The University of Minnesota Twin Cities has a number of initiatives in place to keep the campus and surrounding communities safe, and you can now add to that the new role of community engagement liaison held by Nick Juarez, who joined the U of M’s Department of Public Safety in August.
Juarez comes to the University after 13 years with the Minneapolis Police Department as a crime prevention specialist for the second precinct, which includes some of the same neighborhoods Juarez will be working with in his new role.
Juarez is not a police officer, but a civilian liaison, a difference that reflects his role in engaging the community around issues of safety at one of the nation’s few public universities situated within a large metropolitan area.
While a typical officer may be responding to 911 calls or providing event security, Juarez is a point of contact for understanding and responding to community members’ safety concerns and needs. His motto is simple: “Come talk with us.”
“We’re here as a resource for the entire University of Minnesota community, whether you're faculty or staff, a student, or a patient at the hospital—we are here for you,” says Juarez.
Along with Officer Chris Fonseca, Juarez is part of the Department of Public Safety’s Community Engagement Team, led by Sergeant Ashlee Lange, which hosts safety presentations and community events, and shares information about the numerous safety initiatives already in place at the University. These range from SAFE-U notifications and self-defense courses, to services like Gopher Chauffeur and the RAVE Escort app, which provides users a virtual walking buddy and a direct connection to the campus 911 center as they walk across campus.
An example of a way in which his team can help, says Juarez, might be in responding to a concern from a University employee who works a second or third shift and who notices a lack of lighting or some other safety concern on their way to the parking ramp.
“We can talk about extra patrols, we can talk about 624-WALK, we can talk about working with facilities to improve lighting… We are here to mitigate some of the concerns that people might have,” says Juarez.
He sees his new role in part as “putting a face to the Department of Public Safety.”
“You know, our officers sometimes don’t have as much time as they would like to get out and just talk to people in the community, but that's what I'm here to do, to help facilitate that.”
With a community as large and as diverse as the University, Juarez says one of the challenges he’s looking forward to most in his new role is connecting with and building trust with business and community members, students, faculty, and staff.
“The U is like a city in itself, so a lot of my work will be building relationships so that if people do have safety concerns, they have a point of contact who they can call and say ‘Hey, this is what I'm seeing, we have some concerns,’ and then we will come up with a plan that involves anyone affected,” says Juarez.
Juarez notes that one of his hobbies is geocaching, an outdoor activity that he often does with his daughters, ages 16 and 19, and even on occasion his pit bull, age 6. It keeps him active and on-the-move, hunting for the clue that will lead to the next connection.
Not content to be idle in his new role, Juarez has already hit the ground running at the University, meeting with numerous departments on and around campus, from the School of Dentistry to the Greek community and local business owners.
“If you have questions, if you have concerns, feel free to come and talk to us—call me,” he says.
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Connect with Nick Juarez anytime at [email protected] or 612-669-5071, or with the Department of Public Safety’s Community Engagement Team at [email protected].
For more information about campus safety initiatives, see the Safe Campus website or the Department of Public Safety.