International Town & Gown Association 
College Town Newsletter

March 13, 2017
Welcome to Dateline, a weekly newsletter
highlighting college town news around the world
In This Issue
Four Ingredients for Cultivating Vibrant Campus-Community Connections
Conference Board of Canada, by Elizabeth Martin
It can be challenging for post secondary education and the municipalities they operate in to connect with one another. Communities and PSE institutions have long recognized the value of bridging this divide. Examples of successful PSE-community based collaboration tend to have supportive public policy, willing and complimentary partners, buy-in throughout the PSE institution, and clear intended outcomes. One exciting model for kick-starting campus community collaboration is the festival and celebration model. Co-presented by SFU and the City of Burnaby, the inaugural Burnaby Festival of Learning was launched as a week-long celebration of learning happening throughout the city. Another model is the inter-institutional coalition. In Edmonton, Alberta, the academic vice-presidents of six publicly funded PSE institutions meet regularly to address shared issues. These models illustrate how institutions can launch large-scale relationships with community partners. 
Regional Campus-Community Members Gather in Ithaca
Cornell Chronicle, by Nancy Doolittle
Nearly 70 government, nonprofit and university repre-sentatives from college towns around New York state, including Brockport, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Ham-ilton, Geneva, Albany, Cortland, Dryden and Ithaca and from State College, Pennsylvania, and Princeton, New Jersey, met April 7 in Ithaca to discuss ways colleges and universities can collaborate on town-gown issues within their communities. The second annual town-gown conference, spon-sored by Cornell's Office of Community Relations, covered such topics as the business incubator Rev in Ithaca, housing, school programs from kin-dergarten to 12th grade, and the role of the president of a college or uni-versity in fostering positive town-gown relations. In matters of housing, participants shared concerns on the need to revitalize downtown areas and  address the shortage and pricing of housing near their institutions. 
Mayor Wants College Acceptance Letters as High School Graduation Requirement
Chicago Tribune by Staff Writers
Mayor Rahm Emanuel wants Chicago public schools to show they have a plan for what's next before they can get a diploma. Emanuel's proposal would add one more big item to the graduation checklist for high school seniors: proof they've been accepted into college or the military, or a trade or a "gap-year" program. The re-quirement would also be satisfied if the student has a job or a job offer. The point is to get Chicago Public Schools students in all parts of the city to stop seeing high school graduation as an ending and get them to consider what's next. A top CPS official also acknowledged, however, that every Chicago public high school graduate essentially already meets the new standard because graduation guarantees admittance to the City Colleges of Chicago community college system. Assuming the idea is approved, the new requirements would first affect the Class of 2020. 
Demolition Begins on Block 22 Project
The Morning Sun, by Patrick 
Friday's closing on the Block 22 project cleared the way for construction to begin. Pittsburg City Manager Daron Hall said he was excited to see the $18 million project- of which the city is contributing $1.5 million-finally underway. Once work is complete, in August 2018, the buildings will have 105 student housing units aimed a upperclassman and graduate students, commercial and education space, and an area for The Pittsburg State University Center for Innovation and Business Development. The project is being made possible through a partnership with PSU, the City of Pittsburg and Vecino Group. PSU will contribute $1 million to the project, with a $1.5 million contribution coming from the city. Shawn Naccarato serves as Director of the Center for Innovation and Business Development. He said previously he hopes folks see the center as a commitment to revitalization.   
New York Adopts Free Tuition
Town-Gown Nation News
Inside Higher Ed, by Scott Jaschik
In what proponents are calling a historic move, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and state legislative leaders announced a deal that will make tuition free at the City University of New York and State University of New York Systems-for both community colleges and four-year colleges and universities-for families with annual incomes up to $125,000. The plan will be phased in over three years, starting this fall with new enrollees from families with incomes up to $100,000. The governor's office estimates that nearly 940,000 families in New York State will be eligible for free public college tuition when the plan is fully phased in. A last-minute addition to the bill is alarming some student aid experts, including advocates for free public college tuition. The agreement requires those who receive free tuition to live and work in the state for the same number of years that they receive the awards. If they don't, the scholarships would convert to student loans. 
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