Great Universities, Great Cities

Tomorrow Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) will install its 23rd president, Dr. Edward M. Hundert. To commemorate the event, CWRU and the City of Cleveland will host a colloquium, "Great Universities and their Cities," for the national and local academic and civic communities.

What will occur at the meeting? According to a joint editorial by Cleveland Mayor Jane Campbell and incoming CWRU President Hundert, "We will bring together university presidents, mayors and other leaders working in highly effective partnerships in Chicago, New Haven, Conn., Baltimore, St. Louis, Toronto, Richmond, Va., Rochester, N.Y. and Nashville. These leaders will explain models that make a difference in the economies, health, life sciences, K-12 education, housing, work force readiness, arts and culture, technology and race relations in their cities. The discussion will expand our thinking and help us launch initiatives that will make the Cleveland-CWRU connection one of the most exemplary "town-gown" programs in the nation."

These leaders will describe models that they believe are making a difference in their local economies, health care, life sciences, K-12 education, housing, workforce development, the arts and culture, technology and race relations. The discussion is designed to expand thinking and help identify new initiatives that will make the Cleveland-CWRU partnership one of the best "town-gown" programs nationally.

Best practices will be discussed along with discussions on how Cleveland and its leading research university can hasten economic progress for the city and larger surrounding region. Participants include university presidents, mayors and other leaders working in highly effective partnerships in Chicago, New Haven, Conn., Baltimore, St. Louis, Toronto, Richmond, Va., Rochester, N.Y. and Nashville.

My take? Very good move! Cleveland and Northeast Ohio need to take advantage of some of the good ideas out there that are working elsewhere. As they say, there is no need to reinvent the wheel.

I would offer just one bit of advice--take a good hard look at our cultural values, especially values that: 1) encourage us to see "innovation" as a component of everyday jobs--we must constantly work on reinventing ourselves; 2) urge us to work more collaboratively within NE Ohio, nationally and globally--be willing to transcend political geography; and 3) push us to challenge and test the assumptions we make about ourselves and others--our self-limiting beliefs are perhaps our worst enemies.

If we can achieve this culture change, Cleveland and Northeast Ohio will be ready to use any and all new ideas about how to achieve greatness. It will be ready for innovation.