The 2017 ITGA Conference is fast approaching so we are updating attendees on a few conference details. On Tuesday, May 30th, in addition to the Certificate in Town Gown Relations programs, the Conference Host is offer-ing pre-conference events, including a bicycle tour of Eugene and the University of Oregon's Campus Zero Waste compose facility. Also, there are mobile sessions daily that you will need to pre-register for to attend. We will send conference attendees an email on May 1st with more information on how to register for these sessions. To see the great line-up of present-ers, relevant town-gown topics, roundtable discussions and Keynote speak-ers, click here. If you want to participate in the Oregon Food and Beverage Industry Hub Networking tour, you will also need to register for this event. Conference registration rates increase April 16th so be sure to register before then. To learn more about the conference, click here.   

Ithaca Journal, by Matt Steecker

Two weeks after a rental home caught on fire, displac-ing several students, Cornell University is revealing a plan to introduce a safety-focused ratings system in its online database of off-campus housing. The system is being created by the university in collaboration with the City of Ithaca and will include information such as whether a home is equipped with sprinklers and smoke detectors that are wired to the Ithaca Fire Department, said Hunter Raw-lings, interim president of Cornell University. Students should be able to find the system online by summer. More than 12,000 Cornell students live off campus. Fifty-four percent of the Cornell University undergraduate student body live in non-university-sponsored housing, or the equivalent of about 7,570 students, according to university records. Ninety-one percent of the graduate student body, or about 4,830 graduate students, live off campus. 

The Diamondback, by Rosie Kean

Six years ago, 50 volunteers gathered to renovate a run-down home in Riverdale for an event coined "Christ-mas in April." That gathering would evolve into Good Neighbor Day, a community service event combining the efforts of the city and the University of Maryland. And this year, the event is expecting its largest turnover ever. More than 700 people have registered to volun-teer Sunday for the sixth annual Good Neighbor Day-almost double the number of volunteers who attended last year and well beyond the goal of 500 volunteers, said Sarah D'Alexander, community engagement coordina-tor. "We had the goal to make this event a lot bigger than in the past," she said. "It is combination of having that high goal and following through with the marketing to make it happen." In addition to the 11 volunteer projects, a food drive is currently being held for the event. 

WandTV, by Meredith Hackler

Sophia Scwalbach knows firsthand the dangers of not having the proper fire safety equipment. "My big broth-er Nick Schwalbach passed away in a campus fire here at Milikin in 2000," says Sophia, the founder of the Nick Project. "It's obviously something I think about every single day. So, when I came to college I realized how little college campus fires were talked about amongst students." Sophia started the nick project by presenting fire safety tips to on campus organizations. Now she has expanded her mission. "I have now started the Nick drive which is where I will be able to hand out free extinguishers and free fire ladders to students that are currently living in off campus housing for the upcoming summer and the next school year," says Sophia. According to the National Fire Protection Association from 2000-2015, 89 fires killed 126 people on college campuses.

Halls2Home, by Staff Writers

The Manchester International Student Safety  Campaign is designed to educate, inform and support international students on the issues of personal safety, household security, health and wellbeing. The MISS Campaign was created in response to ongoing concern relating to the vulnerability of international students studying within HEI in Greater Manchester. The campaign is student led to ensure messages are meaningful and relevant. Feedback from the stu-dents resulted in the creation of the following mediums: an International Student Safety Guide, a safety message tea towel, a Student Safety You Tube video, and the International Friendly Standard initiative that requires accredited landlords, private halls and agents to provide fair and transparent housing services to international students. The campaign is promoted on an ongoing basis at various events held on and off campus.   

UNC at Chapel Hill, by Staff Writers

The City of Winston-Salem was honored with a 2017 City Cultural Diversity Award from the National League of Cities. The award was given in recognition of the Winston-Salem BIC Newcomers' Pipeline. BIC, or Build-ing Integrated Communities, is an initiative of The Lati-no Migration Project. BIC is a multi-year community planning process that helps North Carolina local gov-ernments to successfully engage with local foreign-born refugee and Hispanic/Latinx residents in order to improve relationships, enhance com-munication and promote newcomers' civic participation and leadership in local government. As a result of working with BIC, local governments and diverse community stakeholders gain tools and build capacity to generate locally relevant strategies for promoting economic development and strengthening newcomers' educational advancement. 

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.