Town-gown partnership stressed

Town-gown partnership stressed

By STEPHEN CAIN

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The University of Michigan, regents were told Friday, should pick a new top gown that cares about the town.

“I personally have always used the term ‘symbiotic’ to describe town-gown relations,” Ann Arbor Mayor Ingrid Sheldon said during the last of nine U-M presidential search forums conducted by the Board of Regents.

‘‘The town and the gown should thrive because of each other,” she said. “The city becomes more successful because of the resources and personnel of the university, and the university becomes more successful and attractive to the highest caliber student and staff if there is a successful, vibrant, supportive host community that maintains an excellent quality of life.”

Sheldon asked the regents to select a candidate whose previous institution had done more to maintain the economic viability of its neighborhood than simply meeting a payroll.

The message of partnership was echoed by both Grace Shackman, chair of the Washtenaw County Board of Commissioners, and County Administrator Robert Guenzel, both of whom addressed the Friday session at the Ford Presidential Library on North Campus.

“We ask the university to consider intergovernmental cooperation as a priority and join with us as a leader in this area,” said Shackman.

“There is much we already do on an informal basis. We need to institute the partnership and facilitate the university’s operational relationships with the public and private sectors in the county.”

She said, for example, that the county could help U-M students receive real-world experience through internships in such areas as public health, urban planning, early childhood education and natural resources management.

Guenzel, who also is president-elect of the Washtenaw Development Council, called on the university to expand its involvement in the public-private partnership and seek out new ways to help stabilize and expand the economy.

“Emphasize locally based business in the commercialization of university research,” he suggested. “A commitment to this effort must come from the top of the university.

“The University of Michigan is a large institution, and meaningful access to specific resources is often difficult to achieve. The selection of a new president provides another opportunity for you to raise the university’s priority for community involvement.”