Dear AITF Members:
 
AITF has moved into its second decade with many new programs and dimensions, as was demonstrated throughout 2019.   A few notable developments include continued refinement of AITF’s leadership structure, the emergence of an evolving agenda on education, the launching of our Anchor Fellows Program, and plans for our next conference.

Last year, we developed AITF’s new Advisory Council in order to establish a new leadership structure that reflects the breadth of AITF’s vision for a cross sector values-based big tent.  We are so pleased with the group we have assembled to date.  We will continue to add to the Council in the months and years to come.  We would like to announce Co-Chairs of the new Advisory Council –  Nancy Cantor , Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark and  David Perlstein , CEO, SBH Health System.  Both of these extraordinary leaders known to most of you are longtime AITF members, who have been highly involved in our Subgroups and contributed greatly to AITF’s growth and development.  We are so honored that both of them agreed to take time out of consuming and complex schedules to lend their insights into the shape of AITF’s future.

Another important accomplishment during our tenth anniversary year was the creation of an Education Subgroup – an idea that was likely long overdue.  From AITF’s inception, various members have encouraged us to create a Subgroup focusing on how anchor institutions collaborate democratically with schools, school systems, and other partners to strengthen educational and life opportunities in their communities.  This kind of social mobility is fundamental to equitable growth in communities and the dismantling of historical racial and other inequities.  The Education Subgroup has begun to meet.  Additionally, AITF has been collaborating with Rutgers University-Newark in order to further explore the equity factors in social mobility that anchor institutions must consider in their efforts to strengthen educational and career pathways in their communities.  We were planning to hold an event to address these various issues for March 27 in Newark.   The event is now postponed until a later date to be determined.  In the meantime, we will continue to develop our thinking and intentions on the equity factors affecting social mobility.

We were thrilled to announce the inaugural cohort of the Anchor Fellows Program during the Tenth Anniversary Conference last year.  Cohort members have been well on their way in developing their learning agendas with existing anchor leaders.  The advent of this program was an important step for AITF given the leadership transitions we have been witnessing, and their impending acceleration.  Expanding and sustaining anchor institutions’ commitment to place, collaboration, social justice and equity, and democracy has been essential to AITF’s work from the very beginning.  Last year, we made the leap to proactively build a pipeline of future leaders of anchor institutions, who will enter their executive positions with AITF’s values and relevant practical strategies for community partnerships already established. We are happy to announce that we have now opened our call for applications for the next cohort, which you can see here:    https://www.margainc.com/fellowsrfa/

Finally, as of right now, we intend to hold this year’s annual conference on November 5 and 6.  But please know that we are closing monitoring the evolving public health situation posed by COVID-19.  We realize that many institutions are restricting travel and large public gatherings may not be encouraged further into the year.  We will certainly keep you apprised of our intentions regarding the annual conference.  As this virus spreads to corners throughout the world, the significance of anchor institutions is very apparent.  This is certainly particularly true of health providers.  Moreover, AITF has continued to highlight the importance of coordinating the ecosystem of anchor institutions and partners in any community to collectively address the most pressing issues of our time.  Here again, we have a global problem that can only be effectively addressed through appropriate action in particular geographic places.  We hope that AITF’s continued work lays the groundwork for preparation in crisis by encouraging collaboration across sectors in localities and regions.  Let us hope for the best in these trying times, as well as take appropriate actions and precautions where necessary.  May your community make it through this challenge successfully and be well positioned in the face of future obstacles.

Best Regards,
David
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Here are a few articles listed below.  If you have any articles or announcements you would like shared in a future message, please let me know.  
Communities are often conflicted about the nonprofit hospitals in their midst. Many of these institutions are enormous employers — sometimes the largest employer in town — but the economic benefits do not always trickle down to the immediate neighborhoods. The real question surrounding nonprofit hospitals is whether the benefits to the community equal what taxpayers donate to these hospitals in the form of tax-exempt status.

Institutional autonomy and academic freedom as the fundamental rights of higher education organizations are increasingly threatened by government intervention and private funding’s influence. One of the best ways to practise academic freedom and institutional autonomy as well as academic and institutional responsibility is to engage locally. It is an institutional responsibility for universities to work in democratic partnership with their community, demonstrating openness, transparency, responsiveness and accountability, argues Ira Harkavy, Director of the Netter Center for Community Partnerships at University of Pennsylvania and AITF’s Chair.

Two new studies  released today by the New Jersey Hospital Association demonstrate hospitals' roles as anchors of their communities, providing more than $24.7 billion in total contributions to the state's economy, including $3.2 billion in contributions to promote community well-being.

