New Article: Universities and Cities Need to Rethink Their Relationships

Posted by on June 24, 2005

[posted to Higher Ed Service-Learning listserv]

We thought you would be interested in this article written by Richard M. Freeland, president of Northeastern University that appeared in the May 13 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education’s Chronicle Review, Volume 51, Issue 36, Page B20, http://chronicle.com

POINT OF VIEW
Universities and Cities Need to Rethink Their Relationships

By RICHARD M. FREELAND

As president of a major urban university, I believe that academic institutions have much to offer their communities. Too often, however, longstanding suspicions on both sides of the relationship impede constructive collaboration. We need to change the way universities think about their cities and the way cities think about their campuses.

Three kinds of interactions have historically characterized universities’ relationships with their surrounding communities. First are what I call incidental impacts. Universities provide jobs. We spend money. We construct buildings. We attract research dollars. All of those things benefit our cities, and we are quick to claim credit. But those effects are byproducts of our efforts to strengthen our institutions.

A second category is intentional contributions, which occur when universities consciously set out to strengthen their cities. We create research institutes focused on regional development. We support the public schools. We enroll students from our neighborhoods. Our students and faculty members work in local clinics. Such activities draw upon a rich tradition of community service dating from the land-grant movement of the mid-19th century.

[Read the remainder of the article at the Chronicle on-line (subscription privileges required) or obtain a hard copy through your local or campus library.] http://chronicle.com/weekly/v51/i36/36b02001.htm