Ten Years of Progress

Abstract

During the past decade, initiatives by groups such as the Urban Affairs Division of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges have helped bring the concept of the urban university to the fore. Conferences, workshops, and publications have addressed specific topics such as school-college collaboration or minority recruitment and retention, as well as more broad-ranging issues related to the urban agenda of the future. But much remains to be done. Curricula will have to reflect the growing diversity of students. Schedules will have to be made much more flexible. Greater cooperation with public authorities and the private sector will be required if urban universities are to make their proper contribution to the economic development of their regions. And of course these urban institutions must be first and foremost universities, retaining their academic integrity, in order to adequately fulfill their potential in the years ahead.