Launching New Series, Save the Date, and Data Digest
Greetings ITGA members and friends;

I trust all of you are doing well and taking care of yourselves.

In reviewing your comments from the post-conference survey, many of you indicated that the chance to connect with colleagues addressing similar emerging issues in town-gown communities, especially around COVID-19 and racial tensions, was appreciated and valued.

To continue to facilitate these conversations year-round, ITGA is launching an ITGA Connects: Courageous Conversations Series in July designed to create a safe space for engaging in hard-truth conversations around complex issues in town-gown communities with the end goal of seeking new solutions and healing. This is designed for ITGA members and if you have ideas you would like to suggest, please send them to Beth@itga.org .

Also, it is not too late to join the National League of Cities (NLC) University Communities Council meeting for a discussion with Leon Andrews from NLC's Race, Equity And Leadership ( REAL) initiative on how to create more equitable communities and respond to issues of race and identity, especially in the face of current events. ITGA members can register here . The meeting is on Thursday, June 18, 3:30-4:45 pm EDT.
Save the Date: ITGA 2021 Conference Hosts
The ITGA will be hosting their 2021 City & University Relations Conference at Marquette University in Milwaukee, WI from May 24-26 . The conference will consist of three days of scheduled sessions to the theme, Innovating for Tomorrow Together. The theme and setting of the 2021 conference were unveiled together on June 3rd during a business meeting by ITGA President Ron Jackson. Ron was accompanied by Marquette University's Vice President of Public Affairs, Rana Altenburg. "We at Marquette and the city of Milwaukee really are so honored to be selected. As a longtime ITGA participant I can't even begin to express the emotion that we had in being selected." Peggy Williams Smith, President & CEO of VISIT Milwaukee, "We are so happy to welcome ITGA to Milwaukee next year. Marquette University is a valued partner of VISIT and a large contributor to the overall community." Click here to access the Visit Milwaukee/Marquette University video and save the date card. Press release prepared by Amy Gage , University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.
ITGA Data Digest Report: COVID-19
When the ITGA convened four focus groups in early May as part of its yearlong Data Digest project, COVID-19 was the large disruptor around the world. Then came the death of George Floyd, a Black man, at the hands of police on May 25 in Minneapolis - and cities across the globe erupted in anger and anguish, protests and pain. These events lent a poignancy and urgency to the presentation of the focus group research at the virtual conference on June 3 (#ITGAVirtual2020) amid a national conversation about racial inequity and the reality that COVID-19 likely will affect students of color more strongly due to health and economic disparities.

  • Health and safety followed by the local economy emerged as the top two coronavirus concerns among ITGA focus group participants, according to researchers Joelle Brown, M.A., assistant director, Global Community Engagement at the University of Iowa, and Janet Lillie, Ph.D., assistant VP for community relations at Michigan State University.

To see the Data Digest report, click here . Article written by Amy Gage , University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, Minnesota.
Welcome New and Renewing Members
American University; Miami University & City of Oxford; Montgomery College; Princeton University; and Tarleton State University.

To learn about the many benefits of joining ITGA and our growing, essential network, click here or contact Susan@itga.org .
International Town & Gown Association www.itga.org