President of Law School Mentoring Ujamaa Men

There is a new collaboration at Ujamaa Place and it involves the president and dean of Mitchell Hamline School of Law Mark Gordon.

He is personally mentoring two Ujamaa men regarding their decisions about education.

"We are just getting started. We're going to do a lot of great things involving the law students in our program and the men of Ujamaa Place," reports Gordon.

"The first thing we're going to do is initiate opportunities for the law students and Ujamaa men to get together and share experiences regarding education and barriers to educational growth," says Gordon.

"Secondly, we aim to have the law students and Ujamaa men have the chance to meet juveniles already in the detention system. The joint experiences will have great value for everyone," he continued. The program will require permission of the detention system.

"I love the idea of getting together to share information. We have so much to learn, so much to share," he went on.

"I have a passion for those caught up in difficult economic backgrounds and the challenges connected with education," he states. "We are going to form relationships, we are going to develop opportunities."

He continued, "I am driven to help students with their educational decisions. I was president of Defiance College in Ohio where 40 percent of the entering students were the first generation in their family to go to college. I know the barriers."

Gordon came to the Twin Cities last July to complete the combination of Mitchell and Hamline; once the combination occurred, he became President and Dean of Mitchell Hamline School of Law. Prior to this position, he was dean of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law; served as associate professor at Columbia University; worked in government under President Bill Clinton and New York Governor Mario Cuomo. He graduated magma cum laude from the Harvard Law School.

Otis Zanders, chief executive officer of Ujamaa Place commented on the new collaboration, "We are extremely excited and fortunate to be working with an educational leader dedicated to reclaiming the legal profession's role as a voice for the voiceless."

Save the Date: Transforming Men’s Lives Breakfast, Thursday October 13.

For more information please check out our website at www.ujamaaplace.org

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