MINNEAPOLIS — The president of the University of Minnesota plans to step up police patrols following a rash of robberies and assaults on and near campus.

President Eric Kaler announced the new security measures in a campus-wide letter Tuesday.

Kaler said the crimes are “troubling and disturbing.”

On Monday, a man approached a woman in Anderson Hall, a classroom building on the West Bank campus in Minneapolis, and showed her a gun before demanding her backpack and then fleeing. He remained at large on Tuesday.

Kaler said he met last week with the chiefs of the University of Minnesota and Minneapolis Police Departments to talk about ways to enhance campus security.