University of Minnesota enlisted some of the best and hardest workers around: its own students. About 700 held paid jobs in a warehouse-sized lab just a stone’s throw from campus, getting invaluable experience as well as a stake in one of the world’s premier experiments.

Those students have finished their work, but the researchers have at least five more years of data collection from NOvA. “What’s exciting is being able to really probe the deepest mysteries of the universe, and there’s none deeper than how it can exist at all,” says Heller.

Q Deane Morrison is a Twin Cities-based science writer.

AN INSIDER’S LOOK AT MINNESOTA HISTORY Citizen Swain: Tales from a Minnesota Life TOM H. SWAIN, with Lori Sturdevant

“Tom H. Swain is the quintessential Minnesotan. He sallies forth through the ups and downs of life with his unique brand of unflappable, straightforward, and mission-oriented character. His gifts of old-fashioned honor, abiding wisdom, endurance, and a genuine love of people are evident in these stories, always told in his clear and unpretentious voice.”

—GEORGE LATIMER 240 pages | $27.95 | hardcover

U N IV E RS IT Y OF M IN N E SOTA P RE SS www.upress.umn.edu Available at better bookstores or to order call 800-621-2736

Alumni Stories Brent Assink at the Louise M. Davies Symphony Hall

SPOTLIGHT ON BAY AREA ALUMNI WHERE GOLDY MEETS THE GOLDEN GATE

At about 7,000 strong, a vibrant University of Minnesota alumni community lives in the Bay Area of northern California—and the Bay Area Chapter of the Alumni Association is where they connect. Count on the usual social gatherings such as game watch parties, happy hours, and bike rides, to name a few, but the chapter also founded an endowed scholarship that helps send California students to the U. In 1998, then-chapter President Grant Erickson (B.E.E. ’96, M.S.E. ’98) began thinking about establishing a scholarship based on need and merit for California high school students who wanted to attend the University of Minnesota. “The board and I started developing for the fund in earnest in about 2003,” he says. All then-current board members made seed commitments, and donations came from key area alumni and local corporations with an alumni connection.

Additionally, profits from chapter events went toward the fund.

Chapter members continued fundraising for the next 10 years, and in January 2013 a $3,000 donation from a single alumnus took the fund over the $25,000 target. To date, two students have received scholarships: Nikki Kyllonen from El Sobrante, who is majoring in computer science with a minor in astrophysics, and Jason Chen from Dublin, a mechanical engineering major.

—Cynthia Scott

HOW TO CONNECT

Visit the Bay Area Chapter’s website at MinnesotaAlumni.org/bayarea or contact the current president, Shelby Rhodes (B.A. ’10), at shelbyrhodes@gmail.com.

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Instrumental Alumni

The two regal buildings housing San Francisco’s premier symphony and opera stand directly across from one another. Each pulses with music driven by the artistic visions of University of Minnesota alumni Brent Assink (M.A. ’81) and John Churchwell (M.M. ’94, D.M.A. ’02), who are, respectively, executive director of the San Francisco Symphony and head of music for the San Francisco Opera. Both studied music at the University of Minnesota, gained momentum through opportunities with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and Minnesota Opera, and took their talent to San Francisco. Driven by a passion for music education and innovation, the two play an integral role in shaping the city’s music culture.

Serving in his 16th year as executive director, Assink has spearheaded a number of initiatives that have enlarged the orchestra’s profile. Inspired by his early work with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, when he was involved in taking performances to schools,

MARC OLIVIER LE BLANC

John Churchwell at the War Memorial Opera House

Assink has helped expand the San Francisco Symphony’s presence to every local classroom, grades one through five. Another alumnus, David Strand (J.D. ’81), also contributes to the success of the San Francisco Symphony, where he serves as the vice chair of the Board of Governors.

“We basically provide much of the music education in the classroom,” Assink says. “That’s something I think is part of what a symphony orchestra ought to do in the community.”

Assink’s focus on weaving the symphony into the fabric of the community has led to a number of projects: a classical music program for PBS, heritage concerts that celebrate cultural diversity, a new black box venue for more intimate performances, and a program that pairs amateur musicians with professional coaches and stage time.

Churchwell carved out his niche in the West Coast arts and culture scene after accepting an offer to serve as the head of music for the San Francisco Opera. He gained exposure in the

MinnesotaAlumni.org

Twin Cities, where Midwestern approachability allowed him to make connections quickly, he says. In San Francisco, he established himself as a distinguished mentor and performer.

Every summer, Churchwell trains upcoming singers and pianists at a music festival in Santa Barbara; he also works with Adler Fellows, the Opera’s residency program for advanced young artists. As head of music, he oversees musical preparation of all the Opera’s performances—up to 10 per year—working with individual singers on their roles, assisting conductors in their work with the orchestra, playing piano for staging rehearsals, and maintaining the standards of excellence throughout the run of each opera. Churchwell has managed to stay engaged as a performer as well.

“I know the satisfaction of expressing your unique vision about a piece of music without using words,” he says, speaking from his experience as a pianist. “It transports you to a different place.”

—Erin Luhmann

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Alumni Stories

Left: Robbin Everson and Panos Panagos greet chapter members at the February 28 chocolate tasting.

