Metropolitan Universities Vol. 29 No. 2 (May 2018), DOI: 10.18060/22415 3 

Using the Urban Advantage to Achieve the Greatest Good 

Vicki L. Golich 

Just as urban and metropolitan universities and colleges serve an important role in their 
communities, cities serve important roles in students’ academic and personal growth. Urban 
institutions provide them with the resources to grow and thrive in a fast-paced environment. 
With better opportunities for experiential learning, research and development, creative activity, 
and partnerships that create immediate and substantive impact on communities, this urban 
advantage was the focus of the 23rd Annual CUMU Conference “The Urban Advantage” 
(CUMU, 2017). The conference was held in Denver, Colorado in October 2017. Presentations 
explored the unique learning opportunities provided by urban universities known to improve 
student persistence and successful career development (AAC&U, n.d.). Scholars and activists 
called for urban IHEs to consider how they might engage with their surrounding communities 
more effectively to solve problems, improve the local economy, and educate a professional 21st 
century-relevant workforce. Finally, they underscored the imperative that metropolitan colleges 
and universities stay true to their public mission.  

The keynote speakers for this conference—Holland, Howard, and Seligsohn—set the stage for 
these presentations and conversations in a plenary session titled “Voices from the Field.” Their 
powerful rhetoric both challenged and congratulated participants. Holland noted, in particular, 
that IHE leaders must manage the changing landscape of higher education, while keeping 
grounded in the purpose of a university degree. Howard reminded us that colleges and 
universities should leverage and harmonize their institutional assets to support surrounding 
communities, as this achieves “mutual, shared, enlightened self-interest of the very best kind.” 
Finally, Seligsohn encouraged conference attendees to avoid the false dichotomy that sees civic 
education as distinct from career preparation. In doing so, he reminded all that “a powerful 
positive relationship between engaged citizens and community members … and economic 
prosperity,” and that civic-minded citizens will demand positive political behavior from elected 
officials.  

This issue includes two winners of the Ernest A. Lynton Award for the Scholarship of 
Engagement. The 2015 winner, DeMeulenaere, describes his personal journey that brought him 
to combine the teaching, research, and service obligations of a tenure-line faculty member with 
his passion to engage in activism to achieve social justice for all. Walker, the 2017 recipient, and 
co-author, East, present two case studies of institutions that engaged their surrounding 
communities in redevelopment efforts.  

The next two articles describe university efforts to develop and build spaces in downtown areas 
to expand access to the university, enhance economic vitality of the region, and create 
opportunities for partnerships. Barthell, Simmons, and Youngblood describe the University of 
Central Oklahoma (UCO) experiences in developing UCO Downtown. Similarly, Davson, 
Englot, Fischzang, Fleming, and Kline describe how they created a new space in the city of 
Newark—“Express Newark”—that benefits Rutgers faculty and students and city inhabitants.  



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Three articles describe academic-community partnerships focused on improving educational 
outcomes. Provinzano, Riley, Levine, and Grant describe Drexel’s School of Education 
partnership with Communities in Schools. Larrivee, Challupka, Cleary, and Comeau describe 
how Worcester State University engaged with their community to develop a program that 
improves educational pathways for direct care workers. A group of faculty at California State 
University San Marcos (CSUSM)—Nuñez-Alvarez, Clark-Ibañez, Ardón, Ramos, and Pellicia—
describe their work on increasing the community engagement of their surrounding Latino 
community though “a culturally and linguistically relevant civics curriculum” delivered to 
students and their families. 

Finally, Golich, Haynes, Hillhouse, and Pfeifer describe how Metropolitan State University of 
Denver faculty and administrators engaged in iterative conversations with industry leaders to 
develop a curriculum and designing educational facilities to meet the integrated needs of the 
university and the region. 

References 

AAC&U (American Association of Colleges and Universities. (n.d.). “High-Impact Practices.” 
Retrieved from https://www.aacu.org/resources/high-impact-practices.  

Boyer, E. (1997). Scholarship Reconsidered: Priorities of the Professoriate. San Francisco, CA: 
Jossey-Bass. 

Coalition for Community Schools. (n.d.). Retrieved from www.communityschools.org/.  

CUMU. (2017). “Past Conferences: The Urban Advantage.” Retrieved from 
www.cumuonline.org/what-we-do/annual-conference/past-conferences/.  

Democracy Collaborative. (2018). “The Democracy Collaborative and the Coalition of Urban 
and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) Launch the Higher Education Anchor Mission Initiative 
in Partnership with 31 Colleges and Universities.” Retrieved from 
https://democracycollaborative.org/content/democracy-collaborative-and-cumu-launch-higher-
education-anchor-mission-initiative.  

 

https://www.aacu.org/resources/high-impact-practices
http://www.communityschools.org/
http://www.cumuonline.org/what-we-do/annual-conference/past-conferences/
https://democracycollaborative.org/content/democracy-collaborative-and-cumu-launch-higher-education-anchor-mission-initiative
https://democracycollaborative.org/content/democracy-collaborative-and-cumu-launch-higher-education-anchor-mission-initiative