This session is part of 2025 Crossover Day. Attendance is open to all SXSW EDU registrants as well as all SXSW registrants. As always, SXSW strongly believes in the power of mixing creative communities.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) can be drivers of change and also – in alignment with public purposes of higher education – stewards of existing communities. When communities around campuses change – through, for instance, corporate development or gentrification - HEIs may re-visit how they serve historically underserved communities or sustain partnerships. A co-editor of an upcoming volume on best practices in community engagement will report out research and findings about how diverse institutions handle the dual role of the campus as a community-changer and community anchor.