Below: Everson and chapter member Prateek Khasgiwala

Robbin Everson (B.S. ’75) and her business partner, Panos Panagos, thought they had a pretty good idea for a business when they opened Alegio Chocolaté in Berkeley, California, in 2006. But it exceeded all expectations. Rave reviews and a steady stream of customers prompted the opening of a second location in Palo Alto in 2013. In February, Everson hosted a tasting at the Palo Alto store for the Bay Area Chapter of the Alumni Association, of which she is a member. “Panos always says, ‘People from Minnesota are so nice and polite.’

I always tell him, ‘I told you we have a culture all our own.’”

The quality of the chocolate is the key to Alegio’s success. “It tastes like chocolate did 100 years ago before so many things were added to it,” Everson says, explaining how they’ve partnered with chocolatier Claudio Corallo, who makes the shop’s truffles and chocolate bars from cacao beans he produces on organic farms in Africa.

Noted Gopher Alumni in the Bay Area Nancy Ascher (Ph.D. ’85), professor and chair of the department of surgery, University of California San Francisco Jim Becker (M.A. ’86), president and CEO, Richmond Community Foundation Jeff Dean (B.C.S. ’90), software developer for Google. Considered the world’s fastest programmer who wrote the code that launched Google.

M. Bridget Duffy (B.S. ’84, M.D. ’91), chief medical officer, Vocera Communications Robert Duffy (B.S.B. ’68), retired partner at A.T. Kearney; member of the Carlson School Board of Overseers for 20 years Jim Guzy (B.S. ’57), one of the first investors in Intel; chair, SRC Computers John Hammergren (B.S.B. ‘81), CEO, McKesson

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Jason Li (Ph.D. ’96) and Katherine Zhuang (M.S. ’95), cofounders and CEO of Tenergy Michael Moe (B.A. ’86), CEO, Global Silicon Valley Asset Management Tom Peters (Ph.D. ’73), CEO, Marin Community Foundation Taryn Shawstad (B.A. ’82, M.A. ’88), head of compensation, Chevron John Stumpf (M.B.A. ’80), CEO, Wells Fargo Paul Volberding (M.D. ’75), one of the world’s foremost authorities on treating HIV infection Asher Waldfogel (B.A. ’79), founder, Redback Networks, Tollbridge, and Peakstream Daniel Whalen (M.A. ’70), founder or cofounder of six telecommunications companies, member of Humphrey School Dean’s Advisory Council

Vineyard Founders and Owners Duane and Susan Hoff (B.A. ’85, B.S. ’87) Fantesca Estate and Winery Tom Kenefick (M.D. ’60), Kenefick Ranch Peter Kitchak (B.A. ’63, UMD; J.D. ’68), Kitchak Cellars Susan Krausz (B.S. ’79), Arkenstone Vineyards Brenda Mixson (B.S. ’86), The Grade Cellars Kent and Kathleen Rosenblum (D.V.M. ’68, B.A. ’69) Rosenblum Cellars. Kent is also CEO of Rock Wall Wines Company.

FOREST PARK ER

Sweet!

Childbirth Gets Its Due When Katy Kozhimannil (B.A. ’99) began to study pregnancy and maternity care, it seemed reasonable to expect she would be entering a crowded research field. Childbirth is the number one reason for hospitalization in the United States, with nearly 4 million visits annually. As a nation, we spend more money on maternity and newborn care—$50 billion—than on any other single health care need.

But there might as well have been tumbleweeds blowing across that particular research plain. That needed to change, says Kozhimannil, assistant professor of health policy and management at the University of Minnesota. “There’s been a lot of attention focused on [healthcare for] older Americans—and rightly so—but taxpayers fund about half of all births in the United States. We have a stake in this.”

Today, Kozhimannil is one of the nation’s top researchers on pregnancy and maternity care. Her findings have helped propel statewide legislation on maternity care and are serving as a foundation to transform maternal care across the nation.

SARA RUBINSTEIN

How did you get interested in this topic?

After I graduated from the University of Minnesota, I joined the Peace Corps and taught English to junior high students in Mozambique. In seventh grade, there were about 50 percent boys and 50 percent girls in my classes. By ninth grade, it was about 90 percent boys and 10 percent girls. I saw my amazing, talented female students drop out of school for reasons that were frequently related to sexual and reproductive health and pregnancy.

A whole range of issues affected young women very differently from their brothers. Those same dynamics aren’t as pronounced here, but they’re still present.

MinnesotaAlumni.org

One of your areas of study is maternity care in rural areas, which hasn’t received much attention even though Grand Marais and ElyBloomenson-area hospitals recently closed their obstetrics units. What’s going on?

There are a whole range of interconnected issues that affect a hospital’s ability to offer obstetric services, including a low volume of patients, the availability of anesthesia services, having nursing staff with skills in perinatal care, the need for family physician training in cesarean delivery, and challenges with managing competing

demands for operating room space. That said, there are still about 1,100 rural hospitals in the United States that do provide maternity care, and most of those hospitals, and their clinicians and staff in obstetrics, are highly committed to doing so.

Another of your areas of interest is doulas.

What are they and why are they so important?

Doulas are professionals who provide support to women during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and the postpartum period.

There is so much excellent clinical data continued

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37

Alumni Stories that shows that this support is associated with better birth outcomes—higher rates of spontaneous vaginal births, lower rates of cesarean delivery, higher breastfeeding rates, higher infant APGAR scores [which assess appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration], and lower rates of preterm birth. If doulas were a medicine, it would be unethical not to give it. But in part because of the cost—a private doula costs between $600 and $1,500—only about 6 percent of women have doulas.

