Leicestershire's three universities are getting their share of more than $67 million of funding to help businesses and entrepreneurs bring their ideas to life. The Government's new Connecting Capability Fund is giving $4.64 million to a joint project between De- Montfort University, Nottingham Trent and Brunel University London to promote innovation in design. Across the city, the university of Leicester is leading a $4.79 million programme, working with the Open University and Universities of Surrey, Edinburg and Southhampton- to drive growth in the space sector. These schemes are among 14 successful bids-funded by Research England-to benefit from millions of pounds of support to drive commercialisation within the academic world. Leicester Mercury

It's a startling and important pair of statistics: 42 percent of California State University students experienced low food security, and 11 percent reported being homeless at some point during the previous year. These are some of the sobering takeaways from a recent study conducted by Humboldt State University Social Work Professor Jennifer Maguire and CSU Long Beach Social Work Professor Rashida Crutchfield. The Basic Needs Initiative study, commissioned by the CSU Chancellor's Office, is the most comprehensive mixed-methods study of university students' unmet basic needs and their relationship to student success ever completed within a four-year higher education system. Newswise.com

The pre-conference Professional Networking Tour on Tuesday, May 29th, from 6:00-8:00pm, allows conference attendees the unique opportunity to explore Columbus through locals' eyes. As a participant, you will have the unique chance to see how innovative local entrepreneurs are leaving their mark in growing Columbus hubs. Space is limited, so register today. To learn more, click here.

At a monthly Town-Gown meeting on April 19, Jason Soileau, the assist vice president for the Office of University Planning at Virginia Tech, discussed the campus master plan. The plan will bring major changes to the campus including the new smart dining facility, an undergraduate lab building and the relocation of the College of Architecture. The Office of University Planning had facilitated more than 200 meetings with the various stakeholder groups during the development process of the master plan. A public-private (P3) partnership building will be added to the Creativity and Innovation District. The P3 building is designed to be a space to engage students with local entrepreneurs. Collegiate Times

Bowling Green State University and the City of Bowling Green are excited to host the 2018 Ohio Town and Gown Summit from July 18-20, 2018. We are seeking interactive and innovative sessions that highlight best practices in campus-community partnerships. There are four main conference tracks and we encourage you to submit proposals related to one or multiple tracks that will allow for a broad range of information sharing and discussion around topics of concern for campuses and communities: Sustainability, Economic Development, Neighborhoods and Quality of Life, and Public Safety and Health. The submission deadline is May 21, 2018. To learn more, click here. BGSU & Bowling Green

I've been receiving an unprecedented number of calls from presidents across the country asking me to "talk [them] off the ledge." Most of those conversation have been with presidents whom I judge to be effective and emotionally grounded. So what in these troubled times should college presidents do to function effectively and, at least some of the time, enjoy their work? Presidents should focus in moments of calm on developing a shared understanding with their boards about who is responsible for which decisions, rather than waiting for a crisis to sort that out. Also, presidents, boards and senior staff should have a clear understanding of the role of the president in times of crisis. A resource suggested is Decisions, Decisions, by Richard Chair, an article in Trusteeship. Inside Higher Ed