Urban University Blog

​ ​​​Calling All USU Innovation and Maker Spaces! ​​Our friends at dpict—a design and facilitation firm— and The Value Web network would like to support connections between your university maker spaces and medical centers to collaborate in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Much needed Personal Protective Equipment  (PPE) is in short supply around the world, and there is an opportunity for your university to take a leadership role in supporting your local community needs. They

Not all Americans have the same opportunities to live in good health.  Evidence shows that individuals identifying as minorities suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases and live shorter, unhealthier lives. They are more likely to be uninsured and live in areas where health care services are limited. These health disparities are tragic – but they are also fixable. Urban universities are well-positioned to step in and train the next wave of doctors, nurses, dentists, ph

More than 60 million Americans live in areas without enough health care providers to meet demand – primarily in minority and low-income communities, where residents are less likely to be insured and suffer disproportionately from chronic disease. The lack of access to care and resulting health disparities have had a devastating impact on our communities, and have cost our nation billions in unnecessary spending and lost productivity. Universities are uniquely positioned to he

Entrepreneurs play a critical role in our economy. The innovations they develop have a cascading effect on job creation, standards of living, and growth in related industries. Teaching talented individuals to become entrepreneurs themselves and supporting them as they launch their own companies is one thing that universities can do to strengthen the economy in their communities. At California State University, Los Angeles, we understand the importance of this approach, which

Adult college students who have made significant progress in their careers don’t have time to go back and start all over from the beginning. Although they may lack formal credentials, in many cases they have much of the knowledge and skills needed to excel in their field. What if adult students could simply take a test to determine their skill level and skip ahead to where they need to be in the curriculum? They would only need to pay for the credits they need, allowing them

One of the first things students ask when they walk into my office is: “What can I do with a kinesiology major?” When I flip the question around and ask them what they’d like to do with it, the answer isn’t always definitive. Students need to develop an understanding of what is possible, and engage in experiences that will help them identify what they want to do – and how to get there. That’s one of the reasons why we started 100 Citizens. Established in 2011 in the City of S

“There just aren’t enough minority scholars in the STEM pipeline.” “Underrepresented students get so many scholarship offers, there’s no way our university can compete.” “Until we fix our broken K-12 educational system, there’s little universities can do to expand minority student participation in science.” Do any of these statements sound familiar? They are common refrains among higher education leaders, used to explain why – despite years of effort and millions of dollars i