Chapelboro, by Joey DeVito

A new town-gown coalition is working to reduce high risk drinking in Chapel Hill. In a recent survey, 71 per-cent of college students and 47 percent of high school seniors here reported using alcohol in the previous 30 days. The Campus and Community Coalition to Reduce the Negative Impacts of High Risk Drinking are taking on the problem of high-risk drinking that exists in Chapel Hill and various communities. The origins of the group started in 2013 when former Chancellor Holden Thorp and former Chapel Hill Mayor Mark Kleinschmidt convened a group to tackle the issue of binge drinking. The coalition recommended that the university update it's alcohol policy, which went into affect August 1st. The group is also working on a social norms campaign that would promote healthy behaviors and correct incorrect perceptions about campus alcohol culture. 

The Spokesman-Review, by Mike Prager

It has taken Spokane city leaders, academics and businesspeople 30 years to piece together what the Brookings Institution calls the keys to "innovation suc-cess" at the eastern end of downtown: a cluster of universities, businesses and technology and creative startups. It's the kind of higher-ed-related spinoff that's long been the goal of University District supporters, who see a powerful economic engine in the interplay between the district's colleges and universities, private companies, health care entities and creative startups. "Innovation districts" are much in demand in the United States and internationally, the offspring of early tech-oriented communities like Silicon Valley. The idea in Spokane dates back three decades, originally conceived as a way to establish a greater college presence and to diversify an economy too dependent on mining, timber and agriculture.  

MassLive, by Diane Lederman

UMass officials along with downtown supporters will meet Tuesday to talk about creating nightlife options that are both safe and appealing to college-age people. Tony Maroulis, UMass director of community relations, said organizers would like to explore activities for people in the 18 to 21 age group. Former Select Board Chairwoman Stephanie O'Keeffe will moderate the event. The panel includes Sarah la Cour, executive director of the Amherst Business Improvement District; Anthony Vitale, president of the UMass Student Government Association; George Myers, general manager of the Amherst Cinema; and Sally Linowski, associate dean of students for off-campus student life and community education at UMass. The program is funded in part by a federal grant from SAMHSA as part of its "Communities Talk: Town Hall Meetings to Prevent Underage Drinking" program. 

The Baltimore Sun, by Jonathan Pitts

Towson University senior Justin Patrylow had just moved into a rental house near campus last month when he invited a few friends over for a barbecue. They were playing music " a bit louder than we usually do," Patrylow says. Patrylow was hit with a $500 fine and the prospect of 20 hours' community service. That's the penalty for violating a new Baltimore County ordinance aimed at curtailing the raucous of off-campus parties. Enacted by the County Council in January, the Social Host-Unruly Social Gatherings ordinance applies to any gathering of four of more people in a home near Towson University or the University of Maryland Baltimore County that features "conduct that disturbs the peace." The ordinance carries a provision new to Baltimore County: It isn't only party-throwing tenants; their landlords are also on the hook. On a first violation, landlords receive a written warning. On a second, they're hit with an automatic fine of $500.

Inside Higher Ed, by Paul Fain

The University of Oregon on Tuesday announced that it would receive a $500 million gift from Phil Knight, Nike's co-founder, and his wife, Penny. Oregon said the gift, which may be the largest ever received by a flagship public university, will be part of a $1 billion project to create a new science campus in Eugene. The largely donor-funded interdisciplinary campus will train scientists while also focusing on entrepreneurship and ties with business, said the university. The new campus will consist of three new 70,000-square-foot buildings. "This is a seminal moment for the University of Oregon, an inflection point that will shape the trajectory of the university and this state for the next century and beyond," Oregon's president, Michael Schill, said in a statement. The University of Oregon and city of Eugene will host the 2017 ITGA Conference, May 30-June 2. To learn more about the conference, click here. The RFP opens in November.   

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