Your work is helping change that.

There were all kinds of data problems when we started wading into these waters, but in 2013, our study about doula care, cesarean birth rates, and cost outcomes was published in the American Journal of Public Health. One week later, legislation was introduced in Minnesota

to include Medicaid coverage for doula services in the state plan. It became law in May 2013 and has the potential to affect 30,000 Minnesota women.

Wow, that was fast.

Yes and no. Birth workers have been advocating for this issue for 20 years, but they needed the data to have this conversation.

Because of other issues—the state pays just $411 for the service—the reality hasn’t changed much. But we’ve made a ton of progress on paper. We’re getting closer.

I never forget that every data point is someone’s birth story. I want to use that data to inform how decisions are made. For me, that’s the right way to honor the experiences of mothers and families in Minnesota, the United States, and beyond.

—Erin Peterson

Save the date for Homecoming 2015 Come back to campus for homecoming week, September 20 through September 26.

You won’t want to miss Ski-UMania on September 26, the Alumni Association’s ultimate pregame celebration. Enjoy food, entertainment, and the coronation of the new homecoming king and queen. Event begins at 11:30 with kick-off at 2:30 between Gophers and Ohio. For registration and a list of homecoming activities, visit MinnesotaAlumni.org/homecoming.

See you there!

Just days before he died, New York Times columnist and alumnus David Carr (B.A. ’81) learned that he was the recipient of the 2015 Award for Excellence from the SJMC Alumni Society.

Carr collapsed in the Times newsroom on February 12. He was 58. A survivor of Hodgkin’s lymphoma and addiction, an autopsy revealed that he died of complications from lung cancer, with heart disease a contributing factor.

Carr’s classmate Chris Ison (B.A. ’83), writing in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication’s Murphy Reporter, said, “The national outpouring of grief and gratitude that followed Carr’s death was testimony to his generosity as much as his journalism.” Ison quoted Brian Stelter, host of CNN’s “Reliable Sources,” as saying of his mentor, “He taught me to write with every muscle in my body, to pour it out onto the page. To write with confidence, to live with confidence, and with joy, and with passion, and with heart.”

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Ison recalled that “Carr often described himself as a mediocre student on the seven-year plan in college.

But even during his years at the U he was emerging as a voracious reader and a confident, gifted writer. He freelanced for various small newspapers and magazines, drawing from late nights in bars and long days in government offices to unearth stories hidden from other reporters.” His work landed him the job as editor of the weekly Twin Cities Reader in 1993. He was hired as editor of Washington City Paper in 1995, where he made his mark as an editor, writer, and mentor of young reporters.

The Times hired him in 2002.

Carr reported on his own dark past as a cocaine and alcohol addict in his 2008 memoir, Night of the Gun, which became a Times bestseller.

He is survived by his wife, Jill Rooney Carr; daughters Madeleine, Erin, and Meagan; and five siblings.

CHESTE R HIGGINS JR./THE N EW YORK TIMES /RED UX

Remembering David Carr

Gophers Forever The Alumni Association welcomes these new life members Robert M. Ahrens Khaled Alsharji John O. Althoff Mary J. Althoff Phyllis Althoff Gretchen L. Ambrosier Paul W. Ambrosier Joel D. Amundson Michael A. Andersen Susan Andersen Sterling J. Anderson Jean L. Annexstad Rolf J. Annexstad John B. Atwood Ann Aurelius Aleksa B. Babic Scott L. Balken Douglas C. Balz Ronni K. BeattyKollasch Claire E. Bender John N. Berklich Benjamin T. Bernard Daniel R. Bleakmore Cynthia F. Bloomquist Rebecca A. Borchardt Robert P. Borchardt John M. Bornhoft Margaret A. Bornhoft Ardell F. Brede Barbara R. Bushey Milton L. Bushey Alvin B. Buss Dawn L. Carlson Jean A. Carraher Dennis F. Cerkvenik Sharon M. Chandler Modi Chen Cathy S. Christensen James H. Christensen Wah-Hui Chu Teresa Dale-Pfister Elizabeth A. Danielson Victor Dannon Carol M. Dean Craig R. Dean Kathryn E. Dick

MinnesotaAlumni.org

Sandra K. Dillard Ruth E. Dixon Mary J. Dooley Gary R. Dorek Michael Dorner Norma J. Eide John R. Emery Christopher C. Felix Christopher J. Finberg Donald A. Fondrick Marlene A. Fondrick Mary Ellen M. Fox Linda L. Fredrickson Kathleen A. Gagnon Peter M. Gamades Timothy J. Gamboni Jamie A. Gergen Mary R. Gilbertson Rolf E. Gilbertson Douglas D. Gillespie Shannah R. Gillespie Jane A. Gisslen Lynn Golberstein Roman J. Gomez Eric Gustafson Kimara L. Gustafson Michael J. Hammond Catherine A. Hanson Peter G. Hanson Robert E. Hanson Christopher J. Hasling Niomi Hasling Brett R. Hildreth Zoe Hildreth Lindsey N. Hillesheim Janet M. Hively Ronald M. Hoffner Ann M. Holleschau Joyce T. Holm Clayton R. Houff Jia Hu Debra K. Ingram David Inman Sharon D. James A. Frederick Janzen Brady G. Johnson Lowell W. Johnson Maricarol A. Johnson Mark R. Johnson Susan K. Johnson William A. Johnson Oesten Juntti Natalie Kalev-Kronik Eugene E. Kranz Penny L. Kranz Carla R. Kuehn Jane F. Kurzeka

