On the Edge—
The Dynamics of Town/Gown Relationships in Higher Education

Archived Audiocast

March 12, 2004
1½ Hours

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Program Overview

Town/gown relations are unique to the institution and the host community, however there are often lessons to be learned from others, and common strategies that can positively effect almost every institution and lead to improved relations with the town.

We invite you to join us on this informative audioconference addressing issues in higher education town/gown relations. Learn from the experiences and perspectives from professional colleagues who have played a role in successful town/gown relations.

This audioconference will stimulate new ideas for your own campus, and could focus and strengthen your own institutional efforts. There will be live questions and answers during the broadcast, and several audience polls on issues relating to town/gown relations.

Discussion Areas

• Planning tools and mechanisms that institutions and cities are using to work together more effectively
• How traditional patterns of town/gown relations have evolved over the years and how they have changed
• Understanding "what makes each side tick" (our opportunities and constraints)
• The impact of technology, individualism, and telecommuting on town/gown relations
• Importance of the host community; it's part of the package
• How the 'company town' syndrome impacts host communities
• Building relationships & maintaining dialog (when there is no crisis)
• Economic agreements and understandings (MOU's and MOA's)
• Partnerships (out of Strength)—leveraging strengths and resources
• Economic development, convergence of planning goals and objectives (non-academic)—making a commitment for the long term
• Town/gown relations and its organizational placement—can it impact effectiveness?
• Are town/gown relations generally becoming more litigious?
• Avoiding or eliminating litigation
• Mediation and concessions when there is a problem

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SCUP produces a variety of audioconferences on topical issues of interest to higher education planners. Audiotapes or CDs of previous broadcasts are available for purchase through SCUP. Please go to the online store and scroll down to "Live Program Archives" to order, or visit
ams.scup.org/i4a/ams/amsstore/category.cfm?product_id=8023

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Moderator

Beverly Wood has devoted her career to campus planning. She began her campus planning work at the University of California San Diego where she was the Campus Planner, and then returned to the University of Massachusetts where she rose to the position of Associate Chancellor for Planning and Space Management. Most recently she held the position of Associate Vice President for Campus Planning & Development at California State University Monterey Bay. In this position she was responsible for planning, design, construction, and facilities operations and maintenance. In each of her campus planning positions she has played an active role in community planning and community relations. She often represented the universities on local and regional planning boards, provided interface with local neighborhood groups and special interests, and advised senior management on town/gown issues. She recently moved to Washington D.C. to work in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, where her primary focus is the update of the Master Plan for the U.S. Capitol. This assignment includes the strategic facility planning for the U.S. Capitol Building, the House Office Buildings, the Senate Office Buildings, the Supreme Court, the Library of Congress and the U.S. Botanic Gardens.

Panelists

Sheri L. Damon, is an attorney with Lombardo & Gilles in Salinas, California. She previously worked in the administration at the University of California Santa Cruz (UCSC) as a real estate analyst. While at UCSC, she assisted in completing a cooperative project, University Town Center, bringing together City interests, private developer interests and the University interests in a collaborative and mutually beneficial manner. She received several employee recognition awards from UCSC for her service in real estate matters. Damon is a trained arbitrator and mediator. She has also worked as a Deputy County Counsel in Monterey County working on local government issues, and as Assistant Authority Counsel for the Fort Ord Reuse Authority, assisting in resolving issues involved in the transfer and reuse of the former Fort Ord military base. She currently represents private housing developers on a variety of issues focusing on land use, affordable housing, environmental compliance and civil litigation. Damon continues to represent the Fort Ord Reuse Authority in pending litigation matters.

Thomas Gebhardt is Director of Personal Safety and Off-Campus Affairs, the University of Albany, State University of New York. He has been the Chairperson of the Committee on University & Community Relations since its creation in 1990. In the fall of 1992, Tom was recognized by the University at Albany as the first recipient of the "Outstanding Professional Service Award" by the Division of Student Affairs for "significant contributions to improving university and community relations." The Committee on University & Community Relations itself received national recognition as a finalist/second place in the 1997 "Neighborhood of the Year" awards by "Neighborhoods USA" as well as local recognition by the Neighborhood Resource Center in the city of Albany as the "1995 Organization of the Year." In addition, the committee was named "Runner-up for the 1997–98 Outstanding Public Relations Program Award" by Commission XVII—Commuter Students and Adult Learners of the American College Personnel Association. In the March, 2000 edition of the Journal of American College Health Gebhardt co-authored an article entitled A Campus-community Coalition to Control Alcohol-related Problems Off Campus: An Environmental Management Case Study. In 2000, he was recognized by the Neighborhood Resource Center in the City of Albany as the "2000 Outstanding Public Official of the Year."

Mark Mitchell, Chair, University Communities Caucus, The National League of Cities serves on the Tempe, Arizona City Council, and recently assumed the leadership role as Chair of the University Communities Caucus for The National League of Cities. The University Communities Caucus (UCC) is a voluntary group of elected officials from municipalities with a university or institution of higher education within its borders or within an adjacent municipality. University Communities Caucus members are active in the National League of Cities, but they share problems and opportunities which are unique to university communities-especially small cities where a college or university is a dominant factor in the community. Its objectives are to assist cities, The National League of Cities, and state municipal leagues in gathering, sharing and analyzing information about opportunities, issues and policies of interest to university communities. It also serves to foster a spirit of cooperation between universities, colleges and city and town governments. It's a diverse membership, with urban, suburban and rural communities. The UCC recently conducted a survey of their members to identify the top 10 issues that concern their members the most. Mitchell also chairs Tempe's Council Tourism and Economic Development Committee. He is civically active, and follows a legacy of family members serving in Arizona politics.

AIA Members and Continuing Education Opportunity

SCUP is a registered provider of continuing education units for the American Institute of Architects. If you are eligible to earn continuing education units from AIA, sign the AIA report form that will be sent to each listening site in advance of the program, and fax it back to the SCUP office. SCUP will submit completed session forms to AIA for you. This audioconference offers 1 ½ continuing education units. Anyone attending the broadcast may request a certificate as a record of his or her attendance.

Questions? Please contact Kathy Benton, kathy.benton@scup.org, or call 734.998.6966.