They came. They shared. They left. And what they took back with them could change the world.
This, according to Marc Whitt, Eastern Kentucky University vice president of media relations, is exactly what he hoped would happen.
EKU, in partnership with the cities of Richmond and Berea and Berea College, hosted the Seventh Annual International Town and Gown Association’s (ITGA) Conference for University/City Relations: Partnerships for the Present and Future June 4-8.
“From all the comments we’ve received so far, this year’s ITGA conference was a huge success. Many have gone as far to say we set the bar for future conferences,” Whitt said. “None of this would have been possible without the tremendous support and encouragement from EKU President Doug Whitlock, Richmond Mayor Jim Barnes, ITGA, the conference committee, and support from Berea College President Larry Shinn and Berea Mayor Steve Connelly.”
Around 200 conferees, from university and college leaders to civic and community leaders, were invited to attend the conference and sit in on more than 50 sessions that centered around how universities and cities can work together to strengthen relationships and form meaningful partnerships between higher education institutions and the communities in which they reside.
Each session lasted about an hour and covered topics ranging from housing, forming private-public partnerships and best practices to emergency management collaboration, arts in education and campus safety and security. Sessions were led by ITGA members and those who work in neighboring Kentucky communities, in an effort to demonstrate effective means of handling common challenges and issues.
“What is so exciting about this conference is not only the great history, but what it does for the ‘here and now’ for college-town challenges and the benefits that follow to the future,” said Kim Griffo, ITGA executive director, in an introductory address to conferees. “Through this sharing of expertise, we translate knowledge sharing into action, learn how to work with leadership at all levels and most of all, are reminded that whether we work for the city, university or agencies within our college town, we are all public servants.”
One of the conference’s main goals was to jumpstart dialogue so attendees could share their own experiences and receive feedback from others who face similar challenges in areas such as event management.
Pete Mahoney, the current special coordinator with the Center for Student Involvement at Kent State University in Ohio, said that for him, a good day is when an event happens and out of 30,000 people there are only 21 arrests. He said his challenges are different from smaller schools in smaller communities and from larger schools, such as Ohio State University.
“I think relationships are the key to everything — communication and relationships. You can head off so many problems, enjoy life so much more with those two things,” Mahoney said. “Here, we find out what other people are doing and doing well. If nothing else, it endorses what you are doing.”
Kathleen Powell, a Ph.D. candidate who works with the University of Maryland in Baltimore, shared a presentation titled “Strengthening Resident Campus-Adjacent Neighborhoods Where Town and Gown Meet.” During her presentation, she outlined a study of a public university campus in an Appalachian town.
“It’s clear to me that people’s past community experiences impact their ideas of community now,” Powell said. “There are so many things that universities and communities just don’t talk about, but they need each other.”
Gloria Aparicio Blackwell, another conference presenter, ITGA member and associate director for community relations at the University of Maryland, College Park, zeroed in on the aspect of need.
“It’s everywhere. Every university has unique tension, but the reality is the same: the quality of life, the students, the noise, the economic development, the traffic. Any institution that has those amenities, you are going to be having some tension,” Blackwell said. “For us, it is a matter of listening and seeing what we can do. Communities need to see us as more than a 900-pound gorilla, but that we are also working in collaboration. We are all part of the equation.”
Throughout the week, conferees listened to and asked questions of presenters. They put their heads together around tables, benches and couches on campus. They each told their story; they each gleaned from one another.
Whitt said the conference is more than just these sessions offered on EKU’s campus for a week.
“In terms of the future, we tend to put our blinders on and think of relationships right around us,” Whitt said. “But this transcends borders. I think we will see a lot more relationships being developed and a lot more communication being enhanced among other communities in different states and countries.”
Whitt said this year’s conference raised nearly $20,000 in cash and gifts-in-kind donations to further the mission of ITGA and attracted a record number of nations, including attendees from Canada, the United Kingdom and Italy.
The conference was made possible in part because of support from more than 15 regional and national sponsors, including presenting sponsor AT&T.
The 2013 ITGA conference is scheduled to be held in Buffalo, N.Y., on June 2-4. For more information on the ITGA, visit the organization’s website at www.itgau.org.