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"Enhancing K-State's Position Nationally
as an Engaged Land Grant University"

M. Duane Nellis, Provost
Kansas State University
December, 2005

 

As a Land Grant University, K-State has, as one of its fundamental missions, the application of research, teaching, and outreach for the betterment of the quality of life for the citizens of Kansas .

The degree to which universities accomplish this mission and the quality of the dialogue and collaboration both across the university and outside of the university is captured in the term "engagement." The Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land Grant Universities define an "engaged university" as one in which "teaching, research, and extension and service functions have been redesigned to become more. . .[actively and] productively involved with their communities, however community may be defined. . . Embedded in the engagement ideal is a commitment to . . .reciprocity." ("Returning to our Roots: The Engaged Institution", Third Report of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of Land-Grant Universities, 1999). Engagement must extend well beyond our traditional extension programs to include every unit of the university.

I personally believe in this ideal and, through my own personal experience while a faculty member, am confident that my efforts at engagement made me a better teacher and researcher. In short, both the institution and I were enriched as a result of my engagement off campus. The President and I have advanced the vision of making K-State one of the Top Ten Land Grant Universities in the country and engagement is an important part of the vision. To be a more engaged university will require a "cultural shift" in how we define and value engagement in teaching, research, and outreach. Clearly, incentives and rewards will be required to facilitate this process. And, though we stand committed to this goal, engagement happens at the ground level of individual faculty members collaborating with each other and with our partners. So, what can we do as individual faculty and together to affect the cultural change that is needed and to transform K-State into a truly engaged institution?

We are in the process of "having a dialogue" with various units and at various organizational levels of the university to identify several key actions that we can take collectively to catalyze and foster this culture shift and produce the organizational change that will be needed for us to become a more engaged university as we strive to become a Top Ten Land Grant University. I can identify a few items that have been identified through this dialogue, but the dialogue is ongoing and I hope to engage the broader university community as a part of this effort, as it is clear that every part of our university has a role to play.

Elements of our Strategy:

  1. We need to identify and build upon role models for engagement. . .successful individuals and programs that we know exist in every college and unit of the university. Across the university, each unit will need to identify their own actions for fostering engagement, but I would like to see some of the successful models spread across the breadth of the university. Not every individual faculty member is going to be involved, but my hope is that at least every unit will become engaged at some level.
  2. Incentives are needed to entice faculty to become engaged. We envision some sort of small grants program that might be available on a competitive basis that might provide "seed money" for faculty involvement.
  3. Some form of ongoing dialogue and communications is needed to change and shape the university culture with respect to engagement. This might take the form of a lecture series or annual conference, or other venue to provide faculty an opportunity to hear about and discuss models of success and new ways of defining and valuing engagement in scholarship.
  4. We need a "front door" organization to be the catalyst for engagement and the "broker" for community development activities. . .a liaison with groups, agencies, and communities that can connect faculty to community development needs. Such an organization could forge new partnerships and help identify and secure extramural funding. I am in discussions with various groups on campus on structuring such an entity.
  5. A faculty recognition and reward system is paramount. Faculty who incorporate engagement into their teaching, research and/or outreach activities should receive proper credit and professional reward. Community engagement should be recognized as a legitimate and valuable scholarly activity. Accomplishing this reward system will require the collaboration of the Provost, Deans, Department Heads, and Faculty Senate.

These are some of the elements of the strategy that we envision so far, but this strategy is still evolving. I invite your input. And, I invite you to join us in our goal of enhancing engagement as part of making K-State a Top Ten Land Grant University.