Outreach inventory: get your program on the list

Quick, describe the difference between any two of the following: outreach, extension, engagement and extended university services.

If you’re a bit fuzzy or utterly stumped, don’t feel alone. There certainly is some overlap between these programs and terms.

But, one term you want to clearly understand — regardless of what department you are in — is outreach. Outreach is stressed frequently in the next phase of the university’s strategic plan, especially those goals regarding economic development, societal impact and fund raising. It is an activity that the president and provost are encouraging departments universitywide to get involved in. And, not coincidentally, the university is launching an inventory and benchmarking of outreach activities statewide.

Simply put, outreach is any manner by which the university reaches out to work in partnership with communities and businesses within the state (or possibly nation and world).

Outreach (sometimes referred to nationally as “engagement”) has become an increasingly important factor in gaining state, federal, private and foundation funding, as well as national recognition and political support.

“It also is being tied more frequently to accreditation,” said Linda Kirk Fox, dean and director of WSU Extension. “U.S. News and World Report is beginning to include outreach as a factor in its rankings of colleges and programs. And, some foundations, like Carnegie, are stressing how a university positively affects the community” in the application process.

As a land-grant university with 73 extension and research offices, along with regional campuses, scattered across the state, WSU is in a position to become the outreach leader in Washington.

“This is a nationwide trend,” said Muriel Oaks, dean of Extended University Services, “but unfortunately WSU is already behind many of its peers, including Michigan State University, Ohio State University and Oregon State University.”

Oaks and Fox are co-chairs of WSU’s Outreach Council, a statewide group that includes 17 administrators and faculty.

The council has noted that outreach: a) provides societal benefit, b) enriches scholarship, research and creative activity, and c) enhances curriculum, teaching and learning.

As a starting activity, the council is launching a statewide outreach inventory. All faculty, staff and administrators involved in community activities are encouraged to help create a comprehensive list of contact names, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, topics and organizations with whom they work.

“This list will be important in helping legislators, businesspeople and citizens understand the enormous role that WSU plays statewide in economic development, and supporting schools, communities and businesses,” Fox said.

Part of the challenge in developing the inventory is helping faculty and staff realize what outreach is and is not.

“Speaking at a Kiwanis, Rotary or Chamber of Commerce meeting is not outreach,” said Fox. “That is service or public relations. Outreach involves a partnership between the university and the community. Many departments are already involved in outreach and don’t recognize it as such.”

A few examples:
• Chemistry representatives visit high schools to enhance labs, show WSU curriculum and bring the teachers to campus for training and equipment.
• Intercollegiate College of Nursing students provide health care services via Spokane’s Ronald McDonald Care Mobile.
• Full Immersion Spanish Institutes at Learning Centers in Wenatchee and Walla Walla teach Spanish to people in helping professions: teachers, police and health-care providers.
• Graduate degree and certificate programs and workshops or seminars delivered online or on-location target specific and immediate industry need.
• Online Distance Degree Programs are offered via Extended University Services and academic departments systemwide.
• A psychology professor works with companies to collect data for research and also provide data regarding job satisfaction, workplace safety, organizational climate/culture, turnover, etc.

“We need to break the notion that outreach is something that only WSU Extension or Extended University Services does,” said Fox. “We want people to realize that outreach offers solutions and opportunities for their unit.

“WSU’s role in the state is valued based upon how the public recognizes what we are doing ,” Fox said. “Outreach helps people see that the research we are doing is relevant to their lives or business. Outreach helps the Legislature see how we are benefiting the state economy, which affects how we are funded. Plus, it enhances faculty portfolios and provides students with connections, volunteer opportunities and real world experience.

“… We are not gate keepers, but we are here to help magnify university resources and outreach efforts,” Fox said. “And, we will appear stronger as a university if we operate in a coordinated manner.”