As federal policymakers consider ideas to provide transformative investments to states and metropolitan areas, they should do more to engage with anchor institutions in economically distressed communities. In many distressed places, anchor institutions—such as higher education institutions—can be important assets for supporting local job creation, housing, and other forms of economic and community development. To support distressed communities, this report lays out the case for federal funding of regional public universities, with efforts aimed at ameliorating the nation’s regional divides.