Judith Rodin, author of “The University and Urban Revival” and former president of both the University of Pennsylvania and Rockefeller Foundation was interviewed by Rebecca Winthrop and Emal Dusst at the Brookings Institution regarding the ways in which premier university institutions can contribute to social and economic development. When asked about “What it means for universities to be anchor institutions and help drive sustainable development right in the communities that host them?”, she replied “The more global our aspirations are as universities, the more we should also be focusing with intent about our local impact…”

Florida’s nonprofit hospitals serve as essential community resources. Every day, hospitals are reaching out to address their communities’ immediate and long-term needs. This commitment, outlined by a recent survey of hospitals conducted by the  Florida Hospital Association , is part of the annual $4 billion in services, programs and activities hospitals provide that benefit the health and well-being of their communities.

119 U.S. colleges and universities have received the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification, an elective designation that indicates institutional commitment to community engagement by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. A listing of the institutions that currently hold the Classification endorsement can be found from the link  here .

The Milwaukee Public Library’s Central Branch hosted a special Milwaukee 2020 Host Committee event downtown on January 30 to formally launch the official volunteer portal. The Milwaukee Public Library has been an anchor institution for almost a century and a half, helping to build healthy families and vibrant neighborhoods. Since 1878, Milwaukee Public Library has been a free provider of education and information for residents of Milwaukee and beyond, with more than three million free items in circulation.

As the largest private anchor institution in Baltimore, Johns Hopkins University created an initiative called HopkinsLocal in 2016 to strengthen local communities through jobs and investments. To date, the effort has provided more than 1,400 jobs to city residents and $113 million to city vendors.

“The Incourage Community Foundation, in southern Wood County, Wisconsin, led by Kelly Ryan, has modest assets and a limited capacity to grow assets; and yet that county’s resurgence and revitalization is so much in the debt of a courageous community foundation leader and staff, who saw the big-picture problem of a community abandoned by its one industry, and have revitalized the economy and the lives of the residents in a very caring, compassionate way. It is an extraordinary story that defines the essence of an anchor institution. The point being, they’re doing what they need to do, irrespective of asset level and number of DAFs.” Said Terry Mazany, CEO of the Chicago Community Trust, in an interview with the Nonprofit Quarterly. 

The Nowak Metro Finance Lab at Drexel University, Accelerator for America, University City District, and the Centre for Public Impact released  the report West Philadelphia Skills Initiative : A Model for Urban Workforce Development. As the coauthor of the report and the director of the Nowak Metro Finance Lab, Bruce Katz Said "The West Philadelphia Skills Initiative is a significant model for cities to adopt and adapt in creating income as a first step toward community wealth in some of our most disadvantaged neighborhoods. Its groundbreaking formula of employer-driven skill-building leverages its location in the heart of a global innovation district housing major hospitals and universities.”

Major Philadelphia-area institutions have $5 billion annually in procurement expenses, and a  new report  from the Economy League of Greater Philadelphia identifies how more of it can be spent with local businesses. Specifically, local businesses are suggested to build their networks, come prepared and know if it’s a fit before competing for local contracts.

Academic Journal Articles:
Abstract : While academic and policy analyses have explored universities’ roles in urban regeneration and regional development, issues arising from intraurban collaboration and competition in multi-university city-regions have received scant attention. In response, this paper examines how higher education institutions (HEIs) connect and splinter urban space at multiple scales through a case study of Newark, NJ, USA. Newark’s attempts to reposition itself as a hub for university-enabled innovation disclose the complex ways in which the infrastructures of knowledge urbanism are implemented, negotiated, and spatialized at local and city-regional scales. The study’s multi-disciplinary analysis assesses the discourses, technologies, and territorial constellations through which HEIs (re)shape place and project urban peripheries into wider city-regional networks. The paper’s findings reveal an emergent and decentred ‘de facto’ form of university regionalism crystallizing in Greater New York that illustrates the need for robust, scalar-sensitive assessments of anchor institution strategies as they are articulated within broader regionalization processes.

Reference : Addie, J. P. D., 2020. Anchoring (in) the region: the dynamics of university-engaged urban development in Newark, NJ, USA. Geografiska Annaler: Series B, Human Geography, pp. 1-19.

Abstract : “Anchor Institutions” —universities, hospitals, and other large place-based organizations—invest in their communities as a way of doing business. Anchor “meds” (anchor institutions dedicated to health) that address social needs and social determinants of health have generated considerable community-based activity over the past several decades. Yet to date, virtually no research has analyzed their current status or effect on community health. To assess the current state and potential best practices of anchor meds, we conducted a search of the literature, a review of Web sites and related public documents of all declared anchor meds in the country, and interviewswith14key informants. We identified potential best practices in adopting, operationalizing, and implementing an anchor mission and using specific social determinants of health strategies, noting early outcomes and lessons learned. Future dedicated research can bring heightened attention to this emerging force for community health. 

