Many colleges and universities are taking a leading role in revitalizing local communities, recognizing that development not only can enhance the often fraught town-and-gown relationship but also make their institutions more attractive to students and faculty. Officials at Yale have bought and redeveloped several commercial properties, leading to the creation of more than 110 new stores and restaurants in New Haven. The developments have spurred the creation of new jobs and expanded the city's tax base. Drexel University has completed about $500 million in real estate development since 2010, said the university president John Fry. School officials saw vast potential in the once-lagging area, Fry said. The New York Times

During the 2018 ITGA City & University Relations Conference in Columbus, Ohio, we held the first silent auction. The items included a football package to a Buckeye football game, registration to the 2019 ITGA City & University Relations Conference, and many more exciting auction items. Attendees of the conference were more than generous and participated in the silent auction to benefit the Buckeye Food Alliance, a student run food pantry on The OSU campus. A total of $1540 was raised to benefit this important organization, allowing the ITGA to continue having a long standing positive impact on the Columbus community. To learn more about the Buckeye Food Alliance, click here. Dilnavaz Cama, Department Manager, Office of Student Life, The OSU

Philadelphia's vast eds and meds community represents not only academic and research strength, but considerable buying heft. Across the same city, thousand of local companies are eager for some of that business but are shut out. On Wednesday, the wrappings come off Philadelphia Anchors for Growth & Equity, or PAGE, a first-ever citywide initiative to change that by boosting local purchasing by some of the city's biggest employers. The initial aim is to localize $500 million in contracts at 13 city hospitals and universities for goods and services, such as office supplies, lab equipment, food, video production, and web design, and create as many as 5,000 living-wage, middle-skill jobs for Philadelphia residents in eight to 10 years. Philly.com

College Towns across the Unites States are unique in their structure in that there is both community between the town and university, and a great sense of distance. After all, not everybody works at the university or attends school there, and what connection do they have to the university, or the university to them? How can these two groups communicate to each other in meaningful ways? Research on Tap, a monthly event started by the OSU Division of the Vice President for Research, is perhaps once answer to these questions. Held at the Iron Monk Brewery in downtown Stillwater, each of these events features a different researcher from OSU, who presents their work to the community. It is a time for communication and connection in a friendly and informal environment, a space where anyone from any field can have a beer, ask questions, and engage. Stillwater News Press