Describes the development of a new transformational vision for Albion College in Michigan, which led to a community envisioning process off campus. The result was a new city-college partnership designed to promote the development of the city of Albion as "The Smart Community." (EV)

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 the University of Illinois at Chicago's Neighborhoods Initiative, a partnership with a community-based development corporation designed to strengthen life in two local neighborhoods. Objectives include university/community agency partnerships, development of community organizational capacity to address future needs, institutional changes…

Stone Soup Partnership is a collaboration between California State University at Fresno and its surrounding community to address serious problems in a high-crime, impoverished apartment complex near the university. The program involves students in service learning for university credit, and has expanded from a single summer youth program to a…

An innovative University of Central Florida collaborative project has provided 56 university students with a structured hands-on learning experience. In turn, students have given over 10,000 hours of free assessment and case-management services to the juvenile offender population. The program is described, noting specific considerations and…

Rooted in the business community, the Boise Future Foundation evolved into a trisector initiative: public, private, and volunteer entity. Housed at urban Boise State University (Idaho), the foundation examines critical community issues and informs public policy, debate, and action. The foundation's evolution, highlights, critical accomplishments,…

The University of Louisville (Kentucky) Housing and Neighborhood Development Strategies (HANDS) is a multifaceted program using the university's resources to address the problems of an impoverished urban neighborhood. One component, the Community Design Team, is composed of graduate students and provides technical assistance such as conceptual…

Partnerships with communities help universities respond to contemporary societal issues, enrich educational experiences, and offer opportunities for research and faculty service. At Georgia State University, three health-related programs link campus and community in projects for grandparents raising grandchildren, migrant farm workers, and…

A University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign program involving faculty and students in participatory action research to improve community-based organizations in East St. Louis (Illinois) is described. The project's origins, management, community development strategy, and accomplishments are documented, and some of the institutional, environmental,…