Lawrence A. Kurzeka Mark E. Lammers Thomas S. Larson Ignatius K. Lee Randee K. Lee James D. Lehmann Patricia A. Lehmann Brian L. Lemay Martha J. LewisHunstiger Gretchen A. Lieving Robert E. Lieving Merlin D. Lindemann Cecilia J. Lipp Rodney J. Lipp David R. Lundquist Josephine R. Lundquist William P. Luther Martin Maczkiewicz Judith S. Madden Peter N. Madden Mark C. Magney Tammy S. Magney Douglas L. Manthei Gwen S. Martin Gary T. Marwick Sarah E. McFarland Dianne McMenomy Mike McMenomy Brian J. Meline Katie D. Meyer Nancy Meyer Barbara J. Millar Cindy S. Mohr Lawrence H. Mohr Dee M. Molean Timothy S. Mowbray John P. Nei Donald J. Nevin Susanne Nevin Susan L. Nordby Wallace W. Norlander Bruce Noyes Merrikay A. OleenBurkey John T. O’Regan Suzanne M. Paulson Michael T. Pederson Dorothy M. Perry Chris D. Peters Rolf A. Peterson Christine R. Poe Thomas E. Poe Shirley A. Polejewski Christopher J. Psotka

Frederick J. Quinn Erin L. Ranslow Kevin M. Ranslow Scott W. Reeve Dorothy M. Rich Mary J. Roe Claire T. Rohlinger Eric M. Rohlinger Catharine B. Ruther William F. Samayoa Kelly Scanlan John E. Scarbrough Timothy G. Schneeweis Jennifer J. Schneider Georgia A. Schuetzler Mark R. Schuetzler Michael P. Scott Janet K. Severson Jeffrey A. Severson Siva C. Sivagnanaguru Ronald J. Smith Coreen B. Stettner Blau Deena R. Strohman Mary Sullivan Elizabeth K. Swanson Jeffrey A. Swanson Terri L. Symonds Connie L. TheienPsotka Heidi L. Thorson Colleen K. Tollefson Bruce D. Trulson Anita Udayamurthy David C. Vanney Raymond K. Voelker Teresa M. Voelker Jonathan M. Wallace Maricarol Wallace Maureen J. Watson Denise J. Wedel Julia A. Weiler Bruce R. Weldon Mary E. Weller Erika B. Wood Zachary J. Wood Yasemin Yesil Debbie A. Zamow John D. Zamow Chunhui Zhong

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ALUMNI TRAVEL GUIDE 2016 We invite you to travel with the Alumni Association in 2016.

The year begins with an exceptional opportunity to tour Vietnam in the company of University President Eric Kaler and his wife, Karen Kaler. The Kalers will be your hosts as you meet the people of Vietnam in a variety of settings, from the markets of Ho Chi Minh City to the Temple of Literature in Hanoi. (See listing at right.)

We hope you will explore Vietnam or other storied destinations and captivating cultures with us. Many additional 2016 destinations will be announced at MinnesotaAlumni.org/Travel.

Vietnam: Historic and Unplugged Hosted by University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler and his wife, Karen Kaler. Meet the cultured and hospitable people of Vietnam in a variety of settings, from the entrepreneurial spirit of the markets of Ho Chi Minh City (above) to the tranquil spirit of the past in the Temple of Literature in Hanoi.

Post-tour extension in Cambodia available.

January 2–13; $3,995 plus airfare.

Costa Rica’s Natural Heritage In this small Central American democracy kissed by nature, your group will discover a nation’s wealth in four distinct regions, from cloud forest to rain forest, Central Valley to Pacific Coast. As Costa Rica presents its staggering display of biodiversity—pristine landscapes, unique microclimates, exotic flora and fauna—you’ll enjoy a relaxed yet comprehensive exploration that celebrates Costa Rica’s wide-ranging natural resources.

January 7–18; approximately $3,500 including airfare.

Sailing the Windward Islands Dates and price information are subject to change. All prices are per person, double occupancy. To be added to our travel mailing list or request specific trip brochures, contact us at umalumni@umn.edu.

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Escape the depths of winter on this eight-day cruise of the Caribbean’s tropical Windward Islands aboard the exclusively chartered, 64-passenger yacht M.Y. Le Ponant. Enjoy a classic “life under sail” round trip from Fortde-France, Martinique to St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Tobago Cays Marine Park, Grenada, St. Lucia, and Dominica. Enjoy superb French-inspired cuisine!

January 16–23; approximately $4,495 plus airfare.

Jewels of Central America Experience the ecological treasures and exotic allure of Central America, including the Panama Canal, by small ship aboard the 210-guest M.S. Saint Laurent. Sail from San José, Costa Rica to Cartagena, Colombia, along the way visiting Manuel Antonio National Park, Osa Peninsula, Golfito, Coiba Island, Darién National Park, Panama City, the Panama Canal, and the San Blas Islands.

January 22–31; from $4,499 plus airfare.

Cuban Discovery Uncover the beauty, paradoxes, and complex history of this captivating Caribbean nation. Throughout this nine-day journey, visits to Havana, Cienfuegos, Sancti Spíritus, Trinidad, and Santa Clara will offer unique opportunities to connect with a variety of local citizens such as artists, students, educators, and entrepreneurs to gain insight into one of the world’s most mesmerizing countries.

