The Critical Role Colleges Can Play in Stabilizing and Renewing Low-Income Communities Around Them, While Ground-truthing the Liberal Arts Experience

Colleges and major universities are often a stone’s throw from disinvested, low-income neighborhoods across the United States, yet the connection they make to the communities around them is often an after-thought or seen as simply a nice thing to do for students. Yet, the quality of life for everyone at these institutions is linked to these neighborhoods and there is often a huge, unrealized opportunity to use the immense resources of such institutions (faculty, students, and real-estate development funds) to play a pivotal role in providing opportunities for local people and even fundamentally re-shaping these neighborhoods, not just for the benefit of students, but for the community as a whole. Two case examples will be used – Yonkers (SLC) and IUPUI in Indianapolis