ITGA Board member Gary Stewart has offered to assist with outreach and communications-related strategies, and we're looking for colleagues who can lend their talents and advise as needed. Gary worked in U.S. and international newspapering before joining Cornell University, and currently produces a longtime weekly radio show that's podcast, and a regular column for print and online. Gary and team are also wrapping up an ITGA video that you'll see soon. We are looking for talent who will lend their skills in helping ITGA tell its story in a timely fashion, as needed. If you're interested in volunteering/assisting, email gary.stewart@cornell.edu. Thanks for any consideration in this regard.

Cutting-edge campus-community work was discussed and recognized at the ITGA's annual conference in State College, Pa. May 19-22, kicked off by Penn State University President Eric Barron, who spoke on campus-community economic development. A powerful keynote address by Leon Andrews, Director of Race, Equity, And Leadership (REAL) Programs for the National League of Cities addressed the importance of "Elevating Social Justice and Civility to Enhance our Environments." In addition, John Hechinger, senior editor at Bloomberg News and author of True Gentleman, The Broken Pledge of American Fraternities, participated in a panel discussion on fraternity and sorority life. www.itga.org

In addition to a myriad of diverse topics and presentations, two special partnerships and a national town-gown leader were recognized. The Larry Abernathy Award, named for former mayor of Clemson, SC and an ITGA founder, was presented to Miami (Ohio) University and its home community Oxford, for its ambitious vision to be "The Healthiest College Town in America." For more information about this award-winning college town and its healthy ambitions, click here. Honored with ITGA's Presidential Excellence Awards at the conference were Grinnell Educational Partnership and longtime city administrator, author and professor Dr. Roger Kemp. Congratulations award recipients! Gary Stewart, Cornell University

If your college receives federal funds, you have or at least should have alcohol policies on your website. But can students find them? Can they understand them? And, most important, which ones work? Four researchers investigated those questions for a group of 15 colleges and universities called the Maryland Collaborative to Reduce College Drinking and Related Problems. The scholars published their results in the latest issue of the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. While there's been considerable study of how the off-campus climate affects students' drinking habits, the authors say they are trying to fill a void, offering insight about how effective various campus policies are. The Chronicle of Higher Education

Institutions of higher education nearly always have a considerable impact on their surroundings, they are major employers and property owners, so how could they not? An increasing number of city colleges and universities are being more deliberate about how they affect their neighbors, and in the process clarifying their social impact value through civic engagement. Being an institutional anchor for a neighborhood or region is hard work though, and the colleges and universities most engaged with their cities are also discovering that work can entail a substantial shift in priorities and vision. Higher Education Today