The 2026 International Town & Gown Association’s City & University Relation Conference, Hosted by the City of College Station and Texas A&M University.
Laying Tracks for the Future
Deadline to Submit: Friday, February 20, 2026
Background and Invitation to Submit
Texas A&M University and the City of College Station are proud to host the 2026 ITGA City and University Relations Conference, May 19–22, 2026, at the Texas A&M Hotel & Conference Center.
The theme of this year’s conference is Laying Tracks for the Future, with a focus on building strong, sustainable futures for both communities and universities. Texas A&M, founded in 1876, and the City of College Station, incorporated in 1938, share a unique history. The city itself is named after the train station that once served Texas A&M students near campus. This shared origin underscores the importance of the partnership between the university and the city—a partnership that remains essential for the success of both.
Texas A&M and College Station have long prioritized town-gown relations, recognizing the value of fostering a vibrant, inclusive community for all. This year’s conference tracks will continue to highlight critical areas from past gatherings.
We invite dynamic proposals that share creative, practical solutions and forward-thinking ideas to address town-gown challenges.
Conference registration at the Earlybird rate is required for all presenters. For questions, please contact Beth Bagwell, ITGA Executive Director,
Topic Areas
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Track 1: Engine Room Essentials - Health and Wellness In a digital age, where it’s easy to seem connected to everything, it is very easy to feel disconnected and overwhelmed. Communities from all over feel the effects, and have put in the work to address it from the ground up. This track examines what groups are doing to improve the health and wellness of our town/gown communities. Suggested topics in this track include:
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Track 2: Conducting at the Track - Local Government At the heart of the gown is the town that surrounds it. Local governments that are home to institutions of higher learning face unique challenges that other cities won’t experience. This track explores those challenges along with the innovative solutions our cities have developed. Successful proposals in this track include:
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Track 3: Built with Rails and Timber - Housing Fundamental to learning and growing is the environment that you call home. Communities across America are faced with the same question: how do we address ‘the housing issue’ from every level. The purpose of this track is to explore how town and gown communities are working to address housing and how others might learn from them. Successful proposals in this track include:
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Track 4: Signals and Safeguards - Public Safety Addressing issues related to public safety in a town and gown community can often feel like you’re being pulled in two different directions. We inherently want to let students grow into responsible adults, but often they need guidance along the way. This track examines how communities adapt their public safety outreach to meet the needs of their long term residents while keeping students safe. Successful proposals in this track include:
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Track 5: All Aboard, Together - Community Engagement In more ways than one, cities and institutions work in tandem with each other. The town cannot survive without the gown and the gown cannot survive without the town. The purpose of this track is to look at how other entities build community. Successful proposals in this track include:
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Track 6: Roll Towards Growth - Economic Development Our communities are unique in that they draw in brilliant minds of all ages - from students to professors to the corporate worker. Our communities are the ones that are driving innovation, bringing new research to the forefront, and most importantly, showing a new generation the difference they can make. People come to our communities to learn, to live, to spend, this track examines how economic development can play a role in someone’s experiences while they visit. Suggested proposals topics in this track include:
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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
- Sessions are limited to a total of 60 minutes, keeping into account the desire for interactive sessions encouraging attendee participation.
- Lightening rounds are 20 minues.
- 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 20, 2026.
- You will be notified on or before Friday, March 20, 2026 regarding the status of your proposal.
- If accepted, presenters will be required to submit a one-page summary for attendees using a pre-provided template.
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 promoting the greater good 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 and Attend
- Mayors/elected officials
- City administrators
- University/college leaders
- Researchers
- Campus police officers
- Public safety
- Community/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
Sessions should be representative of town and gown relations, so it is important to include both university and community stakeholder perspectives.
Many times, we focus on the “what” without exploring the “how.” We encourage you to share challenges and how you overcame these, as well as any lessons learned throughout the process.
Research, data and program evaluation are part of many processes, and we are interested to understand this part of your experience. Make sure to share any data/metrics you have, as well as how that has informed your work.
Conference presenters can sometimes fall into the routine of lecture-style and/or tour-like presentations that are not always the most engaging for attendees. We want this conference to be an exchange of information, so we encourage you to develop your classroom and/or mobile style session as interactive and conversational as possible.