For 27 years the Florida Atlantic University Florida International University Joint Center for Environmental and Urban Problems has made major contributions to issues associated with rapid urbanization in southern Florida. Maintaining political support, both in the community and within the two universities, has been crucial to sustaining…

Students in teacher-education programs can benefit from the experience of working in a multiagency, urban school collaboration site. A case study of one site is presented in which students learn about the diversity of urban schools while completing a service-learning project connected to an educational-psychology class. (Author/MMU)

Describes how Marygrove College, an "Implementing Urban Missions" grantee, partnered with the Detroit Public Schools to design an innovative program called "Marygrove Griots" that prepares mid-career African American men from other professions to become teachers. (EV)

The University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) sits on the border of Mexico and the United States in the middle of the world's largest binational metropolitan region. For years, it struggled to compete with top-tier research institutions with far greater resources in a quest to become "Harvard on the Border." In the late 1980s, new president…

At the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (UALR), an urban university, students drop out of college on a regular basis. Developing a community of linked courses appears to be an effective way of reaching the university's goal of helping students stay in school past the critical first semester when many of them tend to leave. Seeking to help…

Urban universities are often characterized as economic engines--directly and indirectly serving the needs of the communities within which they are situated. However, the relationship between urban universities and their neighbors is often strained. Reflecting on the University of Illinois at Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative (UICNI) and its…

Students in an academically supported program of English as a second language (ESL) serving permanent residents and refugees at a large urban state university were surveyed concerning their language use patterns and educational needs for language instruction. The respondents were predominantly Southeast Asians representing siginificant minority…

The ways in which Coppin State College improved its image among and its marketing to potential students within the urban community are described. The following self-assessments were undertaken: faculty, student, and community perceptions and the needs of residents and employers were surveyed. (MLW)

The development of free tuition policy at the City University of New York is traced, focusing on four phases of the policy cycle: initiation, implementation, evaluation, and termination. This study was intended to add to general models of the policy termination process now in circulation. (MLW)

A sequence of planning actions taken by California State--Dominguez Hills is outlined that began with normative planning, developed through a strategic stage, and culminated in operational planning. Much of the planning focused on the university's role as an urban institution in a changing environment. (MSE)

Discusses the role of urban universities in improving science/mathematics training in schools. Indicates that these universities must take the lead in curriculum revision, research emphasizing application of knowledge, forming arrangements with private economic enterprises, and in public service to accomplish this improvement. (JN)

A Kellogg Foundation-sponsored team leadership development program at the University of Akron is described. It involves planned change, that can be effected by: involving a broad cross section of the university in discussions or problems; providing training in interpersonal relationships and group dynamics; organizing task forces; and setting up…

In the early 1970s neighborhood movements developed around the concept of community integrity. As institutions expanded, neighbors began to fight encroachment on their way of life. Three case studies involving disputes between expanding urban universities and their neighborhoods reveal similarities in the development and resolution of…

Strategies for building the connection between an urban university and the surrounding community through a service learning program are discussed, drawing on the experience of the Shriver Center at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County campus. Issues addressed include consideration of program form and function, faculty involvement, and…

The origins, function, and projects of the Executive Advisory Board on Higher Education (EAB) in Baltimore County (Maryland) are described. The board brings together local government leaders, business executives, and higher education administrators to address issues of mutual concern. Lessons learned in this experiment in regional cooperation are…