We are pleased to announce our 2024 cohort of the AITF Anchor Fellows Program:

Julie Dierberger, Paul Sager Distinguished Director, University of Nebraska Omaha Service Learning Academy

Charles Ireland, Organizational Development Specialist, Human Resources, Main Line Health

Paula O’Loughlin, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs, Augsburg University

Mary Rocco, Director of Engaged Scholarship and Community Engagement, Office of Engagement & Inclusion, Affiliated Faculty, Urban Studies, Barnard University

For more on this cohort and the Anchor Fellows Program: Meet the 2024 AITF Anchor Fellows

Congratulations to this accomplished and impressive group of Fellows!

Thanks very much to our AITF members who served as nominators, and identified prospective Fellows for this cohort. If any of you would like to nominate a Fellow for a future cohort, please let us know. Thanks as always to the Teagle Foundation for consistently supporting this important program since its inception.

We look forward to the 2024 cohort’s participation in the program throughout next year. Fellows spend a year engaging with each other and visiting existing engaged leaders of the anchor institutions along with their colleagues and community partners. This immersion is helping to guide and support a next generation of anchor leaders committed to AITF’s values of democracy, collaboration, place, social justice and equity, including racial justice and racial equity. 

We are continually reminded of the significance of leadership at multiple levels of anchor institutions to promoting AITF’s values in community partnerships and embedding a commitment this work internally. The inevitability of leadership transitions tests the sustainability of anchor institutions’ commitment to AITF’s values. Building a cadre of future anchor institution leaders is essential to the longevity and impact of the engagement of anchor institutions in their communities. The most pressing issues of our time are experienced at the local level, and anchor institutions are poised to play a vital role in collaborating to confront these challenges and bring about greater equity. We depend on leaders who recognize these dynamics to ensure that anchor institutions can play this vital role.

Action Guide for Advancing Community Wealth Building in the United States

The new publication from the Democracy Collaborative is designed to guide community-wealth building activities in the U.S. context. Specific attention is paid to procurement policies and the just use of land and property, which are core facets of anchor work.

The Anchor Journey and Inaugural UC Systemwide Anchor Institution Mission Summit



The Summit scheduled for September 28, 2023 will feature institutions from across the UC System as they discuss goals, strategies, and learnings with regard to their anchor mission.

2023 CUMU Annual Conference

October 15-18

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities will hold its 28th Annual Conference this fall. The conference will bring together member institutions and their community partners to highlight their work addressing contemporary challenges.

AITF Subgroups

The Anchor Institutions Task Force coordinates internal subgroups, bringing together peers in a similar field to exchange ideas and to address some of the challenges and opportunities that uniquely affect their institutions and communities. For more information on each Subgroup including next steps for joining, please reach out to the lead contact.

The Economic Development Subgroup is composed university representatives who have devoted their careers to working on issues of economic, social, and racial equity.

Contact: David Maurrasse, dmaurrasse@margainc.com

The Health Professionals Subgroup provides a forum for professionals in various health fields to share ideas, best practices, and challenges about how anchors can effectively address health disparities and enhance the well-being of their communities.

Contact: Sharmila Lawrence, slawrence@margainc.com

The Higher Education Presidents Subgroup serves as an ongoing forum for peer learning and exchange among members of the AITF who are college or university presidents.

Contact: David Maurrasse, dmaurrasse@margainc.com

The Anchor Partnerships Subgroup provides a forum for learning exchange and mutual support among peers working with the added complexity of multiple anchor institutions jointly pursuing common ends, sometimes in tandem with government and philanthropy.

Contact: David Maurrasse, dmaurrasse@margainc.com

The Emeritus Anchor Leaders Subgroup serves as a home through which retired anchor leaders can draw upon their wisdom, engage with each other, and stay connected to a continually evolving field. Link for more information.

Anchoring their communities: how church buildings are bringing people together - from University of Birmingham

August 31 - The UK Government moves forward its Levelling Up agenda to address longstanding problem of regional economic disparities through local investment. There is an ongoing discussion around what constitutes an anchor institution. Especially in rural areas, churches are viewed as alternative anchor institutions that bring together community members and serve as focal points for place-based solutions.

The Recompete Pilot Program can help rebuild distressed places—if policymakers properly fund it - from Brookings Institute

September 1 - Significant investment in place-based policies can be a viable part of federal economic strategy. In its Notice of Funding Opportunity for Phase 1 of the Recompete Pilot Program, the federal Economic Development Administration suggests the need to involve anchor institutions in reforming employment practices.

With community co-design, Indigenous communities and women of colour shape local developments - from The European Sting & World Economic Forum

September 25 - Community co-design prioritizes the involvement of populations most impacted by development projects, programs, and policies. This approach to local development can shift longstanding dynamics of development for stakeholders to development with stakeholders.

Op-Ed: Rutgers could undo diversity progress by not renewing chancellor’s contract - from NJ Spotlight News

August 29 - David D. Trout, Distinguished Professor of Law at Rutgers Law Schoo, chimes in on the recent news regarding the chancellorship of Rutgers University-Newark. Last month, Rutgers University President Jonathan Holloway elected not to renew the contract of current chancellor Nancy Cantor, set to expire in Summer 2024.

Protecting the dignity of vulnerable people through technology - from Public Policy Projects

September 3 - As the health and care needs of our population change, it’s important to uphold the dignity and rights of those who use health, housing and social care services. There are a number of strategies and innovations that providers can implement to help them deliver high quality services that support the dignity of vulnerable people.

Why the social and economic impact of arts on Indy matters - from wfyi Indianapolis

September 15 - The recent article discusses the impact of cultural production on social and economic growth and wellbeing in Indianapolis. The Indy Arts Council recently launched a major fundraising campaign. "The arts are a reflection of our humanity, the role of arts in society is to help us grow and evolve as people," said Julie Goodman, president and CEO of the Indy Arts Council.

Community Colleges as Anchor Institutions in Rural Areas - from Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond

September 8 - Community colleges, like the private and public four-year institutions of higher education in rural areas, play an anchor institution role in their communities. But this role is not always accounted for in the formulas that federal, state, and local governments use to fund institutions of higher education. Understanding and appropriately measuring the role that community colleges play in rural areas is important to how we evaluate policies and funding for workforce and community development throughout the rural Fifth District.

New $20M Pa. initiative to invest in disadvantaged business for growth to create jobs - from Philadelphia Tribune

September 1 - Minority-owned businesses have shown impressive growth despite being three times more likely to be denied a loan and pay higher interest rates. With the Historically Disadvantages Business Program, the state of Pennsylvania seeks to direct considerable investment to bolster these businesses.

Greater Lansing is a state leader in funding the arts - from CityPulse

September 23 - In 2020 the town of Dimondale established the Dimondale Arts Commission to spearhead investment in local artistic production. Initiatives like this have expanded in recent years as Greater Lansing has made promoting the arts through community engagement a priority.