Led by the University of Minnesota’s College of Food and Agriculture, the new center will collaborate with several universities, The Nature Conservancy and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission.
University union workers are in the midst of contract negotiations with University administrators, with many demands centered around COVID-19, wages and equity.
In two separate incidents, one with University union workers and another with Students for a Democratic Society, representatives briefly interrupted to advocate for their respective demands.
In the next five to seven years, the University will finally be completely divested from fossil fuels, as a result of several student-led efforts to push for environmental change and accountability.
The initiative has found that the University is highly decentralized and fragmented with many employees performing jobs that do not come with their title. PEAK leaders will provide recommendations to address these issues in early October.