Colleges Should Make Grade as City Saviors: A Good-Neighbor Outlook Benefits Town and Gown

by Evan S. Dobelle

One of the phenomenons of our times is our preoccupation with lists. Growing up, it was the Top 40 hit songs. Now we have the 10 worst dressed actors. Then there are those college rankings, which have had disproportionate influence. They suggest who is presumed best, which is heavily weighted toward institutions of wealth. Then there is the notorious labeling of some as party schools based on a random collection of thoughts of students around the country.

The reality is that colleges and universities today, particularly those in urban areas, are faced with extraordinary challenges. Many of these institutions, without huge endowments, have taken what could be considered a negative and turned it into a significant positive for the institution and their neighborhoods.

Many two-year colleges, four-year liberal arts colleges and research universities, all with different yet distinctly vital missions, share an opportunity to greatly enhance their neighborhoods and surrounding cities. I decided to put this broad range of institutions on an equal footing to recognize those most deserving of a top 25 list of distinction.

Most importantly, this is a list based on values. I recognize urban colleges with a longstanding commitment to their immediate community. They have invested their own dollars, leveraged with government and philanthropy in their neighborhoods. They have renewed life on urban streets and restored historic buildings. Their payroll and purchasing power help sustain local private enterprise. They have an esprit about service to their community, working in local schools and social service programs, and enjoying a positive relationship with local officials.

These institutions benefit in a legitimate, self-interested way with both increased applications for admission and alumni fund-raising.

My list, entitled “Saviors of Our Cities,” includes well-known institutions and others that should be. Higher education is a huge enterprise that every day plays a more and more critical role in the well-being of all our cities.

On my saviors list of 25, six are here in New England.

Rhode Island School of Design, No. 5 on the list, is a catalyst for Providence’s urban revitalization and an arts/business incubator. No. 7, in Worcester, is Clark University, which - ahead of almost every college - chose to celebrate its city and reach out in service as a core of its mission.

At No. 10 is Emerson College. Many businesses leave the city for greener pastures and Emerson too looked around 15 years ago. But now it is helping transformparts of the former Combat Zone into one of the hottest, hippest neighborhoods anywhere.

No. 11, Trinity in Hartford, and No. 14, Middlesex Community College in Lowell, are colleges I am very familiar with, having served them as president. At Trinity we took a blighted, contaminated adjacent parcel and turned it into a learning corridor of hope for our neighbors with new public schools, theaters, a community center and a Boys and Girls Club. MCC went downtown in Lowell, giving new life to the former Wang Corp. headquarters, the old federal post office, abandoned mills and the historic Nesmith House, stabilizing the inner city.

In Western Massachusetts, No. 20, Springfield College, is building on its 19th-century YMCA roots, and has reached out to its surrounding neighborhood, assuming responsibility for safe streets and quality housing.

So let’s be discerning as we evaluate colleges and universities and realize that they are institutions that do far more than educate and perform research. They can be urban developers, anchor tenants and economic multipliers. In downtowns in Boston, Providence, Hartford, Worcester, Springfield and Lowell, they are indeed saviors of our cities.

By the way, No. 1 on my list is the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.