The history and status of the field of urban and public affairs are discussed, and some characteristics of the 13 existing graduate programs in this area are identified. Ways to organize a high-quality graduate degree program and to avoid common internal institutional obstacles are considered. Some new initiatives in metropolitan universities are…

Ways in which a college or university can support and enhance service learning pedagogy are explored, including practical strategies for curriculum design, faculty development, and administrative support. Illustrations are drawn from Loyola College of Maryland, whose program has five categories of initiative: a service-leadership track, a…

Virginia Commonwealth University confronted shrinking resources for its urban mission by creating a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) degree program. The program addressed a number of challenges and was built using existing resources in the university and professional communities. Despite early financial concerns, the program now combines needed…

Project Refocus, the University of Missouri Kansas City's long-term, cross-sector collaborative project brings together business, labor, government, and higher education to address changing employment needs and retraining of laid-off workers. The program's 15-year evolution, activities, achievements, and lessons learned are described. (Author/MSE)

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…

The evolution of the Honors Program at the Community College of Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) is described, focusing on faculty participation and program decisions. Central program features are practices that build an intellectual community among faculty and students, including an interdisciplinary curriculum, seminars and writing groups,…

North Texas Institute for Educators on the Visual Arts, a consortium of six school districts, five museums, two arts councils, two state agencies, and the University of North Texas, has strived to improve education in the visual arts for K-6 children and to develop better educated audiences for area museums. (JB)