Dear AITF Members:
 
Thanks to those of you who were able to participate in our Tenth Anniversary Conference. We are so pleased with how this event turned out.  As we had hoped, we were able to include in the conference programming many AITF-sponsored activities taking place throughout the year and across the country and world.

The conference was also a launching pad for some new initiatives as well.  During the conference’s luncheon plenary on The Future of Anchor and Community Leadership, we unveiled the Anchor Fellows Program.  In addition to introducing the Program itself, we named the inaugural class of Fellows for 2020, whom you can see listed here .

Congratulations to our inaugural cohort, who will visit anchor leaders over the course of the year, and engage in discussions about ways in which anchor institutions contribute to their communities and build an institutional commitment to democratic local engagement.  Thanks to the Teagle Foundation and its President, Andy Delbanco, for supporting this important new effort.  Thanks to Dr. Delbanco as well for a compelling and thoughtful keynote during the conference.  In early 2020, we will open the application process for our 2021 Fellows.

We also launched a new Education Subgroup, which met for the first time at the conference.  Those who participated in this discussion began to shape an agenda for this new formation.  We realize that there will be a high demand to participate in this group.  Please let me know if you are interested in joining.  The group will meet by phone three times per year, and, like our other Subgroups, they will hold an in person meeting just prior to the beginning of the next conference.

Another interesting takeaway from this last conference is the increasing globalization of our work. We have always had a few international participants at AITF conferences.  But this year, well over 10 percent of our participants were from outside the United States.  We were thrilled to have been joined by our partners in Europe with whom we will continue to work throughout 2020 toward the development of a network on the local mission of higher education.  We were also thrilled by the large delegation of participants from South Africa, with whom we hope to collaborate in the near future.  

Many of you have asked me about the extraordinary content from the conference.  You can find most of our conference presentations here .  Our Founder and Chair, Ira Harkavy’s remarks, which include reflections on AITF’s first ten years are included among the plenary speakers’ various slide presentations.

Note that every year we ask conference speakers to contribute to our  Journal on Anchor Institutions and Communities  by converting their presentations into articles.  Expect to see articles from some of this year’s presenters included in the third volume of this publication.

Overall, we are so proud of AITF’s first ten years and the ways in which this conference appropriately showcased the breadth of work occurring across AITF’s impressive membership.  Thanks so much for all that you do.  AITF members are truly leading the continued expansion of a movement that encourages mutually transformative democratic partnerships in communities, which cross sectors and fields.  The need for this level of collaboration is universal.  It is urban and rural, domestic and international.  AITF is the values-based big tent under which we can come together and collectively enhance this work, and improve the ways in which we reduce inequities and expand opportunities at the community level.  We look forward to continuing this important journey together.

Remarks from Nancy Cantor, Chancellor, Rutgers University-Newark, upon receiving the Anchor Institution Community Partnership Award, truly helped us crystallize the potential of this big tent.  Thanks to Chancellor Cantor, and congratulations to her again on this award.

Note that the next conference will be on November 5 and 6, 2020.  We look forward to updating you regarding the conference and other AITF developments.
 
Warm Regards,
 
David