Technical problems unfortunately limited our audio recordings, but we took a few notes as well.
- Walking by the quote on Northrop auditorium everyday: "The University of Minnesota: Founded in the Faith that Men are Ennobled by Understanding; Dedicated to the Advancement of Learning and the Search for Truth; Devoted to the Instruction of Youth and the Welfare of the State." Public engagement means looking for that truth together.
- We should be listening to communities and their needs.
- We should recognize the past trauma in communities when working with them. We should trust their knowledge and respect their experiences.
- We need to move past the outreach model toward collaboration with communities.
- Reciprocity in interaction
- Create one point of contact at the university for groups or citizens to connect with experts, to facilitate that process, so that communities can initiate contact. Possibly also offer assistance in finding funding for projects. Projects should be driven by community needs and wants, not just university staff.
- Equity, co-creation, mutual reciprocity, social justice
- The values the university should embrace are generosity, integrity: this creates an open door of understanding rather than an assigned path.
- Inclusivity
- One important value is realizing that we do not have all the answers. We must listen to our community partners.
