Cornel University, by Gary Stewart

ITGA member Cornell University is hosting a one-day conference on town-gown economic development March 31 in Ithaca, NY. Attendees include provosts to mayors, to top officials from economic development groups, to neighborhood associations active in college town plan-ning projects. Topics include housing, transportation, infrastructure, business incubators, tax abatements, success stories, government programs and other issues of interest. Cornell and Ithaca are ITGA members and the ITGA Board and staff encourage the concept of regional member conferences to address challenges and opportunities of shared interest. The event is at no charge to ITGA mem-bers and will be capped at 120 attendees. Registration closes February 22nd. To learn about the conference or register, contact Gary Stewart, Director of Community Relations at Cornell University.  

Statepress.com, by Sydney Greene

Newly selected Tempe City Police Chief Sylvia Moir said she had never thought of working in law enforcement until she rode with a female police officer. Moir said she hopes to use the same philosophies she's used during her time as El Cerrito's police chief in California for her new position as Tempe's police chief. When Moir takes the reins, she will not only work with the City of Tempe, but also ASU, which comprises a majority of the city. She said her first priority is to establish a positive relationship with ASU PD. "One of the most important relationships is between ASU and the City of Tempe Police," Moir said. "I believe we need to have a shared purpose, shared resources and we need to work together to make ASU and the community thrive toget-her." Moir, who grew up in a college town in California, said she's seen first hand how important relationships and college towns are.

Inside Higher Ed, by Ellen Wexler

John Williams thinks every student should have a mentor, someone who can act as counselor, sounding board, advice giver, and maybe, if the student is lucky, someone who can open doors in the working world. But to find a mentor, students need to learn to network. And for Williams, president of Muhlenberg College, network-ing has a vocabulary of its own.  The new network para-digm, he says. Many colleges encourage students to seek mentors, frequently among the faculty. But soon, networking that extends beyond campus will soon become mandatory. As part of a required course typically taken during freshman year, students will use a database of alumni and parents to practice networking and recruit mentors who share their interests. The program will begin this fall with a pilot of 80 students. 

Crain's Detroit Business, by Chad Halcom

The traditional college experience is having a renais-sance in Southeast Michigan, so much so that public universities are planning major investments in new and improved campus housing this year to accommodate the trend. Washington, D.C.-based Brailsford & Dun-lavey Inc. is consulting with the university on the project. Tim Michael, associate vice president of busi-ness and auxiliary operations and chief housing officer at Wayne State, said the university is looking for a public-private partnership, where a developer would pay to build the project, lease property from the university and possibly act as property manager, to be reimbursed out of future student housing fees. Eastern Michigan University has no immediate plans for new residence halls, but has been increasing its total on-campus living capacity, via building renovations, to cope with the surging demand. 

DailyTarHeel.com, by Jane  Little

The Chapel Hill Town and Gown Collaborative is looking to hire a community and campus director for alcohol and substance abuse prevention initiatives. The collabo-ration began in spring 2013 and works to reduce the negative effects of high-risk drinking in Chapel Hill neighborhoods, downtown and the University. The collaboration includes the town of Chapel Hill, the Orange County Health Department, UNC and the Orange County ABC Commission. The Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership will employ the director and provide space for him or her. "The position we all agreed to fund was in response to work done and a report issued by the Town and Gown Task Force to reduce alcohol misuse," Colleen Bridger, director of the Orange County Health Department, said. Each entity will put forward $30,000 to pay for the salary of the coalition director and costs of the project.

The Cavalier Daily, by Jack Tuftie

Three University students have teamed up to launch an app called "Totem-The Feel Good Feed" in order to encourage the growth of a digitized community and generate excitement around local Charlottesville non-profits. Co-founder and third-year Law student PJ Harris said Totem was inspired by the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, which was a popular way for social media users to connect with a charitable cause they might not have known about before the viral movement. "I came up with it in the summer of 2014 when the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge was going on, and then I was looking for teammates that I thought would be effective in growing it and making it have a bigger impact at U.Va.," Harris said. The development team now includes four co-founders and an intern, all working to develop and expand the app into the University and Charlottesville communities. 

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