Register Now for NLCU Spring Courses

March 19, 2024 - (4 min read)

Thousands of individuals manage America’s 19,000 cities, towns, and villages – both career staff members and elected officials – who dedicate their lives and careers to bettering the places we all call home. Where can they turn for help? Where can they improve themselves as civil servants and stewards of their community? The answer is National League of Cities University (NLCU).

With a curriculum covering everything from budgeting and communications to nuanced explorations of community engagement and infrastructure, NLCU offers courses in diverse lengths and learning environments, meeting city staff and elected officers where they are in a timeline and format that works for them.

Spring Course Offerings

Racial Equity for Municipal Leaders

7 – 8:15 PM, Wednesdays, May 8 – June 26

This course will provide local leaders with an introductory overview of institutional and structural racism in the United States. The session meets from 7 to 8:15 PM every Wednesday from May 8 to June 26. It is specifically designed for leaders who are shepherding racial equity work in their municipalities, including elected officials, DEI/racial equity officers, and local government staff. It will equip participants with a shared language for racial equity, provide an understanding of racial equity leadership behaviors, and position leaders to visualize a racially equitable municipality.

Participants will establish a Community of Practice and learn how to identify institutional bias in local government, their role in leading effectively through change management, the importance of solidarity, and policy areas to get started advancing racial equity.

Participants will:

Learn leadership behaviors that can support racial equity efforts.
Gain a basic understanding of racial equity terms and concepts.
Explore the government’s role in promoting racially equitable or inequitable policies, practices, and procedures.

Cost: $500

Retail as a Catalyst for Economic Development

On-Demand, April 4 – May 14

Beyond placemaking and being the heart and soul of a community, retail is an economic engine that boosts community growth and well-being. Retail is an essential element in any economic development strategy and local officials should be armed with the knowledge of how to plan and recruit retail in their communities. This course will focus on how to attract and retain valuable businesses while honoring the vision and goals of each individual community.

This online, interactive course is broken into eight sessions and features the leaders from the IEDC, International Downtown Association, Council for Development Finance Agencies, and the National League of Cities. It was developed by the leading national retail recruitment firm, Retail Strategies, to demonstrate to local officials why retail should be part of a community’s economic development strategy. Retail Strategies is a premiere expert in recruiting businesses and strategically developing communities.

Participants will:

Learn how to organize for retail recruitment.
Learn the five keys to successful retail plan implementation.
Learn how to plan for incentives.

Cost: $1,200

Communicating Effectively About Race & Equity

7 – 8:15 PM, Thursdays, May 9 – June 27

This course provides an overview of how local leaders and staff can communicate effectively to advance racial equity. It will meet every Wednesday from May 9 to June 27 from 7 to 8:15 PM. The course will include a review of essential concepts related to racial equity and a primer on how people think about race. Participants will learn specific methods to engage key stakeholders in advancing racial equity.

Participants will establish a Community of Practice and learn equitable strategies for implementation, the ACT Tool to assist with difficult conversations about race and racism, and how to leverage their own Story of Self to communicate with their local audience

Participants will:

Learn how to identify ways to leverage narrative to advance racial equity.
Learn how to describe and explain narratives about race and racial equity.
Learn how to apply Race Forward’s ACT tool to advance racial equity narratives effectively.