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Understanding Town-Gown Relationship Types

Throughout this website I will use Stephen M. Gavazzi’s article “Making Use of Assessment Findings in Optimizing Town-Gown Relationships”, to understand and classify Colorado Colleges attempts to build a relationship with Colorado Springs. Gavazzi argues that colleges and the towns that they inhabit are codependent, and that for each to operate efficiently they must have a harmonious relationship. He insists that ignoring issues between the two communities leads to fights over land use and off campus student behavior. Gavazzi outlines four different types of relationships between towns and the colleges that exist within them. (1) Harmonious: includes “high effort and high comfort levels”. Both groups are engaged in activities that are mutually beneficial (2) Traditional: where most schools fall, there is some comfort among both groups although neither really attempts to engage or understand the other (3) Conflicted: groups sometimes interact comfortably, even if these interactions are often negative or uncomfortable. (4) Devitalized: no activities or interactions, very uncomfortable around each other Gavazzi reminds readers that a colleges relationships can be of completely different statuses with different groups, i.e. business leaders, non-profit leaders, and educators, in town. Gavazzi asked members of a college town community to list things which their local institution could do in order to better the relationship between the two groups and recorded these eight common responses. Throughout the website these will be referred to as Gavazzi's local suggestions. (1) Involving the school in local volunteer opportunities (2) Living in the community and participating in the local economy (3) Holding on campus events (4) Expanding classes and degrees offered so that local people can attend (5) Connecting with local secondary schools (6) Publicize events and news (7) Making coursework accessible (8) Offering school resources to local and community needs Gavazzi goes on to lay out a mobilization plan that includes qualitative and quantitative data collection that a college or university can complete to better understand and improve their relationship with the town. He insists that to perpetuate a harmonious relationship, a college MUST understand the HISTORY of their town-gown relationship so as to avoid repeating past mistakes. He also asserts that colleges must constantly be assessing its relationship with the town as well as attempting to improve it and that it must make this a cultural norm for all members of the future administration. Citation: Gavazzi, Stephen M. "Making Use of Assessment Findings in Optimizing Town-Gown Relationships." Assessment UPdate: Progress, Trends, and Practices in Higher Education 28, no. 2 (March 2016): 1-17. Accessed February 12, 2019. doi:10.1002/au