WHY JOIN CUMU?
Since 1989, CUMU has become a leading voice and forum for higher education leaders anchoring and energizing urban and metropolitan communities. We help our members contend with the complexities of their work by providing opportunities for them to exchange ideas for how to dismantle barriers and institutionalize practices that enable intentional, transformative change involving students, faculty, staff, and community partners.
A membership for your entire campus
CUMU provides unique opportunities for everyone on your campus—senior leadership, administrators, faculty, staff, students, and partners—to participate in and benefit from CUMU.
Connect. Learn. Collaborate.
CUMU member campuses are on the edge of what is happening in higher education and society. The power of CUMU is our ability to connect and convene members to address critical challenges, share impactful solutions, and gain national visibility.
- Annual conference
- Anchor Learning Network
- Huddles (informal learning communities)
- Virtual programs (webinars, community conversations, workshops)
- Presidential programming
- Because Place Matters (member-driven monthly newsletter)
- Metropolitan Universities journal
- Research fellowships and publications
- Barbara A. Holland Scholar-Administrator Award
How institutions and leaders benefit from being a CUMU member
“The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga is one of the founding members of CUMU, and we remain committed to advancing the goals of the organization, which align directly with our mission as Chattanooga’s University. I look forward to sharing and learning about best practices of our member institutions as we strive to serve both our students and our communities.”
University of Tennessee at Chattanooga
“Colleges and universities seated in urban and metropolitan areas have a fundamental responsibility to aid in the transformation of the communities in which they sit with access, affordability, and social mobility as north stars. Further, it is the role of these academic institutions to partner with municipal government and the private sector to educate and elevate for the common good.”
Rutgers University–Camden
“We’re proud to be a part of CUMU, an organization that understands the unique challenges and opportunities universities like ours face. Together, we strive to foster student success, upward social mobility, and workforce development, ensuring that our students and our region rise together.”
California State University, San Marcos
“As president of one of the largest public, R1 universities in the nation, I look forward to serving on the board of CUMU. Our member institutions are breaking ground and have a responsibility to lead the way for the future of higher education. We are essential to the economic prosperity of our urban areas and CUMU is helping us share best practices in student success, research and so much more.”
Florida International University
“The urban university has the greatest power to restore the public’s confidence in higher education. Because CUMU brings together urban and metropolitan universities across our nation for discourse, research, and public advocacy, CUMU has the greatest potential to restore not only local trust in higher education, but national trust as well, by fostering actual rather than merely aspirational impact.”
University of Houston-Downtown
“The need for higher education to illustrate its relevancy and help enact positive results for people, and our communities is increasingly imperative. An essential partner in our efforts to amplify our impact nationally is the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities.”
University of Missouri–St. Louis
