The Urban University in the Community: The Roles of Boards and Presidents

Universities cannot flee cities that are in crisis due to fiscal, social, and/or political problems made more critical by constrained local, state, and federal budgets, which threaten to exacerbate current problems. They are a permanent part of their communities and, as such, their boards, presidents, and faculty must lead their institutions into an appropriate level of community involvement, based on expanded notions of educational missions and purposes that are sustainable through fiscal cycles and political changes. University and community partnerships must be developed in a way that can result in gains for the community at large and help to turn the ivory tower into a bridge to the community.