The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) was launched in 1989 by a group of university presidents. These founding members made a “pledge to enrich their metropolitan communities while strengthening the universities’ core commitment to teaching and research.”
Today, CUMU is a diverse association of institutions from the US and Canada, with a strong focus on the roles that higher education plays as anchor institutions and partners in their cities. CUMU supports members institutions and disseminates knowledge relevant to urban colleges and universities through four strategies:
- Idea Exchange
- Engagement
- Public Service
- Advocacy
CUMU is home to Metropolitan Universities Journal, which publishes cutting-edge scholarship on issues of relevance urban institutions of higher education, including community-based research.
CUMU also holds an Annual Conference that brings together university leaders, community engagment professiuonals community partners, faculty, and students to explore the changing face of urban higher education.