UROC's accomplishments highlighted in external review
As part of the University of Minnesota’s formal review process for academic research centers, UROC underwent its first external program review in November, 2016. The process involved a self-study written by UROC Executive Director Heidi Barajas, as well as interviews, a site visit and a written report with recommendations for growth and improvement by an external program review committee.
May 22 UROC Critical Conversation to address deportation
University of Minnesota faculty and advocacy leaders from the Twin Cities’s communities of color will lead a public discussion at 6 p.m. Monday, May 22 about the physical and mental toll on women, girls, and families of color surrounding executive decisions and recent actions by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency.
Megan Gunnar named to American Academy of Arts and Sciences
UROC Executive Advisory Committee member Megan Gunnar has been named to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the country's most prestigeous honorary societies. A University of Minnesota Regents Professor, Distinguished McKnight University Professor and director of the Institute of Child Development in the College of Education and Human Development, Gunnar is a leading researcher in child development and developmental psychobiology.
The story of UROC's Trauma Recovery Project now online
Building on community expertise and the University’s research in historical trauma, UROC's Trauma Recovery Project brought together teams of families, researchers, community leaders, healthcare professionals, and representatives from the faith community in an effort to identify trauma-related issues important to the North Minneapolis community. Learn more about the Trauma Recovery Project through the voices of its workgroup members at trp.uroc.umn.edu.
Thor Companies' North Minneapolis headquarters: construction update
Construction on THOR Companies' new North Minneapolis headquarters—located at 1256 Penn Avenue North, on the lot directly west of UROC—began in January 2017.
The project, which is scheduled for completion in 2018, will include 92,000 square feet of retail and office space, along with a 620-stall parking facility, at the intersection of Plymouth and Penn Avenues. THOR's senior leadership has been a key part of UROC's Northside Job Creation Team since 2014.
Young Women's Initiative of Minnesota seeks community input
Young Women’s Initiative of Minnesota seeks community input on the creation of a statewide action plan for young women and LGBTQ youth ages 12 to 24.
Ending Education Inequality
Throughout his 12-year tenure as Mayor of Minneapolis, R.T. Rybak was always an outspoken advocate for city schools and public education. So it was no surprise that after leaving office in 2013 he took on the role of executive director of Generation Next, a coalition of education, business and civic leaders working to close the achievement gap.
National journal spotlights UROC and the community
UROC Executive Director Heidi Lasley Barajas is the author of an article in the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities' most recent Metropolitan Universities Journal. Barajas’s piece—Shared Space, Liminal Space: Five Years into a Community-University Place-Based Experiment, written in tandem with UROC’s Director of Research Lauren Martin—shines a light on the ways the University of Minnesota is engaging in the community through the use of shared spaces.
Listening to Youth
Kari Smalkoski, a researcher in the University of Minnesota’s Department of Gender, Women and Sexuality Studies (GWSS), was working on her dissertation when Heidi Barajas, her graduate school mentor and current executive director of the Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), told her to “Do work where you have the most impact.”
The Healing Power of the Pen
Writer Shannon Gibney reflects on UROC's Witness Creative Writing Program
Since its launch in 2013 with a Minnesota State Arts Board grant, the Witness Creative Writing Program has attracted Northside writers of all levels who want to explore their own stories in a supportive atmosphere. Coordinated by the University of Minnesota’s Robert J. Jones Urban Research and Outreach-Engagement Center (UROC), the monthly program focuses on storytelling techniques, style and the healing power of the pen.