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Abstract
Universities are increasingly involved in regional economic development and innovation. In the long-established industrial city of Lowell, Massachusetts, in the US north-east, firms, community groups, and various centres, institutes, and academic departments at the University of Massachusetts have been engaged in systematic activities designed to revitalize neighbourhoods and improve industry performance. This paper examines these relationships and assesses changes made at the University since 1990 as it seeks to implement an enhanced regional development mission. An iterative process has begun at Lowell that involves faculty from diverse disciplines and off-campus constituencies. Internal relationships among faculty and between faculty and administrators are being altered, while external relationships are being reconstituted to make certain that the campus listens better and engages the community in collaborative activities in the best land-grant university tradition.