Join the world's largest network of campus-community professionals at the ITGA University-City Relation's Conference, May 30-June 2, in Eugene, Oregon. The conference theme, "CommUniversity: Strengthening Town & Gown Partnerships" emphasizes the inextricably linked nature of town-gown relationships. Below are a few details about the Conference: The RFP to present a session is open until February 1. To see the conference tracks and guidelines, click here. Early registration is open. To register, click here. The Certificate in Town Gown Relations Level I & II will be offered on Tuesday, May 29th from 8:00-4:30. Level I provides a foundation for understanding campus community relations; and Level II, Solving Wicked Problems Through "Design Thinking and "Strategic Doing," builds on the foundation provided in Level I. To learn more, click here. To see the special events, including the optional networking tour and reception, click here. Additional information can be accessed here. See you in Eugene!

The Cornell Daily Sun, by Yuichiro Kakutani

Ithaca city officials and Cornell representatives present-ed several plans to substantially redevelop on-campus student housing, the Collegetown neighborhood and the Schwartz Performing Arts Center plaza at a town hall. Martie Rauker, senior director of strategic initiative for student and campus life, elaborated on the Student Housing Master Plan-a comprehensive plan spanning the next 25 years that aims to build more on-campus housing on North Campus, primarily for sophomores. "This is really a 25 years view of things, but we aim to reconfigure North Campus to create a sophomore village," Rauker said. Joann Cornish, director of planning and development for the City of Ithaca, discussed the ongoing plan to redevelop Collegetown into a more student-friendly environment. She hopes the Collegetown renovation will address both the near-campus and city-wide housing shortage. 

The Joplin Globe, by Crystal Thomas

After months of planning and gathering funds, Pittsburg State University and the city invited the community for feedback on their Block 22 project through a forum with the Pittsburg Chamber of Commerce on Friday in the student union. The $18 million project will renovate four historic buildings at the intersection of Fourth and Broadway to become a "living-learning community" of student housing and commercial space. The city will own the buildings, and the university will operate them. In his presentations, Shawn Naccarato, the university's director of government and community relations, painted a picture of how the project could change Pittsburg into the next Austin or Silicon Valley, saying the buildings will be "a cultural change engine." Housing will be marketed to upperclassman and graduate students, who would want to partake in a "thriving hive of activity" and innovation.  

The Seattle Times, by Daniel Beekman

Mayor Ed Murray's vision of a denser University District sprouting high-rise buildings and a campus-powered innovation hub drew more than 100 people to a public hearing in the Seattle neighborhood. Fans and foes of the Murray-proposed zoning changes under consider-ation by the City Council, which the mayor says will help create affordable housing, packed a Hotel Deca banquet room. There were only enough chairs for about half the crowd, so dozens stood shoulder-to-shoulder. One U District resident called the upzone "too big, too sudden...and too disruptive." But another woman, who described herself as a third-generation Seattleite and U District homeowner, said the changes are needed in order to increase housing options for ordinary families. Councilman Rob Johnson, chair of the land-use committee, said the changes he supports are the results of years of study. 

The Oswego City Police Department is enforcing a more educational approach to preventing underage drinking and the usage of fake IDs before issuing violations, said Lt. Charles Searor. He said that the department will reach out to students in a number of ways through the college and even reaching out to students off-campus. One outreach program he talked about was when the college holds events they will sometimes come out to speak to students about the consequences of underage drinking and using a fake ID. "We used to do enforcement and not a lot of education and outreach with both students and bars," Saeror said. "We've kind of taken a different avenue and tried to educate and outreach first in hopes that we can get through to a lot of bars and a lot of the underage individuals so that hopefully they'd be less likely to go out and commit these types of crimes and violations.   

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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.