Fayetteville Mayor to Hold Campus Town Hall Meeting
FAYETTEVILLE, AR - The University Union Voice announces that the Mayor of Fayetteville will hold a Town and Gown Town Hall Meeting at the University of Arkansas campus. The Mayor and City department staff will be offering an opportunity for students, staff, and faculty to learn more about Fayetteville's local government and to ask questions about the programs and policies of city government. Topics for discussion will include citizen involvement and service on city boards and commissions, environmental concerns, historic preservation, sidewalks, trails, trees and landscape, support for the arts, Fayetteville Public Library, telecommunications policies, and the Fayetteville Council of Neighborhoods. Thirty minutes of the meeting will be held aside strictly for questions from the audience.

 

Village Asks College For Payment in Lieu of Taxes
NORTH BENNINGTON, VT - The Bennington Banner writes of the request by the Village of North Bennington, VT for Bennington College to pay a voluntary yearly stipend to the village in lieu of taxes for services provided by the village for the benefit of the college. A Village committee has been meeting in private with representatives from the college and is now ready to present their discussions to the public. According to Village committee members, in addition to the payment discussions, the Village has proposed establishing an ongoing "town/gown" committee, comprised of college and village officials, that would look to strengthen ties between the two, but the college has shown "no interest" in forming such a body and has had very little success in the monetary negotiations. The committee references other town & gown relationships where some colleges do voluntarily pay their home communities yearly stipends. Tufts University pays $135,582 according to the committee. Williams College does not pay Williamstown, Mass., a set amount per year but helps to fund certain municipal projects, like a new elementary school in 2004.

 

UNH's Blake Gumprecht Wins National Award with "The American College Town"
The Wire announces that University of New Hampshire professor Blake Gumprecht will receive the 2008 J.B. Jackson Prize for his recent book "The American College Town." Gumprecht has become the first ever two-time winner of the J.B. Jackson Prize considered the most prestigious award for geographers writing about the cultural landscape of the United States. The author is an associate professor of geography at UNH and chair of the school's Department of Geography. He first received the Jackson Prize for his 1999 book "The Los Angeles River: Its Life, Death, and Possible Rebirth." Published in November by the University of Massachusetts Press, "The American College Town" explores the character and culture of life in college towns across the United States. "College towns are exceptional places, worth knowing and worth knowing about," Gumprecht said in a press release. "They are an essential component of American geography. They are part of what makes life different in these United States. They reflect the singular nature of American higher education and the indelible characteristics of American culture."