The 2024 International Town & Gown Association's City & University Relations Conference
Hosted by the University of Maryland and City of College Park
The Power of Partnerships: Solving Grand Challenges Together
Deadline to Submit: Friday, February 23, 2024
Background and Invitation to Submit
The City of College Park and University of Maryland, College Park invite you to apply to be a presenter at the 2024 ITGA City & University Relations Conference, “The Power of Partnerships: Solving Grand Challenges Together," June 5 through June 7, 2024. This year’s theme is inspired by University of Maryland President Dr. Darryll Pines’ campus-wide commitment to addressing unprecedented global challenges through the exchange of stories, collaborative exploration of issues, and the pursuit of innovative solutions. Some challenges in the conference sessions we will tackle through this theme include community & civic engagement, social injustice, health and safety, racial equity, disparities in education, and climate change.
The conference program tracks are designed to encourage presentations that will inform and inspire the future of our communities through classroom and mobile sessions, and will allow for a broad range of discussions to address society’s grand challenges – on our campuses, in our towns, or around the world. Conference registration is required for all presenters. If you have any questions, please contact
Topic Areas
Mobile Sessions
Conference attendees from the College Park area, including non-profits, community colleges, local businesses, and landlords, are invited to submit proposals for mobile sessions after 3:00pm on the afternoons of Wednesday, June 5, Thursday, June 6, and Friday, June 7. Mobile sessions offer participants the ability to leave the conference site for unique interactive experiences. Each mobile session will be scheduled for no more than two hours. Transportation and any other costs are the responsibility of the presenters in coordination with the Host Committee.
Mobile sessions will be submitted, evaluated and accepted on the same basis as other proposals for concurrent sessions and should address learning objectives and outcomes. Proposals should include a logistics timeline indicating travel time to and from the conference site. Mobile session topics must fit into one of the three tracks.
Submission Requirements and Important Dates
- Name of contact person and contact information
- Title of innovation or solution
- Track number
- Include student enrollment size and population of city/town
- Description of the format and outline of the content and key messages
- Abstract in 75 words or less describing your program session (to be used in the conference program)
- Learning outcomes
- Indicate whether this is a mobile session
- Sessions are limited to a total of 60 minutes, keeping into account the desire for interactive sessions encouraging attendee participation.
- Rooms are equipped with audio/visual capabilities-projector screens and/or flat screen TVs. Presenters must bring your own laptop.
- You must submit your proposal on or before Friday, February 23, 2024.
- You will be notified on or before Thursday, March 28, 2024 regarding the status of your proposal.
ITGA Core Competencies
Each proposal must connect to one of ITGA’s Core Competencies below. For more information, click here.
- Building Community: Strengthening, adding, and growing diverse, equitable and inclusive opportunities for all members of the community
- Transforming Relationships: Creating collaborative partnerships to foster economic growth and success of the community
- Wellbeing: Creating a balanced approach to health, safety and wellness to faculty, staff, students and community members
- Resiliency: Responding to environmental challenges
Who Should Submit
- Mayors
- City administrators
- Elected officials
- University/college presidents
- Vice presidents
- City/campus police officers
- City/campus planners
- Housing administrators
- Parking/transportation officers
- Students/community members
- Private housing developers
- Others sharing a unified town gown vision
Suggested Guidelines for a Successful Session