An Internationalized Stewardship of Urban Places

Abstract

Metropolitan universities in the United States are driven by the intertwined missions of broadening educational access and serving their surrounding communities. International education historically has been placed somewhat apart from such missions. This separation has little justification in these globalized times, however--a realization that changes how such institutions might approach the civic engagement and stewardship at their core. Metropolitan areas must now be understood not only in terms of geographic proximity but also in terms of intersecting "spheres of engagement," from local to global. Cities, their universities, and the graduates they produce, must learn to operate across these spheres with skill, wisdom, and responsibility. The result is the internationalized academic stewardship of urban places discussed in this article.