A new initiative at the University of Delaware will affirm and expand the institution's commitment to community engagement, Provost Domenico Grasso has announced. Leading the charge are Dan Rich, who will serve as di-rector of community engagement, and Lynnette Over-by, who will be deputy director. This initiative builds on the accomplishments that have earned UD the Commu-nity Engagement classification from the Carnegie Foundation for the Ad-vancement of Teaching in 2015. Both see listening as the first step in their leadership roles-listening to stakeholders within the UD campus community and to communities and their citizens in Delaware and beyond. The pillars of this new undertaking are explicitly spelled out in the new strategic plan, Delaware Will Shine, which lists community engagement among its five strategic initiatives. To access the strategic plan, click here.   

The Orange County Register, by Brooke E. Seipel

City officials will discuss updating Orange's party and housing laws in response to a growing population of Chapman students living off-campus and tentative ex-pansion plans that could add nearly 3,000 more stu-dents to the university. City officials took a look at what other college town have done to address the proximity of schools and residents. "I think the overall goal is to tighten up the existing party law," said Councilman Mike Alvarez, who has voiced concerns about the impacts of off-campus living. Chapman Uni-versity released new expansion plans in May that would add 17 acres and 2,950 students. The proposal was met with an outcry from residents expressing concerns about the growing student population. University officials suspended processing their plans with the city to address the community concerns and created a Neighborhood Advisory Committee. 

The Arkansas Traveler, by Meleah Perez

Following the proposal for a new fire department closer to the UA campus, the Town and Gown Advisory Com-mittee will continue evaluating ways to fund it, said the Associated Student Government president. A new fire department was brought to the committee's attention because they wanted to shorten the response time to campus, said Tanner Bone, the ASG president and one of the UA student-representatives on the committee. The total projected start-up costs would be around $8 million, with the estimated yearly oper-ations cost a little over $1 million, said David Dayringer, the Fayetteville fire chief. Mike Johnson, the assistant vice chancellor, was the prime person who represented the UofA and came to the meetings well-researched in prices and depreciation rates for several fire vehicles, as well as the number of calls students had made to the fire department, Mariono said.  

Students looking to "catch a break here and there" might have found one with the Spotluck dining app that launched in College Park, said Cherian Thomas, the app's CEO and co-founder. The app works in collabora-tion with nine local or locally owned restaurants. Once a user downloads the app, they can "spin" once a day to receive a discount of up to 30 percent from one of the affiliated restaurants. Users will receive at least a 10 percent discount from any restaurant listed on the app. The discounts vary based upon the time, day and weather, Thomas said. When the user arrives at their chosen restaurant, they use GPS coordinates to confirm their location and "lock-in" the discount. Thomas and co-founder Brad Sayler launched the app in Bethesda, Maryland, in 2014, and it has since grown to more than 50,000 users in various hubs throughout the Washington metropolitan area. 

New Britain Herald, by Chris Dukes

Relations between CCSU and the City of New Britain continue to flourish. As is well known, university and city officials, neighbors, landlords, students and a vari-ety of other constituents, continue to collaborate on initiatives aimed at alleviating concerns over a variety of issues impacting resources, but most important, the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods. Student Affairs is in the process of implementing the CommUniversity program as modeled by the University of Oregon. This program utilizes "student ambassadors" who live in the neighborhoods adjacent to campus. They work to prevent or remedy issues that arise in the area and assist fellow students' transition into the role of being responsible renters. Also, the Office of Student Conduct, in collaboration with the City's Community Services Department, has instituted a community service initiative. 

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The ITGA strengthens town and gown partnerships by providing a network of professionals and resources, identifying and sharing leading practices, innovative solutions and professional development opportunities for municipal and university communities.