Minne-College® for Students

Keynote: Title IX: 50 Years in Gopher Women's Athletics

Julie Manning, Gopher Athletics

Presentation Description: 2022 will mark the 50th Anniversary of Title IX. Julie Manning, U of MN Deputy Athletics Director and Senior Woman Administrator, will walk attendees through the last 50 years of Gopher Women's Athletics. During her presentation, Julie will address Title IX and how it has impacted women in Minnesota and beyond - prior to and following the legislation of 1972. Included in the presentation, will be information on the NCAA Women's Basketball Final Four, an overview of 50 years of Gopher Women in Varsity Sports and recognition of the 50th Anniversary of Title IX.

Biography: As Deputy Athletics Director-Senior Woman Administrator, Julie Manning serves as sport supervisor for men’s basketball, women’s volleyball and women’s golf.  Manning has responsibility for the management, supervision and evaluation of intercollegiate athletics sport performance unit, which includes medical services, athletics training, strength & conditioning, performance nutrition, performance sport psychology and applied health and performance science.  She also oversees the athletics student welfare and leadership unit, which develops and implements life skills programs, and resources for student-athletes.  Manning serves at the department’s liaison with Big Ten Network (BTN), serves as the liaison for the department and the Intercollegiate Athletic Committee (IAC) and the Faculty Athletics Oversight Intercollegiate Athletics Committee (FAOIAC).  In addition, Manning chairs the department’s Drug & Alcohol Review Committee and serves as the department’s liaison with Admissions. 

Prior to her time with the University of Minnesota, Manning spent time at the University of Wyoming and the University of Colorado, where in her different roles oversaw department coordination of Title IX. Additionally, Manning began her career in athletics at Iowa State University, where she worked for nearly 20 years as the school’s head women’s golf coach. During her coaching career, Manning’s student-athletes earned 13 Academic All-America honors and maintained a graduation rate of 98 percent. Her work as a coach earned her induction into the National Golf Coaches Association Hall of Fame in January 2000.

Bridging the Family Care Gap for Older People

Edible Insects: Food Security, Human Health, Environmental Stewardship, & New Business Opportunities

Dr. Sujaya Rao, College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences

Presentation Description: By 2050, the world’s population is estimated to exceed 9 billion, creating an urgent need for enhanced food production in less space and with increased environmental stewardship. A largely untapped resource for addressing these needs is the inclusion of edible insects in human diets. Insects can be raised in small areas, contain high protein, have a high food conversion rate, and emit fewer greenhouse gases than livestock. Globally, insects are being explored for impacts on food security, human health, and the environment, and as new businesses. In this presentation, Dr. Rao will provide much food for thought as she shares her perspectives about edible insects and UMN student research mentored across disciplines, ranging from exploration of insect diets for astronauts to changing human perceptions about insects from ‘yucky’ to a healthy eco-friendly diet of the future.

Biography: Sujaya Rao is head of the department of entomology at the University of Minnesota (UMN), the first ever alum, woman, and person of color selected for this role. Besides leading the department, she is engaged in teaching graduate and undergraduate courses, and in promoting entomophagy, the practice of humans eating insects as food. After receiving a doctoral degree from UMN, Sujaya was a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Delaware and at the University of California, Berkeley. She worked as an extension advisor at UC Cooperative Extension and as a research/teaching professor, and as Director for Undergraduate Research at Oregon State University before moving back to her alma mater as the Entomology Department Head. Over the years, Sujaya's research has focused on the behavioral and chemical ecology of insect pests and bee pollinators in agricultural and natural landscapes. Her NSF sponsored educational programs have impacted graduate and undergraduate students, peers, the public, and K-12 students and teachers, and earned her the Distinguished Achievement in Teaching Award from the Entomological Society of America and the Hodson Graduate Alumnus Award from UMN.