Colleges and universities should not only be accessible to students; they should be accessible to their communities as well. Colleges and universities can be constructive partners with their communities on issues such us economic development, elementary and secondary education, health and human services, investments in neighborhoods, and scholarship outreach. I discuss university–community partnerships already making contributions to the life of their communities, using examples from across Massachusetts. Universities should strengthen their involvement in community partnerships. Information about existing partnerships should be placed on Web sites to make them widely available. Universities should make their commitment firm--and then make it public.
No takes yet. Share an insight, caveat, or question.
Edward M. Kennedy (1999) studied this question.