The Indiana University Northwest Center for Urban and Regional Excellence (CURE) is the "Open Door to University-Community Collaborative Engagement" through which learning, scholarship, discovery, creativity, and service are fostered among faculty, students, and community leaders in the following six strategic impact areas which reflect the primary academic units of the university: Education, Economic Development, Environmental Sustainability, Health Disparities, Arts, and Culture.

A premier programmatic initiative of CURE is the Non-Profit Institute which provides education, research, and technical assistance in order to increase the capacity and sustainability of nonprofits for fund development, service provision, outcome measurements, and impact throughout northwest Indiana.

CURE has the distinct honor and privilege of being included in an elite cadre of higher education institutions encapsulated under an umbrella designation as the nationally recognized Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities. With this identity comes the responsibility and opportunity to not merely exist as a disconnected physical entity, but rather as an actively engaged partner and regional steward committed to enhancing the quality of life for the citizens within out seven county northwest Indiana purview.