Final light-rail tests on University of Minnesota labs begin

By |

As construction on the Central Corridor light rail wraps up, University of Minnesota researchers are anxiously waiting to see how the trains will impact their work.Tests beginning this week will measure how vibrations from the light rail will affect sensitive University research.For a few hours each night, light-rail trains will run to measure electromagnetic interference and vibration levels. The tests will continue into September.“These tests are really sensitive,” said Leslie Krueger, University Services chief of staff. “We want to have the quietest environment possible to get the most detailed data.”The Metropolitan Council will test vibration levels in nine buildings around Washington Avenue Southeast. To measure the electromagnetic levels, staff will limit vehicle and pedestrian traffic, elevators, use of electronics and moving metal objects in the area.Beginning in 2006, the University began looking at how much the light rail would affect research. The University wanted a “do no harm” outcome, Krueger said. Continue Reading

Saying no to Teach for America shouldn’t be complicated

By |

Why would the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) at the University of Minnesota (U of M) consider partnering with an organization that promotes high teacher turnover, advocates that teachers need little to no training to teach in neighborhoods marginalized by disinvestment and state violence, and encourages its recruits to become administrators and educational policy makers after just two years of teaching? This question was on many of our minds when Dean Quam announced that CEHD was considering a partnership with Teach for America (TFA) during finals week this spring. Continue Reading

College then, college now

By |

In the summer of 1979, I took a couple days off my factory job in Green Bay and ventured to Minneapolis with a friend of mine to register for classes – on paper – to start college at the University of MN that fall. When Welcome Week rolled around, my parents drove 6 hours with me and my stuff, unloaded the car, promptly turned around and made the lonely voyage home. I’m sure it was very difficult for them to leave me in a strange, big city on my own with nothing but trust and faith in me. Continue Reading

Hamline and Teach for America as partners: A mixed review

By |

Teach for America is currently in talks with Hamline University about the partnership the two share, as TFA conducts its summer training “Institutes” in locations around the United States. For now, the TFA/Hamline partnership will continue, but TFA is also hoping to partner with the University of Minnesota, possibly in order to locate a training institute in Minnesota.TFA and Hamline have been partners since 2009, when TFA first came to Minnesota.  Since that time, according to Hamline, 152 TFA recruits have enrolled in the program, and “more than 140” of them have completed the two year commitment. TFA’s public relations person, Jackie Primeau, offered slightly different numbers, saying that “We had 142 corps members total enter classrooms in the Twin Cities from 2009 through 2011 and 120 completed their two year commitment.” These numbers, from Hamline and TFA, do not include the 39 TFA corps members who worked in Minneapolis classrooms in 2012.Hamline University’s School of Education acts as a host for TFA recruits; they enroll in a post-baccalaureate program and work on obtaining licensure while working as TFA-trained classroom teachers. TFA recruits are required to become traditionally licensed teachers through Hamline by the time their two-year TFA commitment ends. Continue Reading

University group wants to be official community contact with Minneapolis neighborhood organizations

By |

While several organizations already exist to connect the University of Minnesota to its surrounding community, one is trying to become the official link.The Board of Community Engagement presented a resolution to University, Minneapolis and business officials on July 10 in the hopes of becoming the endorsed liaison between student groups and neighborhood organizations. The board is unique in the way it connects students to volunteer opportunities.Recent graduate Chet Bodin founded the board last year as a committee of the Graduate and Professional Student Assembly. He said he wanted to stop community connections from deteriorating after students graduate.“It’ll give a continuity to the relationship,” Bodin said.If the University District Alliance approves the proposal, the board will have more resources and connections when it starts meeting again in the fall.But it’s unclear whether the board would have any power to enforce agreements between neighborhoods and students.District members asked the board to refine its proposal before bringing it back next month.Minneapolis Ward 2 City Councilman Cam Gordon referenced the other University units already handling community relations — the offices of Student and Community Relations and Government and Community Relations. As proposed, the board would be advised by the former.“I’m trying to figure out if there are any toes that we might step on,” Gordon said.But Jan Morlock, the University’s director of community relations, said it wouldn’t be a problem.“This doesn’t sidestep anything else going on with students,” she said.Making the board the official go-between will yield actual results, Bodin said, giving both student groups and the surrounding community more accountability. Both sides would have to answer to the alliance if their partnerships don’t work out.Bodin said he doesn’t want the board to replace any other community relations offices.“We’re not asking anybody to say this is the only way,” he said.But the board would serve as a central hub. Continue Reading