Keene State College gave a warm welcome to off-campus students this year with a Move-In Kit. The Of-fice of Student and Community Relations partnered with the local Fire and Police Departments, the Coalition for Tobacco Free Communities, the Crisis Center for Vio-lence Prevention and campus offices and programs. City and College staff teamed up to knock on doors and to present the Move-In Kit which consisted of informational brochures, pens, magnets with emergency contact names, numbers and city ordnance information, keychains with a light and whistle, coupons for coffee and ice cream, popcorn and Ramen noodles and a bottle of bubble-just for fun! The College President and Mayor of Keene jointly penned a welcome letter. Two neighborhood "Meet and Greet" events, sponsored by local landlords were also held for students, neighbors, city and college staff.   

The Tribune, by Jana Colombini & Keith Humphrey

One of our goals at Cal Poly is to continue working cooperatively with the San Luis Obispo community to strengthen our relationships and improve the quality of life for all who live here. Indeed, collaboration among the leadership of our city, Cuesta College and Cal Poly has helped to accentuate the positives and reduce the negatives. And those efforts are award-winning, having received the Larry Abernathy Award from the ITGA for the Neighborhood Wellness Community Civility report and plan. The six goals identified in the report are designed to implement national best practices through a combi-nation of education efforts and policy changes. As leaders, we are dedicated to this long-term effort and will continue to work hard this academic year, including implementation of a new noise awareness educa-tional campaign called the Educated Renters Program. We remain focused on ensuring their behavior promotes positive interactions and neighborhood wellness.  

City of Chico, by Bill Hack and Drew Calandrella

The City of Chico Fire Department has been proactive and progressive in its new Community Risk Reduction Model. Last year, the City of Chico experienced over 400 hostile fires, more of half of which were "intentionally caused." A large portion of those intentionally set fires were couch, mattress, dumpster, and trash fires. One of the first actions taken to reduce the community risk was the implementation of an Ordinance banning interior combustible furniture that is visible from the public right-of-way. This ordinance was specifically designed, and has been extremely effective in reducing the number of couch fires in our Community. The City of Chico has experienced a 58% reduction in the number of couch fires in 2016. From January 1-September 7, 2016, there have been 53 couch fires. This is down from an average of 127 fires in 2014 and 2015, during the same 8 month period.  

Loyola Phoenix, by Matt Boey

Loyola hopes to entice upperclassman students to live on campus by expanding its apartment options by 2019. Students rarely stay on campus after fulfilling the residency requirement to live in university housing for two years. This year, only 17 percent of juniors and about 8 percent of seniors remain in on-campus hous-ing, according to Wayne Magdziarz, the vice president for Capital Planning and Campus Management. "For economic reasons, stu-dents tend to move out into the Rogers Park and Edgewater area after their sophomore year," said Magdziarz. "In the Lakeshore Management groups of buildings, we try to keep the rates very competitive to attract students." "The Residence Life's new director would need to put together a long-range strategic plan to determine what mix of hoaxing is needed," said Kanna Henning, associate vice president of Facilities. 

The Collegian, by Katie Scheu

Hillsdale College Students and residents of Hillsdale's community have felt the impact of the growing dis-connect between the college and the town it inhabits. In an effort to bridge the gap, students have created a credit-card-sized solution: a sleek discount card that will point Hillsdale College students, parents, and alumni off campus toward local businesses. During the 2016 Student Leadership Workshop, students brainstormed ways in which they can call the town of Hillsdale their home. The group came to a two-pronged conclusion: a gap exists between all college affiliates and the Hillsdale community because of a lack of awareness about opportunities downtown, and a lack of transportation. According to junior Zane Miller, when the team contacted the local businesses about their 'Dale Deals' idea, business owners and managers jumped at the chance to better the situation. 

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.