Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities

The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) is an international membership organization of colleges and universities located in urban and metropolitan areas that share common understandings of their institutional missions and values. CUMU was founded in 1989 by 10 university presidents gathered at Wright State University who realized their unique challenges and opportunities as they looked to the future of higher education. Today, CUMU works to build connections across its membership to create and share knowledge on the issues that face our urban and metropolitan campuses and the communities they serve. CUMU is headquartered at Towson University in Towson, Maryland. The organization publishes Metropolitan Universities journal, a scholarly publication addressing the issues facing urban and metropolitan-serving institutions, such as civic engagement, leadership, and shared academic spaces. As of 2016, the journal has been published entirely online as an open-access journal. History The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) was founded in 1989 by a group of presidents and chancellors who gathered at Wright State University to recognize and affirm their shared mission to use the power of their campuses in education, research, and service to enhance the communities in which they were located. On this occasion, the founders of CUMU came together to create a viable niche in higher education for those institutions united through their philosophies. Member institutions pledged to enrich their communities while strengthening the campus’ core commitment to teaching and research.