Reference : Koh, H.K., Bantham, A., Geller, A.C., Rukavina, M.A., Emmons, K.M.Yatsko, P., and Restuccia, R., 2020. Anchor Institutions: Best Practices to Address Social Needs and Social Determinants of Health.  American Journal of Public Health . e1-e8. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2019.305472

Abstract : This article is the third in a triptych for Transform exploring the nature of university engagement in our times – times when we can no longer take for granted our communities’ continuing trust, or assume public confidence and unquestioning acceptance of the role of universities in the search for truth and transfer of knowledge. The focus of this third article is on place-specifically the city-region contexts in which universities play an increasingly important role as they actively shape the urban landscape and environment. At a time when the city has become a unique and beneficial environment for higher education, as ‘anchor’ institutions, our role arguably extends beyond the traditional role of anchor institutions, that of ‘mooring’ individuals and communities. Focus on place also serves to remind us that our narratives are not just articulated through the words, or increasingly tag lines, we employ to describe ourselves, but through the ways in which we occupy, design and refashion space and how we engage in dynamic relationship with our communities.

Reference : Bell, S., 2019. Re-imaging the University as Anchor Institution.  Transform - the Role of the Modern Civic University | Making of A City Region.  Issue 4.

Abstract : The degree to which urban and metropolitan colleges and universities can have a positive impact on their respective communities is heavily influenced by the nature and extent of their connectedness to, and alignment with, civic need. Drawn from the experiences and outcomes of the College of Staten Island’s Legacy Trilogy initiative, a comprehensive educational and community engagement campaign exploring and leveraging the college’s Legacy of Institution, Legacy of Place, and Legacy of Mission, this article proposes that higher education institutions can increase connectedness and alignment with their surrounding metropolises by embracing their deep and intricate social and economic place-based histories. Engaging with legacy in this uniquely personal and purposeful way can not only give more meaningful shape and added dimension to institutional identity, it can also empower colleges and universities to become more impactful to the communities they serve.

Reference : Iwama, K. & Fritz, W.J., 2019. The Power of Place-Based Legacies in Advancing Reengagement with Community.  Metropolitan Universities , Vol. 30, No. 4, pp 63-71.

Abstract : Increasingly, suburban universities find themselves in communities facing challenges that inner cities have had to deal with for decades, including concentrated poverty, housing vacancy, and underperforming school districts. While the problems are similar, the institutional context is different. Compared to central cities, suburban municipal governments generally lack the resources necessary to sustain robust community economic development initiatives. Further, suburbs often lack the rich landscape of nonprofit organizations that were built up over many decades in central cities. This article reflects on the experience of the University of Missouri-St. Louis as a case study of a suburban anchor institution. This experience suggests that anchor institutions in suburban settings need to focus on asset-based community development, support collective action among fragmented institutions, and build the civic capacity of local governments, nonprofits, and businesses. 

Reference: Guenther, K., Swanstrom, T., & George, T. F., 2019. Pursuing the Anchor Mission in a Fragmented Suburban Setting.  Metropolitan Universities , Vol.  30 , No. 4, pp. 42-54.

Abstract : Engaging universities and hospitals to address economic disparities—often referred to as anchor institution strategies—has been understudied in the Southeast. The author examines efforts to launch anchor institution strategies in the Southeast. First, the author reviews the anchor institution concept in economic development, noting how the strategy has evolved from single institutions focusing on a set of neighborhoods to expanding to multi-institution collaboratives that attempt to tackle economic inequalities at a city or regional level. Second, the author offers case studies of New Orleans, Atlanta, and Miami’s efforts to establish anchor institution programs between 2016 and 2018, to illustrate how southeastern cities are trying to adopt the model. Third, the author raises questions for practitioners, as they consider whether an anchor strategy might be useful in addressing some of their local economic disparities. Questions include who leads an anchor program, what geography the program focuses on, whether the program has one or multiple institutions, the impact of the anchor’s status as a public or private institution, community engagement strategies, and the potential role of historically black colleges and universities in anchor programs. 

Reference : Fazili, S., 2019.  Anchor Institution Strategies in the Southeast: Working with Hospitals and Universities to Support Inclusive Growth  (No. 2019-2). Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

Abstract : Universities and the cities they are located in often have contentious relationships. As anchor institutions, urban universities provide significant employment and educational benefits, though their success and expansion often leads to rising housing costs and displacement in surrounding communities. In this project, I set out to understand how two urban universities, the University of Pennsylvania and Massachusetts Institute of Technology, balance development and expansion with community needs. Through studying these two universities and their successes and failures within the realms of development, housing, and community engagement, I developed a framework for equitable development that centers university development and investment around the goal of affordable housing and equitable communities. This framework aims to meet the needs of both the university and the community, providing affordable housing and public amenities alongside real estate assets and a return on investment for the university. This framework is then applied to a site in Cambridge, illustrating how the principles outlined in this thesis can drive physical and programmatic development in a way that expands housing affordability, provides public amenities, and meets the spatial and financial needs of the university.

Reference : Turpin, B. B. W., 2019.  Town for all, gown for all: a framework for equitable university-led urban development  (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology).