Town and Gown: Examining Interactions Between Colleges and Communities

The relationship between a city and the local college cannot be underestimated. Each group has something that the other can benefit from and rather than giving and taking, a true town and gown relationship is designed around sharing. A college is much more than an institution that promotes the sharing of knowledge and creation of new ideas. Colleges are much like cities. They have large budgets, employee pools and tremendous infrastructures to manage. When town and gown relationship is firing on all cylinders, the two truly become one instead of there being a city within a city. This study went into detail with a specific town and gown relationship between Magnolia University and the City of Opportunity. Though the initial outlook on this relationship was not strong, a new president came in to lead a charge of community engagement and city leaders were not only open to the idea, they embraced the relationship. Interviews were conducted among officials from each side to better understand the history, the present and the potential future of the relationship between Magnolia University and the City of Opportunity.