Partnerships Create Better Outcomes

University towns bring a diverse population that include citizens that reside permanently and students that are more transient based on the class calendar. In Baltimore, Johns Hopkins is considered a beacon of hope, as Carlson explains, some for the medical miracles for family members in need of care, and others for the investments made in the community such as with HopkinsLocal, an economic development program that has invested more than $1 billion in the local community. Additionally, Johns Hopkins is an employer of 40,000 people and an indirect employer of another 50,000 people, which makes them the largest employer in the city. When changes in investments are made, they are not limited to the university, rather they impact the community as a whole. With the defunding of USAID, Johns Hopkins lost $800 million in federal funding, which they need to either wind down programs or seek to cover that funding through other means. Carlson shares a saying, “As goes Baltimore, so goes Johns Hopkins, and vice versa”, which embodies that inextricable relationship that exists in a city that is home to an education institution.

Walking the streets of Ann Arbor paints a picture that is hard to determine where the city ends and the university starts. Beyond the physical presence of university buildings are the influx of students to the community, who bring the diversity of their upbringing from another part of the country or world that create a unique microcosm of cultures. The university and community relationship requires fostering to ensure that the interests of each are heard in institution and civic decisions as the impact of those decisions are impactful to the community as a whole.

The term “partnership” is used in the Chronicle article, which embodies the idea that decisions and actions by each group have an impact on the other, both positive and negative. Whether it is expanding a campus that extends into new areas of the community to investing in new programs that being new industries to the area, community engagement has the opportunity to foster a sustainable partnership that is mutually beneficial.


Leverage your partnerships to magnify the positive impacts of actions.

 



References:

  • [1] Carlson, Scott. “What One University Means to Its City” The Chronicle of Higher Education, vol. 71, no. 19, May 23, 2025, page 22 – 26.

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