The International Town & Gown Association™ Newsletter
October 11, 2018
Welcome to Dateline, a weekly newsletter highlighting college town news from around the world.
Portland State University Launches Centers to Address Homelessness and Smart Cities
Town and gown connections between cities and colleges are a longstanding tradition, but Portland State University is adding a new facet to that partnership, announcing an initiative to address homelessness. At the beginning of October, PSU announced it is launching two new research centers, one focused on alleviating homelessness and the other on studying smart city technology. "Both of these centers have the potential for literally changing the world, and I don't say that casually," Mark McLellan, PSU's vice president of research, told Oregon Public Broadcasting. "Portland State's mission is to use our vast knowledge and expertise to serve the city by addressing its most critical issues," PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi said in a university news release. Forbes
'Inextricably Linked': DeKalb Mayor, NIU President Talk Struggles, Solutions, Goals
NIU recently announced its 10th-day enrollment was down 4.8 percent, a trend that's seen enrollment fall more that 7,000 students during the past 11 years. Mayor Jerry Smith said he and Michael Inman, incoming president of the Illinois Municipal League and mayor of Macomb, home to Western Illinois University, are working to form a consortium of university mayors who can help bolster NIU, WIU, Eastern Illinois University, Illinois State University and Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. NIU President Lisa Freeman said the neighborhood's revitalization is one of NIU's biggest projects. She also commended the city's economic development planner, Jason Michnick, for his work on Opportunity Zones which helps underdeveloped areas gain investors. Daily Chronicle
Michigan Sets Record for Public University Campaign
The University of Michigan announced Thursday that it has become the first public university to raise $5 billion in a fund-raising campaign. The campaign, started in 2013 with a goal of raising $4 billion, still has until the rest of the year to add to the total. Large gifts have always been crucial to fund-raising campaigns, but The Wall Street Journal did an analysis showing how Michigan has come to rely more on the most generous donors. At Michigan, gifts of over $5 million make up 54 percent of the campaign. The University of Washington has raised $4.93 billion in its capital campaign which continues through 2020. Check on the status of these and other campaigns at the Inside Higher Ed fund-raising database. Inside Higher Ed
Maximizing Success for First-Gen Students
First-generation students make up a third of all college students. Yet only 27 percent of this group graduates within four years, according to a new report. And while an increasing number of colleges recognize a need for student support services aimed at first-generation students, the report identified a notable lack of guidance about what those services should look like and how to scale them effectively. Sarah Whitley, co-author of the report and senior director of the Center for First Generation Student Success at NASPA, hopes the new paper will help fill those gaps. The report outlines the current state of programs for first-generation students and presets concrete suggestions, backed by data, to improve their success. Inside Higher Ed
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ITGA News & Announcements
Save the Date: The 2019 ITGA City & University Relations Conference, hosted by State College & Pennsylvania State University, May 19-22. More information available soon at www.itga.org.
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