Podcast Episodes

Rules of Engagement is a monthly podcast showcasing the projects and partners of the University of Minnesota’s North Minneapolis-based Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC).

Episode Eight: Job Creation and Thriving Communities

A UROC signature project, the Northside Job Creation Team—or NJCT—brings together stakeholders from across the Twin Cities with the goal of creating sustainable wage jobs in North Minneapolis. Learn about the scope and impact of the project with Tashitaa Tufaa, CEO, Metropolitan Transportation Network and William English, NJCT Community Director.


Episode Seven: Preventing Diabetes through Creative Channels

Black Storytellers Alliance Co-Founder Vusumuzi Zulu and University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development Educator Janice Rasmussen share ways the University and the Black Storytellers Alliance are working to engage communities in the battle to combat diabetes.


Episode Six: Fast Food and Urban Food Deserts

University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs Assistant Professor and UROC Affiliated Researcher Fernando Burga and R. Root Garden Co-Founder Queen Frye are working to empower Minneapolis residents to advocate for a healthier and more culturally relevant foodscape.


Episode Five: The Value of Lasting Partnerships

Hedy Walls, Executive Vice President for Social Responsibility for the YMCA of the North, and Doug Kennedy, Assistant Professor with the Integrative Health and Wellbeing Research Program at the University of Minnesota’s Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality and Healing, discuss what they’ve learned through University- community engaged partnerships.


Episode Four: Leadership for the Common Good

University of Minnesota Humphrey School of Public Affairs Dean Nisha Botchwey discusses how her nationally recognized school is engaging communities in innovative and mutually beneficial projects.


Episode Three: Slow Roll and Community Health

Minneapolis-based Slow Roll Founder and BIKEFY Consulting Development and Engagement Strategist Anthony Taylor works to promote health, wellness, and infrastructure inclusivity through urban bicycling in North Minneapolis and beyond.


Episode Two: The Birth Justice Collaborative

Corenia Smith, project manager with the Collective Action Lab, discusses the Birth Justice Collaborative which aims to improve maternal health outcomes through partnerships and surfacing community knowledge.


Episode One: What is Public Engagement?

University of Minnesota Office for Public Engagement Faculty Director of Academic Planning and Programs David Weerts discusses the theory and practices behind University-community public engagement and the mutual benefits it offers.