January 30–February 6; price TBA

Wonders Of The Galápagos Islands A uniquely designed itinerary offering Ecuador’s Andes and Galápagos Islands.

Features three nights in Quito; five days exploring the Galápagos Islands aboard a first-class expedition vessel; up-close encounters with exotic wildlife; smallgroup walks led by expert naturalist guides; and an excursion to the equator.

Machu Picchu and the Sacred Valley post-tour option.

February 28–March 8; approximately $4,795 plus airfare.

Sea of Cortez Enjoy a unique nautical adventure aboard the M.Y. Safari Endeavour. Explore isolated bays, volcanic islands, craggy seamounts, and historic towns while sailing through waters teeming with marine life. Swim with whale sharks and sea lion pups and observe gray whales as they enter the sea to calve. Every port is filled with exciting opportunities for recreation and leisure.

March 11–20; $4,895 plus airfare.

Tanzania Safari During the Great Migration Experience a safari of a lifetime in Africa’s premier safari destination during the Great Migration. Enjoy guided game drives through Tanzania’s finest game parks— Lake Manyara National Park, Serengeti National Park, and Ngorongoro Crater— with deluxe accommodations. Visit Olduvai Gorge, the “cradle of mankind.”

Tarangire National Park post-program option available.

March 14–25; approximately $6,995 plus airfare.

Exploring Australia and New Zealand Small-group touring and the lands Down Under are the perfect combination.

Travel from Australia’s spectacular Great Barrier Reef and the storied Outback and Ayers Rock to sophisticated Sydney; from New Zealand’s towering Mount Cook and breathtaking Milford Sound to high-spirited Queenstown and nautical Auckland. Features ample leisure time in Sydney, a two-night stay at Mount Cook National Park, a visit to a koala sanctuary, and much more.

April 6–28; approximately $7,700 including airfare.

Paradores and Pousadas A distinctive small-group journey through the Iberian Peninsula to the intimate legends of Spain’s paradores and Portugal’s pousadas: medieval monasteries, historic fortresses, and stately palaces, each reflecting the spirit of its region.

You will experience the spell of Iberia’s rich Roman and Moorish past and the pull of its vibrant contemporary life.

April 7–21; approximately $4,395 including airfare.

MinnesotaAlumni.org

Stepping Stones of Western Europe This unique cruise features Bordeaux, Brittany, Normandy, and Britain. Visit Guernsey, Channel Islands; the spectacular French island of Belle-Île-en-Mer; and Saint-Malo to explore the iconic Mont-Saint-Michel. Visit the beaches of Normandy 72 years after the historic D-Day landings, accompanied by David Eisenhower. Paris pre-cruise and London post-cruise options.

April 23–May 1; approximately $3,995 plus airfare.

Insider’s Japan Japan is a land of delicate art and bustling commerce; of rich traditions and amazing modernity; and an array of fascinating sights, sounds, and tastes. This 13-day small-group tour features the highlights of Tokyo and Kyoto, as well as the lovely historic cities of Takayama and Kanazawa and the stunning scenery of Mount Fuji and Fuji–Hakone–Izu National Park.

April 30–May 12; approximately $5,100 including airfare.

Inland Sea of Japan and South Korea A unique combination of two nights in Kyoto, Japan, and seven nights aboard a five-star small ship (only 110 staterooms), exploring Japan’s inland sea and South Korea. Visit picturesque formal gardens, a classic teahouse, and Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park. See the magnificent landscapes of Busan, South Korea, and the UNESCO World Heritage Site of Gyeongju. Tokyo post-program option.

May 5–15; approximately $5,695 plus airfare.

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Lands and Islands of Mystery Take a trans–Pacific voyage from Tokyo, Japan, to Seward, Alaska, visiting Russia’s Far East, the Bering Sea, the Aleutian Islands, and Japan’s northern islands. Call on rarely visited ports: Kushiro, Petropavlovsk, Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, and Homer aboard a six-star Silversea Cruises all-suite ship. Kyoto, Japan pre-cruise option.

May 5–17; approximately $5,094 plus airfare.

Passage of Lewis and Clark Discover the timeless majesty of the Columbia and Snake rivers as you immerse yourself in the history and natural grandeur of the Pacific Northwest. From Spokane, Washington, to Portland, Oregon, cruise to charming towns and historic sites aboard the unique steamboat American Empress, visiting Clarkston and the Tri–Cities, Washington; The Dalles, Oregon; Stevenson, Washington; and Astoria, Oregon.

May 7–15; from $3,995 plus airfare.

Changing Tides of History: Cruising the Baltic Sea

Sandra and Gary Peterman

FUN, FOOD, AND WINE Now that Sandra and Gary (B.S.B. ’78) Peterman are retired, international travel is on the top of their to-do list. Last year they took two trips with the Alumni Travel Program, a Mediterranean cruise and a tour of Tuscany. More than 50 alumni were on board for the cruise and after being introduced at a mixer, many of them met up daily to take tours at different stops, including Monaco and Portofino. The group also spent time relaxing and talking over meals as the ship made its way along the coast, starting in Barcelona. “Every day was something new and interesting, and we took a lot of pictures so we can look back and remember what we saw,” Gary says.

