April 2, 2007

Inaugural Lecture Focuses on Urban University as Developer

The urban university's role as a real estate developer will be the focus of the first University of Illinois at Chicago Wiewel Lectureship in Urban and Economic Development April 5.

Featured speakers are David Perry, professor of urban planning and policy and director of the Great Cities Institute, and Wim Wiewel, provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at the University
of Baltimore. The lecture's title is "The University and the City: Real Estate Development by the Knowledge Industry."

The lecture, the first in an annual series, will be held at 5 p.m. in the Cardinal Room of the Student Center East, 750 S. Halsted St. It builds on a 2005 book, "The University as Developer," co-edited by Perry and Wiewel.

Perry and Wiewel attribute the expansion of universities to demographic change and the rise of the knowledge economy, particularly in a global context. They plan to discuss the strategy, pragmatism and financing behind development, the role of community partners, and the impact of universities' growth as part of the urban fabric.

" Student numbers are at or near all-time highs," the book says, "and the expectation on universities to provide housing, social activities, and support services continues to grow. Over time these projects can
have a significant effect on the neighborhoods surrounding the campus."

Wiewel leads initiatives by Baltimore University in Baltimore's revitalization. From 1979 to 2004, he served successively as director of UIC's Center for Urban Economic Development, special assistant to the chancellor for Great Cities, dean of the UIC College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, and dean of the UIC College of Business Administration. Wiewel preceded Perry as Great Cities Institute director.

With the support of many donors, he established the Wiewel lecture fund to honor his parents, Leo Wiewel and Truus Wiewel-Ypma, and to recognize UIC's role in his 25 years of involvement with Chicago. The two colleges he led as dean co-organize the Wiewel lecture.

Perry has written or edited nine books, including the forthcoming "The University, the City and Land," also co-authored by Wiewel. He has published in the New York Times, the Nation, Metropolis, and academic journals on economic development, policy and urban violence, spatial segregation, and the production of urban space.

He has served on the Mayor's Zoning Reform Commission in Chicago and on many other public boards and commissions. He co-directs the Contested Cities Project, analyzing public policy's effect on ethnic and religious conflict in Chicago, Berlin, Jerusalem, Belfast, and Cape Town. He chaired the urban planning program at the State University of New York, where he was a fellow of the Rockefeller Institute, and taught in the government department of the University of Texas at Austin.

The Great Cities Institute is a university-wide research center built on community-university partnerships for engaged research that benefits Chicago and other cities around the world.

To register for the lecture and the reception, please call (312) 996-2569 or e-mail dmorle2@uic.edu.

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