Vision 2015 is an initiative to improve the area and quality of life for people living within the Northern Kentucky region. A key aspect to Northern Kentucky's future is in reaching by 2015 the Educational Excellence goal of having all children enter kindergarten with the skills necessary to succeed. This paper focuses on the first phase of the…

An engaged metropolitan university can play a critical role in transforming its region by using its resources for the solution of problems and the improvement of the citizens' lives and livelihoods. California State University, Fresno has impacted its region through university-led collaborations and partnerships such as the Fresno Regional Jobs…

Our urban-located land grant institution has long been committed to engaged research, teaching, and service. This paper describes efforts to articulate and implement a strategic urban land grant vision that places urban/metropolitan engagement at the center of our institution's "urban age" future. We describe intentional and broad-based efforts in…

Asserting that exploration of the role of higher education in community building is not unique to the United States, describes examples of collaborative efforts involving universities and communities working together in the United States, Switzerland, Northern Ireland, and Mexico. (EV)

Describes how Johnson C. Smith University in Charlotte, North Carolina, an "Implementing Urban Missions" grantee, used an Urban Research Group model to involve undergraduates in community research; the needs of community-based organizations and the service mission of the university determine the amount of student involvement. (EV)

Asserts that building an infrastructure to sustain an organic movement such as experience-based education involves timing, tension, and respect. Describes how these elements have played a vital role in creating a solid foundation of support for civic engagement and service learning at Los Angeles' Mount St. Mary's College, an "Implementing…

Explores how Columbia College Chicago, an "Implementing Urban Missions" grantee, approached the implementation of its urban mission, and how other universities might also play the role of facilitators while being inclusive, trustworthy, and respectful to community partners. (EV)

Research in two inner-city areas of Phoenix (Arizona) and its surrounding suburbs documents the importance of analyzing a metropolitan area's economy from the perspective of industry clusters before determining economic development policies and strategies for urban revitalization. In addition, the project reveals lessons about the role of…

Describes how Holy Family College in Northeast Philadelphia, an "Implementing Urban Missions" grantee, created and maintained an urban nursing center. Discusses the challenges of translating one department's experience with a community partnership into the context of other academic departments. (EV)

Responsibilities of the City University of New York (CUNY) to the following segments are discussed: the City of New York; the City's residents, the university's students and its potential students; the taxpayer; and functions integral to its autonomy as a city institution. Specific responsibilities include: meeting the City's economic and manpower…

The Great Cities Institute at the University of Illinois, Chicago is a high-visibility urban-policy research center that is sometimes drawn into controversial issues. University leadership must defend academic freedom vigorously, but that freedom cannot be used indiscriminately for faculty pronouncements; faculty and administrators must ensure…

Health professions schools can contribute significantly to the mission of metropolitan universities and have substantial impact on their communities. In addition to the direct impact of their graduates and affiliate health care facilities, they can make a major contribution serving the community's health care needs, as illustrated by activities at…

This article describes a three-year collaborative affiliation between the Baltimore Theatre Project and the Department of Theatre at Towson State University (Maryland). It discusses initial encounters and connections, reasons for collaboration, difficulties finding and using time, successes, difficulties, and the effects of collaboration. (JB)

At the University of Minnesota, the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs was established as an all-university unit with resources to establish community connections, facilitate and support faculty and graduate student urban research and outreach, and help integrate urban concerns into a large, urban-located land-grant university. Its structure,…

This article argues that metropolitan universities are well suited to respond to workforce development and maintenance needs, and ways in which institutions can gather the information needed to target their response are examined. A Northern Illinois University study is offered as an example of such an effort. The role of metropolitan universities…