"In an effort to improve college-graduation rates, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has awarded $4-million in grants to seven cities and to the National League of Cities' Institute for Youth, Education, and Families," Chronicle of Higher Education reports. "The grants, which were announced on Thursday, will be used to better coordinate services that colleges, public school systems, and communities provide to students. The cities are Dayton, Ohio; Jacksonville, Fla.; Mesa, Ariz.; New York; Phoenix; Riverside, Calif.; and San Francisco."