CTN, by Heather Wolford

Frostburg State University officials, city leaders and local law enforcement discussed ways to manage stu-dent and community relations with an officer from a Massachusetts town dealing with similar issues. "We're both college towns, we both have issues with student behavior, and we both have visions of working collabo-ratively with the university," said Amherst, MA, police officer William Laramee, who was appointed as the city's first neighborhood liaison officer in 2014 after serving as a patrolman for 20 years. "A lot of our call volume is related to students and student behavior," he said. Laramee leads town meetings and responds to neighborhood complaints, offering advice to area residents on how they can effectively manage the issues with students. This opens up a conversation, and establishes the opportunity for residents and students to solve issues together, he said. Amherst noise complains are at a 20-year low, Laramee said.  

Bangor Daily News, by Beth Brogan

Eight months after an "uptick" of racial slurs directed at Bowdoin College students prompted Brunswick officials to convene a Human Rights Task Force. The group is prepared to report that there's still much to be done to combat bias in town. The task force is scheduled to present its findings to town councilors on Monday. After reports during the past two years that racial and gender slurs had become "a more persistent problem" near campus, Bowdoin President Clayton Rose made addressing such incidents a priority  during his first year. Before classes began last fall, Rose and other college leaders met privately with town officials to discuss the incidents. Rose also hired an outside consulting group to study the experiences of students of color on campus. Sarah Brayman, the Town Council chairwoman and task force member said, "It's been a very educational and productive process." 

Govtech.com, by Staff Writers 

A small college town outside Detroit is fast becoming the site of a statewide push to connect economic devel-opment, higher education, transportation and the loom-ing questions of just how much of the auto industry might migrate to California in the future. Michigan keeps throwing resources into the American Center for Mobility in Ypsilanti, home to Eastern Michigan Univer-sity and a stone's throw from both Detroit and the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. Business leaders and economic development authorities have flocked to the activity happening in Ypsilanti. It all centers on an old factory that churned out bombers during WW II. The University of Michigan has already set up a "fake city," M City, where Ford and other automakers have begun testing and refining self-driving cars. Google's self-driving car project is in the process of setting up its own facility to test out its vehicles.    

CultureMap Houston, by Clifford Pugh

Beginning this week, it's going to be easier to get to and from five Texas cities, thanks to a new bus service that promises to Shofur travelers around the Lone Star State with Uber-like efficiency. The new service offers amenities such as reclining seats, Wi-Fi, power outlets, and the option to select your seat on the bus in advance just as you would on an airplane. The brand, called Shofur, promises to revolutionize bus travel, says founder Armir Harris. His family launched a large bus charter service for the Democratic National Convention in 2012 by aggregating bus companies and now provides such services for South by Southwest, the Super Bowl and major conventions, using more than 400 bus companies in more than 100 locations nationwide. Later this year, Harris hopes to expand the service to other Texas cities, including several college towns and adjoining states.   

Columbia is the third-best college town in the United States, according to an annual list released Thursday. Columbia logged in behind No. 2 Irvine, Calif., and No. 1 Tempe, Ariz., home of the Arizona State University, in the Livability.com ranking. Matt Kendell, chief executive of City Center Partnership, said it has taken nearly three decades of concentrated effort to revitalize Columbia's downtown. There are now more than 200 restaurants that are attractive to students and other young people, he said. Columbia scored for its more than half-dozen colleges and universities, the largest being the University of South Carolina, that boast a total of almost 50,000 students. The ranking also took into account an educated population; the number of 25-to-29-year-olds as an indicator of the town's ability to retain graduates, availability and affordability of housing; and athletic programs.   

A growing and impressive group of professionals from campus communities across the globe continue to network and share strategies for improving town and gown relations. Join us on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.