White Paper: Restoring the Public Purpose of America’s Urban Universities

Posted by Netter Center for Community Partnerships on July 2, 2024

We are pleased to share a white paper produced by Penn’s Netter Center for Community Partnerships with support from the Teagle Foundation, Restoring the Public Purpose of America’s Urban Universities.

The white paper contends that higher education in general needs to dramatically increase its contributions to the public good. Its specific focus, however, is on urban colleges and universities working together with their neighbors to help radically reduce the problems facing America’s urban communities.

The paper includes eight case studies written by colleagues at Augsburg University, Columbia University, De Anza College, Rutgers University-Newark, University at Buffalo, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, University of Pennsylvania, and University of San Diego. The case studies demonstrate that higher education institutions can make meaningful contributions to education, research, and society through mutually beneficial university-community partnerships.

According to Andrew Delbanco, President of Teagle, “The Netter Center has produced a rich resource for institutions seeking to forge genuine partnerships of mutual learning with their local communities.”