"An increasingly globalized economy leaves communities everywhere anxious about losing good jobs. Even the prosperous Twin Cities is no exception, as the closing of the St. Paul Ford plant and the transfer of Delta Air Lines employees show."
It’s bad news for the whole region when jobs leave, including local institutions like Augsburg that benefit from being located in a thriving community. An increase in unemployment, poverty, and social dislocation in neighborhoods surrounding the campus would raise new challenges for the College in attracting students, faculty, and contributions.
Corridors of Opportunity – Leveraging Anchor Institutions
"The role of Anchor Institutions in local economies is having a resurgence of sorts according to research done by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner-City (ICIC), which focuses attention on the natural competiveness of location and infrastructure provided by our nation’s inner cities. With the Central Corridor under construction, the Twin Cities offers a platform to explore the role of local anchors – especially in relation to the aligned efforts of the “Corridors of Opportunity”. On November 3, the Central Corridor Funders Collaborative and other collaborating partners including the Met Council explored how the educational and health care institutions (“eds” and “meds”) located along and near the Central Corridor can work together in a more coordinated way to enhance their self-interest while benefiting the neighborhoods along the corridor. (Program materials available here.)"