We invite you to spend a little time getting to know us and learn about what makes UROC tick. UROC is a University of Minnesota research center, but it’s also an important resource for the North Minneapolis community. It’s a gathering place for local residents, an educational and cultural setting, and a living laboratory where the community and University researchers work together to improve the lives of those in urban areas.
The Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center is a unit of the University of Minnesota Office for Public Engagement within the Office of the Executive Vice President and Provost.
Save the date for a celebration of Minnesota and North Minneapolis at UROC Community Day 2019. This year's annual open-house event features an appearance by University of Minnesota President Joan T.A. Gabel, research-based demonstrations and activities, interviews with University/community partners, photos with Goldy Gopher, live music, give-a-ways, and delicious foods representing the diversity of Minnesota's communities. The event is free and open to the public.
Activist, scholar, and University of Minnesota Regent Emeritus Josie R. Johnson will discuss and sign her new book, Hope in the Struggle: A Memoir, at UROC at 5:30 p.m., Thursday, June 27, 2019. A memoir about shouldering the cause of social justice during the darkest hours and brightest moments for civil rights in America—and, specifically, in Minnesota—Hope in the Struggle shines light on the difference one person can make. The event is free and open to the public.
Sponsored by the University of Minnesota’s Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, The Illusion of Choice: Evictions and Profit in North Minneapolis project aims to answer the question of why and how evictions are taking place from the perspectives of tenants and landlords themselves. The event is free and open to the public.
UROC will host a special rural/urban UROC Critical Conversation on immigration, migration, and the impending “silver tsunami” of retirees set to change the demographic face of Minnesota. A Changing People Who Live in This Place Called Minnesota: A public conversation about issues facing rural and urban Minnesotans will examine the challenges and opportunities these forces pose to the Minnesotans living in urban centers, small towns, and rural settings. The event is free and open to the public.
Dirty Deed by Nikki McComb
May 28 through August 3, 2019
Opening Reception: 5:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, May 30
Art is My Weapon founder Nikki McComb uses data exploring evictions in North Minneapolis as the guide for "The Moving Walls of Minneapolis." Part installation, part visual story, this exhibit, produced in partnership with the University of Minnesota Center for Urban and Regional Affairs, brings a deeply personal local perspective to our country’s affordable housing crisis. For more information about the artist and the exhibit, visit vacatempls.com