If ever there was a wake-up call for higher education, a recent Brookings Institute report is it: Colleges and universities must be anchors for economic revitalization in their neighborhoods.

For far too long, institutions of higher learning have been reluctant to step outside their Ivory Towers to take on the vital role of economic catalysts in their communities.

Picking up trash in a local park and tutoring struggling school children are no longer sufficient models for community service. While such efforts are laudatory, colleges and universities need to think more broadly and strategically.

For 10 years, I have been actively working, first at the University of Pennsylvania and now at Franklin & Marshall College, to make these institutions key engines of economic growth and revitalization in their communities.

Working hand-in-hand with community leaders, government officials, non-profits and business owners, we are effecting real, positive change in our communities - change that will have a lasting impact.

At Franklin & Marshall College, we offer incentives to faculty and staff to buy and restore houses in the neighborhoods surrounding our campus. On a larger scale, we are partnering with a local hospital to obtain public and private funds to develop adjacent blighted properties and adapt them for uses that will beautify the community, create jobs and bolster the tax base. We have collaborated with commercial developers to create needed student housing combined with retail space that serves local neighborhoods. And we have developed significant partnerships with our neighborhood public schools.

The new model that the Brookings report describes recognizes that institutions of higher learning are both significant stakeholders and economic catalysts in their communities.

As educational institutions, we have the capacity to contribute the leadership and resources to stimulate economic activity on an unprecedented scale. I happen to view this as core to our educational mission, not an ancillary activity.

It certainly serves our interests to help change surrounding neighborhoods from deteriorating to desirable. From a competitive standpoint, if our local communities are crumbling around us, we will fail to attract the most talented students, faculty and staff.

But in addition to the practical benefits of commitment to the community, there is a moral imperative as well. Helping to shape students into committed citizens who are engaged with the world and who will contribute in a positive way to civic life and culture should not be an abstract exercise.

By taking a leadership role in community renewal, colleges and universities can create an educational moment for the student body, modeling an initiative of practical service that goes beyond theoretical classroom discussions.

A handful of institutions are leading the way. Their successes offer a playbook for others. For example, rather than painting over graffiti, they are partnering with commercial interests to redevelop whole city blocks into vibrant residential, retail and cultural centers. They are working with local public schools to improve the quality of education. They are opening incubators that create new businesses. They are using grants from state governments to develop enterprise zones that benefit non-profit and commercial interests alike.

It takes bold leadership to forge partnerships among educational institutions, government, non-profits and the private sector. But every institution can do it - there are no limitations of scale. Even small steps can have a domino effect on local economies.

There are many ways to accomplish this without writing a big check. Colleges can contribute time, energy and intellectual capital to build these partnerships, which in turn will leverage more dollars from private and public sources.

More than money, what colleges and universities bring to the table is a sense of gravitas. They have convening power to form relationships among disparate entities. They can provide the inspiration for action, and the structure for collaboration. And when non-profits and private enterprises come together to accomplish mutually beneficial goals, governments, respecting their collective clout, are usually willing to provide additional support.

This is not a difficult sell. In the last decade of working in higher education, I have yet to meet someone with whom this idea does not resonate.

The opportunity to lead the revitalization of our neighborhoods and surrounding communities is ripe. There is a clear need and a moral imperative. What it takes is the vision and energy of forward-thinking colleges and universities to begin.

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CONTACT: Marcy Dubroff, Franklin & Marshall College Communications/News Bureau, 717-291-3837, marcy.dubroff@fandm.edu

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