Message from the Editor

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities brings together universities that share the mission of striving for national excellence while contributing to the economic development, social health, and cultural vitality of the urban or metropolitan centers served.

The Coalition began, in part, because some urban and metropolitan presidents became increasingly aware of the things their campuses had in common, and of shared frustrations. The mission and characteristics of their institutions were not well understood, and any system for ranking or describing universities and colleges was based on the traits of highly traditional, residential colleges serving full-time 18-21 year-old students. Systems such as Carnegie's classification scheme did not include measures for the significant applied research and service activities of urban and metropolitan universities. These presidents found themselves gathering on an ad hoc basis at the national meetings of major higher education associations, and eventually decided to organize their own affiliate group.

The founding members shaped the Coalition as an association that would focus on exchange and communications to share information about our institutions for the purposes of enhancing internal planning and external understanding. The group initiated a journal, Metropolitan Universities, as its first endeavor. The Journal continues to serve as a unique venue for exploring the characteristics and experiences of urban and metropolitan universities. They also sponsored occasional national conferences, and engaged most recently in funding direct research on our institutions. But its primary goal continues to be the enhancement of internal and external understanding of the metropolitan mission.