Lawmakers Press University of Minnesota After Award to Communities United Against Police Brutality; safety advocates praise UMPD gains

The House Higher Education Finance and Policy Committee heard extended testimony on a University of Minnesota community partner award and campus safety on Jan. 21, 2025, as lawmakers pressed university staff about how the award was vetted and community groups described recent improvements in campus policing.

Amber Cameron, director of public engagement initiatives in the University of Minnesota's Office for Public Engagement, told the committee the Office facilitates the Outstanding Community Service (Community Partner) Award process and asks selection committees to evaluate nominations "on how has the activity affected society in positive ways that foster long term change," among other criteria. She said the selection committee for the Communities United Against Police Brutality nomination documented long-standing engagement with students through the university's Center for Community Engaged Learning and determined the application met the award criteria.

The award — which Cameron said includes a $5,000 community partner prize that is being processed through university accounting and is paid from operations and maintenance funding — and the university's choice of partners drew criticism from multiple committee members and law enforcement representatives who described social-media posts and public statements by the organization as inflammatory and inaccurate. Brian Peters, executive director of the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, told the committee he and his membership see "misleading and harmful narratives about law enforcement" in the group's public posts and said such messaging harms campus safety efforts.

At the same time, student and parent advocates, including members of a newly formed Campus Safety Coalition, described a series of…