Case Study
As Rowan began to increase its capital spending locally, the city of Glassboro saw a unique opportunity to leverage the Rowan investments by developing a plan for the transformation of the downtown area leading to the university. This plan ultimately became the $476 million, mixed-use development of Rowan Boulevard. In the city of Glassboro more than 30 percent of school-aged children qualified for the free lunch program and 20 percent of families earn under the poverty line. The growth that was transforming Rowan was noticed by the former mayor of Glassboro and the business community. Policy and business leaders were encouraged by the growing student market for retail services, housing and food coupled with the university’s strategic focus on becoming an “engine of growth” for Southern New Jersey. In 2008, the town purchased and demolished rundown properties to make way for the development. The Rowan Boulevard design plan generated significant interest by developers, in part because it included lease-back arrangements with the university for student housing and academic buildings.
The South Jersey Technology Park at Rowan University is located approximately one mile from the Rowan campus. According to Dr. Beena Sukumaran, who directed the management of the park for Rowan, the growth of business and investment in the Glassboro area was initiated in partnership with a local philanthropist, Sam Jones, who donated $1 million in 2006 for the establishment of the technology park. According to university literature, “The mission of the Technology Park is to establish a technology based entrepreneurial economy; expand and strengthen the unique research and learning environment of Rowan University; and create value for its surrounding communities in their economic, physical and social development.”
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Case Study
St. Joseph’s accreditation was suspended in 2019 because of financial concerns. Now, the college’s space and land is being evaluated for potentially becoming an innovation center for the surrounding community. The creation of the CSJ Center for Excellence & Innovation as a community-focused Opportunity Zone project will “align, engage, and partner local government and institutions with private capital and philanthropy to address the challenges of job creation and building scalable businesses in Rutland.” Goals for the CSJ Center for Excellence and Innovation are to serve the community by “providing certificate programs, workforce training, co-working spaces, and start-up support.”
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NPU-T (Neighborhood Planning Unit-T), Ashview Community Development Association, West End Neighborhood Development Association, Westview Community Organization, West End Merchant Coalition, Booker T. Washington Homeowners Association are working together under the Morehouse College Community Revitalization Initiative (MCCRI) . The initiative was started as programming to develop a relationship with the college’s surrounding community, greater West End Atlanta. This initiative is the home base of the college’s Adams/Conner Scholars, student interns who serve as the liaisons between Morehouse and the community. The initiative has three objectives around supporting revitalization in this area of Atlanta: preparing a neighborhood revitalization plan that emphasizes community-articulated preferences for development and preservation, establishing community-based momentum for driving neighborhood revitalization, and promoting and strengthening meaningful linkages between the community and Morehouse College.
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Established in 2014 by a three-year grant from the Ball Brothers Foundation, the Building Better Neighborhoods Initiative connects Ball State’s resources with neighborhood development efforts across Muncie and Delaware County through “collaborative immersive learning experiences with Ball State faculty, students, and neighborhood associations; leadership development workshops and annual conference for neighborhood association members; best practices and support for neighborhood associations; and networking and learning opportunities for neighborhood leaders.”
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In 2006, Kansas State held listening sessions across the state aimed at identifying challenges facing rural Kansas communities. During these sessions, the need to support rural grocery stores rose to the top.
Rural grocery stores contribute to a community by providing economic development through jobs and by contributing to the local tax base, acting as community hubs for community members to gather and connect, and serving as essential sources for healthy food options.
KSU founded the Rural Grocery Initiative (RGI) to provide resources to help sustain and enhance independently-owned rural grocery stores. RGI assists communities and citizens to strengthen rural grocery operations and improve access to healthy foods. RGI provides technical assistance to grocers and communities related to rural grocery stores and/or healthy food access, maintains a Rural Grocery Store Database, develops and maintains a collection of resources called the Rural Grocery Toolkit, hosts a National Rural Grocery Summit, conducts research on relevant rural grocery and food access issues, and partners with organizations and institutions that work to support rural grocery stores and communities.