The City of Beckley is moving away from its past as a town dependent on a local, coal-based economy. In partnership with West Virginia University Institute of Technology, city officials are looking to turn Beckley into a safe and welcoming college town, and one that can attract tourists, Beckley Mayor Rob Rappold said. "We talked about maybe visiting a couple of other towns that have evolved through a total dependence on the coal economy and have come out of that economy." Parks, the arts, and recreational venues will be the draw, Rappold said. Focus groups showed that a robust downtown district, this one incorporating the needs of a 1,700-plus campus of 18-22-year-old students representing the southern coal fields, the United States and around 20 countries-must somehow be revived. The Register-Herald

Focusing on campus-community initiatives led by Cornell students, the 8th annual Cornell Town-Gown Awards (The TOGOs) will be held December 8th. The TOGOs are free, open to all, informal, celebratory and fun, highlighting notable town-gown partnerships and recognizing community members retiring from high-profile elected or appointed positions. Cornell President Martha E. Pollack, Ithaca City School District Superintendent Luvelle Brown and Beth Bagwell, executive director of the ITGA, will give remarks. Cornell student leadership will share their fundraising efforts for the Stewart Park Playground project, and community members will describe town-gown partnerships that have made a difference in Tomkins County. For more information about the awards, click here. Cornell Chronicle

The ITGA is seeking interactive and innovative proposals for the 2019 ITGA City & University Relations Conference, hosted by the Borough of State College and The Pennsylvania State University, May 19-22. Conference tracks include: Fabulous Flops: Sharing lessons learned when those innovations go wrong and adaptive strategies used to find success; Fraternity and Sorority Life-It's Complicated: Current trends, community effects, and unintended impacts of fraternity and sorority life reform; Telling Your Own Town-Gown Story When You Hit the National News: Pubic safety, emergency management and public relations in the era of social media. To see the full conference tracks and details for submitting a proposal, click here. All proposals must be submitted by February 1st. Conference registration is open. Visit www.itga.org for more information.