The Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) is pleased to announce Cengage and Healthcare Anchor Network as title sponsors of its 2025 CUMU Conference, The Power of Place.
CUMU will convene its annual conference in Baltimore, MD, October 26–29, 2025. This year’s theme explores how campuses partner with their communities to promote social and economic mobility, drive regional development, and foster community well-being.
“I want to thank the Healthcare Anchor Network for their continued support of our conference and to welcome Cengage as a new supporter,” said Valerie Holton, CUMU chief executive officer. “Our shared values of strengthening our communities and supporting our students are vital to our membership and are the threads that will be woven throughout our annual gathering in Baltimore this October.”
CUMU champions the vital connection between urban and metropolitan campuses and their communities, recognizing that “place” transcends geography. The connections between our cities and their regions shape institutional missions and give rise to partnerships with the potential to transform individual lives and regional vitality.
As mission-driven organizations, CUMU member institutions are inextricably linked to the long-term well-being of their communities. The CUMU conference highlights how CUMU member institutions achieve their place-based anchor missions, create transformative outcomes for students, and work to create equitable and sustainable outcomes for the communities they serve.
“Healthcare systems and higher education institutions serve as vital anchor institutions in their communities, and in these challenging times, collaboration between these sectors—and with other community partners—is more critical than ever,” said David Zuckerman, president and founder of Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN).
The Healthcare Anchor Network (HAN) is a growing national collaboration of 75+ leading healthcare systems working to build more inclusive and sustainable local economies. HAN members are committed to ensuring their institutional and operational resources are aligned with their clinical mission.
“As we’ve seen in our work on healthcare’s anchor mission, both eds and meds have tremendous untapped potential to leverage their core economic assets — hiring, purchasing, and investing — to build more inclusive and sustainable local economies. HAN is proud to continue our partnership with the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities (CUMU) to advance this transformative vision, helping anchor institutions more systematically strengthen their communities by building community wealth and creating family-supporting jobs that benefit long-term residents.”
Through CUMU’s programming, such as the Anchor Learning Network, CUMU members are working to transform the national perception of higher education, championing local economic advancement, and becoming long-term partners with the communities they serve.
This programming also focuses on CUMU members’ unwavering focus on student success — success that transforms lives and drives progress throughout the communities member campuses serve.
“Our partnership with CUMU will give us new insights into what higher education leaders need to create value for their students and communities,” said Staci Powers, Vice President Cengage Institutional. “Students are at the core of our shared mission, and together we have an opportunity to help shape higher education’s future.”
Cengage helps higher education instructors, learners and institutions thrive with course materials built around their needs. As one of the largest edtech companies in the world, Cengage provides digital products and services to millions of students, equipping them with skills and competencies needed to advance their education and careers and improve their lives.
“CUMU members value our annual convening because of the open sharing of ideas. Support from Cengage and the Healthcare Anchor Network is essential in helping CUMU create a necessary space where higher education leaders and partners can come together to discuss what’s working and gain new insights for what’s possible for a brighter future,” added Holton.