In October, the Petermans went to Tuscany on a small-group tour that included visits to ruins, cheese-making and olive demonstrations, and wine tasting at vineyards and wine estates. The personalized itinerary also included dinners at the homes of local residents and a private tour of some recently discovered ruins by the mayor of a little town they visited. “They were excavating the ruins under a building and we walked all the way down in there and it was closed,” Gary recalls. “The mayor just got on the phone and the director of the site came right over to help. We’re still in touch with that mayor.”

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A spectacular six-country program, featuring Denmark, Poland, Estonia, Russia, Finland, and Sweden. Experience the cultural rebirth of the Baltic states during eight nights aboard the five-star M.S. Le Boreal. Enjoy specially arranged presentations by former president of Poland, Lech Walesa, and by Brown University Professor Sergei N. Khrushchev, son of Nikita Khrushchev.

June 15–24; approximately $5,995 plus airfare.

Great Journey Through Europe This extraordinary “Grand Tour” features the Netherlands, Germany, France, and Switzerland, and five nights aboard the deluxe Amadeus Fleet, cruising the most scenic sections of the Rhine River. Ride three legendary railways—the Matterhorn’s Gornergrat Bahn, the Glacier Express, and Lucerne’s Pilatus railway, the world’s steepest cogwheel. Amsterdam preprogram option.

July 4–14; approximately $4,295 plus airfare.

Discovering Eastern Europe Whether you seek to recapture your ancestral heritage or simply wish to discover a beautiful and poignant part of the world, this small group tour offers wonderful opportunities for enrichment, enlightenment, and enjoyment. Both leisurely and comprehensive, it provides a generous overview of five distinctly different and fascinating nations: Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and the Czech Republic.

July 12–28; approximately $4,700 including airfare.

Oxford and the English Countryside Travel through quintessential England, with four nights in Oxford’s landmark Macdonald Randolph Hotel and three nights in a charming Cotswold village. Visit the village of Bampton of Downton Abbey fame, and, by special arrangement, meet Lord Charles Spencer-Churchill in Blenheim Palace, the birthplace of Sir Winston Churchill. Cambridge preprogram and Windsor, Buckinghamshire, River Thames post-program options.

August 19–27; approximately $3,995 plus airfare.

The Magnificent Great Lakes Immerse yourself in the glorious scenery and history of North America’s Great Lakes as you sail from Chicago to Montreal aboard an intimately small ship, the 210–guest M.S. Saint Laurent. Admire towering, rugged bluffs, untouched deep-green wilderness, and historic ports on this tranquil odyssey along the St. Lawrence River and all five majestic Great Lakes.

August 22–31; from $4,499 plus airfare.

Rivieras and Islands

South Africa: Contrasts in Majesty

Explore France, Italy, and Spain aboard a five-star small ship, the M.V. Tere Moana.

Visit Rome, Florence, Barcelona, Cinque Terre, Portofino, Nice, Monte Carlo, Marseille, Provence, and Carcassonne. See six UNESCO World Heritage sites; enjoy a panoramic tour of Sardinia’s Costa Smeralda and a visit to Nuraghe Fortress; a walking tour of Aix-en-Provence; and much more. Rome pre-cruise option and Barcelona post-cruise option.

August 26–September 3; approximately $5,495 plus airfare.

Elegant and mysterious, South Africa invites you on an exciting safari of treasures. Explore Cape Town’s unrivaled beauty and exotic botanical gardens; then travel up to the Cape of Good Hope and the endearing penguins of Boulders Beach. Visit Table Mountain and the verdant winelands and see Africa’s Big Five up close in Kruger National Park.

September 15–26; $5,995 plus airfare.

Peruvian Amazon Discovery Voyage Few places have the staggering breadth of natural diversity that exists along the Amazon River. This expedition into the heart of the Peruvian Amazon jungle explores one of the largest expanses of tropical rain forest and one of the most biologically diverse regions in the world. Includes two nights in Lima and a fournight Cusco/Machu Picchu/Sacred Valley experience.

September 3–11; approximately $4,000 plus airfare.

Moroccan Discovery Morocco is a land of dramatic contrasts, inviting you to encounter its ancient ruins and sacred mosques, vast desert and storied mountains, imposing kasbahs, and spirited souks. As you travel from the imperial cities of Rabat, Fez, and Marrakech to the High Atlas and vast Sahara, your eyes and heart will be opened to an age–old culture and warmly hospitable people. This tour features visits to five UNESCO World Heritage sites.

September 9–22; approximately $5,100 including airfare.

China, Tibet, and the Yangtze River This distinctive small-group journey combines a special visit to remote, spiritual Tibet with a memorable cruise on the Yangtze, China’s fabled “long river.” Adding to this highly popular itinerary: intriguing Beijing, the extraordinary Terracotta Warriors of Xian, and cosmopolitan Shanghai. Visits to Tiananmen Square, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, and Three Gorges are featured.

October 20–November 7; approximately $5,900 including airfare.

Quebec, Canada Explore Quebec City, then travel the St. Lawrence River route, where the forest, mountain, and sea coast wilderness of the Gaspé Peninsula provides unforgettable outdoor experiences. Observe up close an incredible variety of animal, bird, and marine life. Be charmed by Quebec’s French heritage, outstanding cuisine, and natural beauty.

Date TBA; approximately $4,795 plus airfare.

