CUMU's coming

Photo by Kanji Takeno

TU to host Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities conference at Inner Harbor

By Jan Lucas

Nearly 270 high-level administrators and faculty experts from urban and metropolitan universities will gather in Baltimore later this month to listen, learn and share ideas.

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) will hold its 13th annual conference, Metropolitan Universities and Community Engagement, October 20–23 at the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel.     

President Robert L. Caret—now in his second year as CUMU president—says TU is privileged to host this year’s annual meeting and conference for the first time. TU co-founded CUMU 25 years ago to bring together universities striving for national excellence while contributing to the economic development, social health and cultural variety of the urban or metropolitan centers they serve.

Bobbie O’Connell, CUMU program administrator in TU’s Division of Economic and Community Outreach, says the conference will feature more than 80 presentations divided into four tracks: K-16 partnerships, community partnerships, service learning and civic engagemen, and strategic planning.

Among the keynote speakers will be Lee Shulman, president, The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching; Diane Jones, assistant secretary for Post-Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education; and James Fisher, president emeritus of CASE and Towson University.

O’Connell says that, “because of its size, the conference provides a great forum  for key decision makers from these campuses to come together to share ideas and discuss best practices.

“CUMU has always focused on the key role our institutions play in metropolitan stewardship and in the well-being of the regions they serve,” she adds. “The city of Baltimore provides an ideal backdrop for a conference focused on civic engagement.”   

Citing CUMU's 89 member universities, President Caret says the coalition is growing and evolving "as more institutions identify themselves as urban and metropolitan, and that is really exciting.”

A few spaces remain for Metropolitan Universities and Community Engagement. For details about special registration discounts for TU employees, call Bobbie O'Connell, x43764.

For more information about CUMU, go to http://www.cumuonline.org/

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