I was really blown away by Mary Brandl’s thoughtful personal safety presentation, which focused on developing confident and neutral body language, and let us experience how transforming this awareness can be. I see from her website (www.bpscom.com) that she also teaches specifically about conflict resolution, and this approach permeated her presentation. Really, the whole experience was
a little more substantive than the title “personal safety workshop” might convey.

Anyway, I’m hoping we can bring her back to another event!

Michelle

Thank you for your thorough and timely reply to my email with my concerns regarding the new clinic for north Minneapolis. I will notify block club members and residents of your reply. We remain keenly interested in a partnership with the University of Minnesota in health care and in other programs the University can provide to our community.

Beverly Roberts

President Bob Bruininks forwarded your email message about our University Northside Partnership (UNP) to me for reply, as I am the University’s lead representative for this initiative. We appreciate your interest in this exciting, collaborative vision for focusing and coordinating University and community expertise and resources to better serve Northside residents.

Having lived on the Northside for twenty years, I am as eager as you are for the Child and Family Center to be constructed so Dr. Cicchetti and others from the University and Northpoint can provide innovative treatments and therapies to help Northside families thrive despite the challenges many residents face. It is a complex project that involves the University, the County, the City, Northpoint, and organizations such as NRRC, so the process of obtaining approvals from all the relevant governing boards, zoning agencies, etc.; obtaining funding; completing building plans in concert with environmental agencies; and consulting neighbors and community organizations takes time. But it is so important to complete all these steps carefully and collaboratively so the final result will be a complex of facilities that brings University and Northpoint physicians and health care providers together to serve community health care needs; contributes to a positive quality of life in the neighborhood; provides economic opportunities for residents; and preserves the sense of community that makes the Northside special. We believe we will achieve all those objectives.

The project is moving forward and picking up momentum. The Northpoint Human Services building will be torn down and a new building will go up. This will be an 18-month to two-year construction project, and will probably begin in 2008, with a 2010 completion date. The new building will offer expanded services as well as needed staff space for NorthPoint, Hennepin County, the YMCA, and Dr. Cicchetti’s Child and Family Center. By constructing a multi-use building we can conserve resources, facilitate important collaboration between University and Northpoint staff, and offer residents a convenient location for obtaining a wide variety of services.

In the meantime, the University plans to occupy space near the site so we can provide new services and house programs that already serve the community. We are hoping to sign an agreement with NRRC in the very near future to purchase a lot and building at Penn and Plymouth, which we would immediately remodel to meet our short-term needs. This would allow Dr. Cicchetti and others to begin their work during construction of the new Northpoint/University facility, and would give residents a convenient place to interact with the University. We have early childhood development programs, job training, and other services poised to respond to community- identified needs in this transitional facility.

Dr. Darlyne Bailey, dean of our College of Education and Human Development, has agreed to serve as the director of the academic components of the UNP. Together she and I will be strongly committed, with support from President Bruininks, to moving the UNP forward from here. We appreciate your ongoing involvement and support. Please don’t hesitate to contact me if we can provide additional information.

Sincerely,
Robert J. Jones
Senior Vice President for System Academic Administration

–
Robert J. Jones, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President
for System Academic Administration

110 Morrill Hall
612 624-3533
jones012@umn.edu

Whoever said the legislature acted on the pool safety issue was wrong. We have been adjourned since May 21st. We will not be in session again till February 12.

Linda Higgins
lhiggins@nmpls.com