University of St. Thomas' neighborhood peacemaker steps down

Amy Gage, who for more than eight years has served as a counselor, diplomat, peacemaker and troubleshooter for the University of St. Thomas in its complicated relationship between its St. Paul neighbors and its off-campus students, is stepping down.

At 65, Gage said she's looking forward to starting a pair of part-time jobs that won't involve middle-of-the-night phone calls from neighbors seething over loud student parties or garbage-strewn yards.

"This is not an easy job," she said of the work for which she's won widespread acclaim for responsiveness and evenhandedness. "I always looked at it as, 'How could I bridge the gap?'"

While the annual churn of thousands of students into St. Thomas' surrounding neighborhoods makes a permanent peace hard to achieve between homeowners and student renters, many credit Gage — who lives less than a mile from campus — for softening the tone. She's bridged divides, encouraged communication and changed some minds say neighbors, students and school officials.

"She's done a fantastic job in her role and also as a neighbor and friend," said Henry Parker, who lives with his wife and newborn son less than two blocks from campus. "You can tell in the way that she approaches her job that she's invested in the community, and that the relationship between the university and the neighborhood is important to her."

Karen Lange, St. Thomas' vice president for Student Affairs, said Gage embraced her role and went above and beyond as neighborhood liaison — to all of the neighborhood.

"She would really listen to both sides," Lange said. "To students, she would say, 'This may not have been your intent, but this is the impact you're having [on neighbors].' "

Gage recruited students as Neighborhood Student Ambassadors, who've watched neighbors' pets, babysat and mowed lawns — all to show a different side of college students. At the same time, she connected with landlords and student renters to be more outgoing with homeowners around campus.

Kate Achenbach, a civil engineering major, was an ambassador during the 2021-22 school year and helped lead an event with homeowners and students last April. Much of the work of the ambassadors, Achenbach said, was getting information to students about what to do in a snow emergency or how to use Metro Transit.

But there has been an increasing focus on encouraging students to knock on doors and meet their neighbors — to exchange phone numbers and talk.

"We're trying to mend the relationship. It's a work in progress," Achenbach said. "But every year, there's been some progress."

Noelle Jacquet-Morrison, a longtime neighbor to St. Thomas and Gage, said perhaps Gage's most-lasting impact is getting more area residents to consider student renters as real neighbors, she said, not just as an annual scourge.

"I think she has done amazingly well, for the university and the community. She saw the community as an intricate part of the university, while working to change the image of St. Thomas as a party school. She worked very hard to bring all to the table on equal footing."

Gage said she knows challenges persist. For years, she's shared her cell phone number widely, urging community members to call her the instant there is a concern, day or night.

And they do.

As a neighbor to campus herself, Gage said she knows firsthand the frustrations surrounding backyard parties and student drunkenness. And for years, she's walked and biked the neighborhoods, contacting landlords and talking to students. She's even approached inebriated party hosts to ask them to tone it down. Gage said she understands why some homeowners balk at doing the reach-out thing year after year. But...

"I think a challenge we still have is getting neighbors to meet neighbors," she said. "And we need to be willing to go the extra step to go introduce ourselves to the students before there's a crisis."

Sherri Bergene and her husband Brett bought a house across from the university's baseball fields nearly eight years ago and have continuing concerns connected to the many student rental properties on their block.

Sometimes, Sherri Bergene said, the battle is with landlords intent on stuffing as many students as possible into their properties. Other times, it's garbage. Or parking. But always, she said, Gage was there to listen and intercede.

"She's just a trusted source who quickly became our friend," Bergene said. "Amy was absolutely amazing, and so present."

And now, she's leaving.

Gage, who worked in journalism before moving into higher education, already has started work as part-time managing editor of the website Streets.mn. She also will be executive director of Friends of the Parks and Trails of St. Paul and Ramsey County.

Gage said she won't miss being on call all the time. But she said she will miss "feeling like I'm helping my neighbors."

Lange said university officials don't know what they are going to do to replace Gage, whether the liaison work will be handled by a single person or several.

"You can replace a body, but you can't replace expertise," said Joey Brueggemeier, a junior active in student government who has lived near the Merriam Park neighborhood for two years. "Amy brought such a charisma of hard work and an attitude of wanting to help no matter what."

Brueggemeier said he's hopeful the communication approach that Gage fostered between students and homeowners lasts long after she leaves.

"She always put the best foot forward," he said.