Eds and Meds in the City

In my day job, I've had the pleasure of working for and with a lot of the area's universities and health systems.  Today and tomorrow, I'll have the pleasure of spending a lot of time with them, at the Philadelphia Higher Education Network for Neighborhood Development (PHENND) conference on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania.

I'm speaking on both days.  Thursday, I'm paired with City Controller Alan Butkovitz, and we'll be talking about the role of procurement spending by anchor institutions in stimulating the Philadelphia economy.  Friday, I'm paired with Jeffrey Cooper and David Glancey in Penn's Office of Government and Community Affairs and will be talking about win-win partnerships between anchor institutions and local governments.

Living in University City, I am both beneficiary and participant in the many intersections between town and gown.  Perhaps I am biased, but I believe that Philadelphia and its institutions are particularly active on this issue.  I am looking forward to this two-day conference, to contributing my perspective and learning a bunch of things from others.