UVA Today, by Caroline Newman

After this weekend's protest, which left a Charlottesville woman and two state troopers dead and dozens injured, UVA alumni began organizing in person and online, ready to help the school and town they call home. As Webb-a physician who will join the faculty of the UVA School of Medicine this fall-put it, he and other alumni wanted the world to know that the weekend's violence was different from anything they had encountered before. Along with UVA administrators, faculty and students, they are part  of the wide network of UVA leaders planning responses to the weekend's events, ranging from targeted academic programming and community discussions to other events still being planned by student groups. "Students have driven social change for decades and we recognized the power of the student response and wanted to dovetail any alumni efforts with that," Webb said.    

Inside Higher Ed, by Kate Rousmaniere

It's the end of summer and residents of college towns are bracing themselves for the onslaught. Within weeks, the population of my town will more than double. Lawns and sidewalks will become adorned with discarded furniture, moving boxes and empty beer cans. The local police will begin their annual patrol for underage drink-ing and noise violations. The challenges that off-campus housing raise for both institutions and college towns can only be solved by the development of positive relationships between the college or university and the city. The relationship between Oxford and Miami University is becoming a model of best practices. As mayor, I work closely with the university president on issues of student conduct, economic development, and other partnerships. A significant result of our work is what we call the Good Neighbor Policy for students who live in the city. 

The Herald-Sun, by Ray Gronberg

Campus trustees have given UNC-Chapel Hill's facilities office permission to lease university owned land to the town government for use as the site for a new police headquarters, but that doesn't mean the idea is any-where close to getting a final OK. Officials on both sides say the proposal has to navigate multiple reviews, involving at the least the town government, the UNC system and Gov. Roy Cooper's cabinet. But so far, campus leaders think they've done their part by securing the trustees' support late last month for signing a $1-a-year, 99-year-lease with the town. The recent trustees vote came six months after Merklein confirmed the board was willing to see the university pursue a "joint use" development with the town, and after the Town Council also publicly signaled its interest, Police Chief Chris Blue has singled out as perhaps the best of all choices for a new headquarters. 

Tompkins Weekly, by Susan Riley

This year's ITGA annual conference reiterated a fact of life: Ithaca and Cornell are unique, but so is virtually every college town in the U.S., Canada, and overseas. When I first stepped into the Eugene airport, I was struck by how much it felt like the Ithaca-Tompkins County Airport. Within minutes, I met another newly arrived conference attendee. He was representing Clemson, and what struck me as I listened about how the City and CU were increasing housing stock, both communities share a "housing crises." One interesting session I attended described how campuses and their commu-nities are dealing with cannabis. One interesting point among many: Some of the early findings suggest students living on smoke-free campuses are vehemently opposed to cigarette smoking, and are generally more relaxed about marijuana use. Should it become legal in NY state, we'll have the experiences of our town-gown colleagues to help inform us along the way. 

Under a bill signed into law this week by Gov. Jerry Brown, students and their families will be able to learn how much it actually costs to go to college. Assembly Bill 990 requires the schools in the CSU system to annually estimate and then clearly display the market rate for a one-bedroom apartment near campus. The campuses will have to talk to students, read news stories and check apartment listings, among other strategies, to come up with their estimates. Assemblyman Rodriguez, the bill's sponsor, argued that the CSU and University of California systems calculate the costs in different ways, sometimes relying on old data. Some campuses use an academic year to calculate costs while others use a calendar year. "This measure," Rodriguez said, "[will] insure that students and parents have all the information necessary when deciding where to go to college."  

Route Fifty, by Amy Keller 

When an after-hours venue opened its doors in 2015, late night revelers downtown weren't the only ones to take notice. The establishment also drew the attention of city officials, who worried about the impact the club would have on the law enforcement officers policing the city's already vibrant and occasionally chaotic nightlife. City officials eventually banned after-hours clubs. More recently, the city has tapped its first ever "Nighttime Economy Project Manager,." To understand its nightlife economy better, Orlando hired the Responsible Hospitality Institute, a Scotts Valley, California-based non-profit that helps cities assess their "hospitality zones." Over the years, you see cities like New York, Seattle, San Francisco, Edmonton, London and Sydney actually documenting the economic value of their nightlife," said Jim Peters, RHI's president. Peters has been promoting nighttime economy concepts ever since he first heard the term in London in the 2000s.   

A growing and impressive group of professionals from campus communities across the globe continue to network and share strategies for improving town and gown relations. Join us on Twitter and LinkedIn.  

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.