Peggy and Dave Lucas

LASTING FRIENDSHIPS So far, Peggy (B.A. ’63, M.S.W. ’78) and Dave (M.D. ’64) Lucas have traveled to China and from Buenos Aires to Rio de Janeiro via the Alumni Travel Program. Both trips had their high points, but China was their favorite because of the unique experiences they had and the lasting friendships they made. “Our guide in China was fantastic and there were experts at every stop, which is important. On a University trip like this, people want to feel like they’re learning something,” says Peggy, a regent of the University of Minnesota.

During the trip, the Lucases were part of a small group that visited the University’s China Center in Beijing. “It was really interesting to see how many alumni there are in China and how involved they are,” Peggy recalls. “A few of us got to have dinner with them and later we shared our experience with everybody in the rest of the group. We still keep in touch with some of the people we met.”

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OCEANIA CRUISES Pagodas and Palaces Discover timeless pagodas and palaces, exotic landscapes, and captivating cities as you cruise the South China Sea aboard the intimate Nautica from Singapore to alluring ports in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and China.

January 6–24; from $6,799 including airfare.

Bridge of the Americas From Miami to Lima via the Panama Canal, encounter idyllic natural wonders, dramatic coastlines, and fascinating ancient relics along the shores of Mexico, Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica, Panama, Ecuador, and Peru while sailing aboard the regal Regatta.

January 20–February 7; from $4,999 including airfare.

Pacific Dreams of the Tahitian Islands

Mediterranean Passage

Experience the wonders of French Polynesia while cruising the South Pacific on the majestic Marina to the enchanting tropical islands of Mo`orea, Bora Bora, Rangiroa, and more. Savor shimmering lagoons, colorful marine life, and blissful beaches on this extraordinary voyage.

January 25–February 4; from $3,999 including airfare.

Explore picture-perfect villages, age-old cities, and breathtaking landscapes on this exciting 10-night cruise aboard the Riviera from Barcelona, Spain, to Istanbul, Turkey. Ports of call in France, Monaco, Italy, and Greece will captivate you with their timeless intrigue.

April 24–May 5; from $3,799 including airfare.

Tasman Treasures

Palms in Paradise

Visit the land of koalas and kangaroos as you explore charming seaside towns Down Under. Discover the stunning landscapes and rich heritage of Australia, Tasmania, and New Zealand while cruising aboard the Marina, a masterpiece of sophistication.

February 21–March 9; from $6,999 including airfare.

From palm-studded emerald landscapes to man-made wonders and majestic colonial architecture, experience the highlights of Central America as the regal Regatta takes you from Florida to Colombia through the Panama Canal and on to Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Mexico, and California.

April 24–May 10; from $3,299 including airfare.

Radiant Rhythms

Portraits of the Past

Pulsating tango rhythms, sparkling beaches, and exotic botanical gardens.

Experience South America on a voyage aboard the intimate Regatta. Buenos Aires offers the perfect point of departure for an odyssey filled with historical, natural, and cultural marvels in Argentina, Uruguay, and Brazil.

February 27–March 11; from $4,499 including airfare.

Sail away on the intimate Nautica and revel in the esteemed architecture, stunning seascapes, and cultural gems of the Mediterranean as you cruise from Rome to Barcelona. Ports of call include Corsica, Cinque Terre, Monte Carlo, Antibes, Marseille, Palma de Mallorca, and Valencia.

May 9–20; from $3,999 including airfare.

Journey Through the Amazon

Essence of the Atlantic

Journey deep into the Amazon, savoring the sights and sounds of secluded towns nestled amid exotic wilderness as the regal Regatta takes you on an incredible 22-night voyage to historic ports in Brazil and the Caribbean.

March 10–April 2; from $6,499 including airfare.

Sail the sparkling Atlantic from New York to Lisbon, where beautiful ports and lush islands beckon with eclectic architecture, intriguing cultures, and enchanting, rugged scenery on a tranquil odyssey aboard the luxurious Marina.

May 14–28; from $2,999 including airfare.

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Kent and Beth Horsager

CAMARADERIE AND CONVERSATIONS For Kent Horsager (B.S. ’84), cruising the Danube River was a bucket list trip. “The Danube flows from the heart of Europe to the Black Sea, zigzagging its way through kingdoms, countries, and empires, both as a joining and a dividing force,” Horsager says. The cruise was the first trip Kent and his wife, Beth, have taken with the Alumni Travel Program, and both of

them appreciated the interesting mix of lectures, tours with experienced local guides, and plenty of time to explore the sites on their own.

A favorite part of the trip for the Horsagers happened in Belgrade, Serbia. “Our guide also worked as a professional opera singer, so during the tour of St. Sava Cathedral in the capital city he broke into a beautiful kyrie [a short liturgical

Cloisters and Courtyards Immerse yourself in the charm of coastal Spain, Portugal, and France as you sail for 12 nights from Barcelona to London aboard the intimate Nautica. Your picturesque ports of call include Málaga, Seville, Lisbon, Oporto, A Coruña, Bilbao, Bordeaux, and Paris.

May 19–June 1; from $4,799 including airfare.

prayer] to demonstrate the excellent acoustics of the cathedral.” Kent recalls.

Traveling with a group of 18 alumni enriched the Horsagers’ experience in many ways, Kent says. “Our travel mates were engaged and seasoned travelers and that led to great conversations and camaraderie all along the way.”

northeastern shores of the North Atlantic, visiting the scenic and historic ports of Canada’s Quebec City, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick; then Bar Harbor and Camden, Maine; Newport, Rhode Island; and New York City.

September 30–October 12; from $5,199 including airfare.

