LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) -- Some religious and community leaders have formed an institute with the mission of making improvements in western Louisville, including cutting down on crime and promoting economic development.

The new Leadership West Louisville Institute is the brainchild of the Rev. Kevin Cosby, president of Louisville's Simmons College of Kentucky and senior pastor of St. Stephen Church, officials said.

The institute plans to have monthly luncheons, and invite experts to discuss urban issues. Topics may include school dropout rates, development, work force preparedness, health disparities, media influence and neighborhood beautification, officials said.

The institute's leaders will then pick one or more issues at a time and develop strategies to deal with them. Efforts likely will include drafting opinion papers and op-ed articles and commissioning research studies, officials said.

"Education is the bridge out of poverty," Cosby said at recent press conference to introduce the institute, adding that "protest must be balanced with productivity."

He said the institute intends to partner with government, the private sector and faith-based groups to "help empower the neighborhoods" of western Louisville. The institute, he said, "must be results-driven."

Mayor Jerry Abramson, who spoke at a luncheon that followed at the St. Stephen Family Life Center, said in an interview with The Courier-Journal that the city hopes to "work hand in glove" with the institute to improve conditions in western Louisville. He said the city, as it has in the past, will invest what it can to improve the area's infrastructure and job development.

He said the city will continue to encourage creation of neighborhood watch groups as well as police-citizen cooperation to fight crime.

Among the groups that joined to form the institute are: the Urban Insight Agency, a private urban consulting and advocacy firm headed by DeVone Holt; Simmons College; The Louisville Defender newspaper; the Interdenominational Ministerial Coalition; and the Canaan Community Development Center.

Members of an institute advisory board include: Cosby; Holt; the Rev. Clay Calloway, president of the ministerial coalition and co-host of "Solutions" radio talk show on station WLOU; Clarence Leslie, general manager of The Louisville Defender; the Rev. Walter Malone, senior pastor of Canaan Christian Church; and Gail Strange, co-host of "Solutions."

The institute doesn't yet have a budget but plans to draw on the staffs of the Urban Insight Agency and the other groups sponsoring the institute to get things done, officials said.

Holt said the institute intends to apply for grants to fund projects, and may contract with consultants to research issues that are identified.

Holt said at the press conference that President-elect Barack Obama's victory is the harbinger of "a new era of opportunity." He said barriers to success are not so formidable as they once were and that the key to taking advantage of the new opportunities is preparedness.

Western Louisville's future can't be left to chance, Cosby said. He said he hoped that "many of the negative trends associated with west Louisville will eventually be reversed as a result of our collective efforts."

------

Information from: The Courier-Journal, http://www.courier-journal.com

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)