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UMD in the Political Spotlight

"From the visits of dignitaries like the President of Finland to behind the scenes in Washington D.C., from writing and consulting on political and health care policy to the Minnesota Capitol, from Duluth’s City Hall to the White House, from local politics to the international arena, UMD brings the business of running government to the campus. Join us in celebrating seven people who have shown UMD a tradition of excellence and ethics in service to citizens of the world." --Cheryl Reitan

Importance of Education and the Global Food Crisis
Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland

The Health of the World's Children
Congresswoman Betty McCollum

Foreign Policy and Presidential Candidates
Vice President Walter F. Mondale

A UMD Distinguised Alumni Award
Minnesota Representative Tome Rukavina

Creating a New Future for Duluth
Duluth Mayor Don Ness

A New Political Collection for UMD
UMD Alumnus Michael S. Berman

On Leading a Creative Life
Conference Series Founder Richard P. Teske

FinnFest 2008:UMD Celebrates the Finnish Connection

Maestro Osmo Vänskä conducts the Minnesota Orchestra at the Duluth Entertainment Convention Center	Former Minnesota State Legislator Arlene Lehto, ’86, Chancellor Martin and President Halonen participate in a Panel of Women Leaders.	President Halonen greets participants in the Tori (marketplace).
President Halonen receives a UMD bulldog hat from Chancellor Martin.	President Halonen and Dr. Pentti Arajärvi, University of Joensuu, tour the Natural Resources Research Institute with Director Mike Lalich (second from left) and Don Fosnacht (right), director of the Center for Applied Research and Technology Development.	President Halonen speaks during a news conference in the Tweed Museum of Art.

New Programs and a New Building:
Civil Engineering and Integrated Biosciences

Shown here at the groundbreaking are three granddaughtrs of Jim and Susan Swenson: Sarah, Allison, and Miranda Lentz, Representative Mary Murphy, Susan Swenson, Jim Swenson, Representative Tom Huntley (behind Jim) Senator Yvonne Prettner Solon, and UMD Chancellor Kathryn A. Martin.

Civil Engineering
The UMD Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) program which began this fall, addresses
regional and national needs for civil engineers, essential for planning, design, construction, maintenance, operations and management of the critical infrastructure system in our society.

The program focuses on four areas critical to northeastern Minnesota: transportation, geotechnical, water resources, and structures.

Civil Engineering Gets a New Home
Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty signed a bonding bill in April 2008 that included $10 million for a new UMD civil engineering building on the UMD campus. The building will house the new civil engineering program, which is expected to open in fall 2010. The total cost of the building will be $15 million, of which the university will contribute $2 million, with $3 million coming from the Swenson Family Foundation.
The new structure will include state-of-the-art teaching and research laboratories, classrooms, and administrative offices.

Many of the materials and construction methods used by civil engineers will be used in this building. Those construction elements will be made visible to provide an important educational opportunity for students, thus the design of the building itself will serve as a laboratory in construction methods.

In September 2007, generous new donations by James I. and Susan Swenson and the Swenson Family Foundation were announced. Those gifts included $3 million toward the construction of the new civil engineering building as well as $7.7 million for science and research scholarships.

Jim ’59 (BS Chemistry) attributes much of his outstanding success to the education he received at UMD. He and his wife, Susan, have given back generously, with gifts totaling over $21 million.

In 1999, the Swenson Family Foundation donated $10 million to UMD, previously the largest single gift the campus had received. Of that $10 million, $7.5 million was committed to construction of the James I. Swenson Science Building, and $2.5 million was designated for scholarships.

The Swenson name now adorns both the UMD science building and the Swenson College of Science and Engineering.

Integrated Biosciences
A unique Integrated Biosciences Ph.D. program (IBS) was established in September 2007 after six years of planning and in collaboration with 60 scientists and faculty members. It is a sophisticated, advanced program, only offered at three other universities in the nation: focusing on preparing research scientists, technicians, and future college faculty for careers in the biological sciences.

For Matt Andrews, UMD professor and IBS program director, the new program reinforces the fact that the UMD community has a wide variety of disciplines that interlock. “UMD does cutting-edge research and provides an excellent training environment for advanced graduate studies,” he said.

The IBS program embraces other programs, such as in the Swenson College of Science and Engineering, College of Pharmacy-Duluth, Natural Resource Research Institute (NRRI), Large Lakes Observatory (LLO), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency-Duluth. Collaborators include University of Minnesota-Twin Cities programs: the Academic Health Center, the Medical School, the Institute of Technology, and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resources Sciences. The IBS program is now accepting applications.

CIVIL ENGINEERING: The construction elements of the Civil Engineering Building itself will be made visible allowing the design to serve as a laboratory in construction methods.

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