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"We consider ourselves to be partners with the City of Rochester and to be named a good neighbor in this category is fabulous," said Anne-Marie Algier, the Associate Dean of Students at the University of Rochester.

The good neighbor award comes from the 2009 Westfield State College study, "Savior of Our Cities."

It placed the U of R 13th on a list of the top 25 schools in the country that are having a positive impact on the communities they call home.

“There's academic research that is going on that's helping the city in different courses,” said Algier.

The university is like any other college, but what sets them apart is how much the university has encouraged their students to look beyond the campus to the city around them.

For students like Liesel Schwarz, that encouragement has opened up a whole new world.

"We have a community so close to ours and it seems that from freshman year it was supposed to be off limits,” said Schwarz, a junior at the university. “We weren't supposed to go over the bridge."

But through efforts with the city, the school, its teachers and its students have been able to bridge that gap.

“I think that communities are on the top of where universities need to be focused on, other than academics,” added Schwarz.

The survey also looked at the university's involvement in elementary and secondary education to increases in student applications and resources.

"We are the university that is in the city and we are very proud to be there,” said Algier.

The University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia and the University of Southern California in Los Angeles tied for first. RIT made the study's honor roll for its contributions.