When this issue of "Peabody Journal of Education" was originally conceived, the authors of this article had several questions: What are universities doing to assist urban schools to meet their potential? How are universities leveraging human resources in service to schools, particularly as many such schools undergo restructuring? Do institutions of higher education have the capacity to make a measurable difference in relation to school reform? As the questions posed by this issue are practical in nature, so too are many of the answers. This article observes that the arguments put forward in this issue call for a reconsideration of what counts as "education reform research," particularly as it considers the place of university-assisted models of school reform. This article suggests that the authors push the bounds of what counts as university engagement in school reform processes, specifically as they engage in delivering and coordinating supportive service needs (Walsh & Backe and Officer et al.), catalyzing partnerships between other external partners (Walsh & Backe, Officer et al., Taylor et al., Harkavy et al., and Shields et al.), linking neighborhood improvement to school improvement (Officer et al., Taylor et al., and Harkavy et al.), building different university courses (Shields et al.), formulating a strategy for city-wide school reform (Taylor et al.), and creating evaluation and accountability frameworks (Furco & Lawson). Scholars working alongside practitioners to improve schooling face many challenges. However, the authors in this issue suggest that community-school-university partnerships exist, can be impactful, and should be recognized within the broader literature of school reform.