Iberian Inspiration

A seven-night cruise from glamorous Monte Carlo, Monaco, to lively and lovely Barcelona, Spain, aboard the majestic Riviera. Admire the stunning coastal scenery and enjoy the charming hospitality of Cinque Terre, Civitavecchia, Livorno, Saint-Tropez, Marseille, and Palamós along the way.

June 21–29; from $2,899 including airfare.

Experience a dazzling array of landscapes and cultures along the Iberian Coast aboard Oceania Cruises’ elegant Marina. Your ports of call are brimming with exotic beauty and fascinating history: Lisbon, Portugal; Tangier, Morocco; Malaga, Cartagena, and Barcelona, Spain; Marseille, France; Monte Carlo, Monaco; Portofino, Florence, and Rome, Italy.

October 5–16; from $4,299 including airfare.

Baltic and Scandinavian Treasures

Mediterranean Waterways and Marinas

Scenic Coves of the Mediterranean

Marvel at the storybook settings, deep history, and charming canal-laced capitals of the Baltic as you sail from Copenhagen, Denmark, to Stockholm, Sweden, aboard the sophisticated Marina. Along the way, visit Berlin; KlaipÐda, Lithuania; Riga, Latvia; Helsinki, Finland; St. Petersburg, Russia; and Tallinn, Estonia.

July 11–22; from $4,599 including airfare.

Included within the captivating itinerary of this 10-night cruise aboard the lovely Marina are the port cities of Kotor, Montenegro, and Dubrovnik, Croatia. Your other enchanting and picturesque ports of call are Monte Carlo, Monaco; Florence, Rome, Capri, Taormina, and Sicily, Italy; Igoumenitsa, Greece; and Venice, Italy.

October 22–November 2; from $4,299 including airfare.

Alaska Passages Let the rugged beauty of America’s last frontier captivate you! Sail for 10 nights aboard the serene Regatta from Seattle to Seattle, visiting the stunningly scenic ports of Ketchikan, Wrangell, Juneau, Skagway, Sitka, and Victoria, B.C., Canada.

Two days at sea feature the Hubbard Glacier and the Outside Passage.

July 25–August 4; from $3,599 including airfare.

British Isles Medley Celebrate the beautiful landscapes, diverse cultures, and fascinating histories of the British Isles as you cruise from London to London aboard the elegant Marina.

Your captivating ports of call include Newcastle, Edinburgh, Belfast, Glasgow, Liverpool, Dublin, Cork, and Plymouth.

August 6–18; from $5,499 including airfare.

Greek Isles Odyssey Enjoy a seven-night cruise of the iconic Greek Isles aboard the sophisticated Riviera. Along the way from Istanbul to Athens, explore the history and culture of Volos, Greece; Kusadasi/Ephesus, Turkey; and Patmos, Rhodes, Crete, Santorini, and Athens, Greece.

September 25–October 3; from $2,399 including airfare.

Canada and New England Set sail from Montreal aboard the intimate Regatta. Cruise the brilliantly colored

MinnesotaAlumni.org

Bon Voyage, Cheryl The Alumni Association bids a fond farewell to Travel Program Director Cheryl Jones (B.I.S. ’81), who retired in May after a 40year career at the University of Minnesota, 27 of them with the Alumni Association.

Cheryl provided attentive and enthusiastic service to our alumni travelers and was a wise, fun, and diligent colleague. We wish her well on her next adventure.

Many additional destinations to be announced!

Visit our website for the latest tour information.

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PREY TELL

Enjoy a unique, up-close experience with vultures, hawks, owls, and falcons through the Raptors of Minnesota program at the The Raptor Center, part of the University of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. A great option for a family outing or group retreat, the interactive program teaches participants about the role raptors play in Minnesota’s environment and offers ways to help protect the raptor population. The program is presented nearly every Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 2 p.m. at The Raptor Center on the St. Paul campus.

Alumni Association members receive discounted pricing on the Raptors of Minnesota program. Admission is $5 for adults and $4 for students and seniors.

For more information, visit MinnesotaAlumni.org/trc.

GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR MEMBERSHIP • Save on Gopher gear at the University Bookstores.

• Boost your career with a professional development workshop.

• And much more. Explore all your member perks at MinnesotaAlumni.org/benefits.

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AMBER BU RNE TTE

• Access thousands of publications on select U Libraries’ online databases.

BUILDING SUMMER FUN

S EAN KENNEY

The University of Minnesota’s Landscape Arboretum will feature “Nature Connects: Art with Lego Bricks” this summer. The exhibit, comprised of 13 displays of large, nature-inspired sculptures created from Lego bricks by New York artist Sean Kenney, will array the Arboretum’s gardens now through August 30. Twenty-six sculptures will be featured, including a huge hummingbird and trumpet flower, a giant snapping turtle, a deer family, and more. Families can also enjoy Lego Builds—fun, hands-on activity sessions that incorporate science and engineering principles. Sessions are offered from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. on June 13 and 27, July 11 and 25, and August 8 and 22.

Admission to the Arboretum is free with an annual membership, which is available at levels beginning at $49. Members of the Alumni Association receive a 10 percent discount on the cost of Arboretum membership. For more information, visit MinnesotaAlumni.org/arboretum.

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Campus Seen

This never gets old, either Taken at the Arts, Sciences, and Engineering Commencement on May 1.

Welcome, all new alumni.

PHOTOGRAPH BY SCOTT STREBLE

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