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03/23/2007

No formal publications resulted from the work of the NCAC13. However, the short paper shown below reflects the observations of the NCAC13.

THE NEW PARADIGM FOR LAND-GRANTS: OBSERVATIONS FROM NCAC-13

Responding to the dynamic nature of agriculture, and large sweeping changes in the society and world, it appears that a New Paradigm for Land-Grants is emerging. Based on our deliberations and conversations during the NCAC-13 annual meetings held in St. Petersburg, FL on January 11-12, 2007, we offer what we think are the key elements of this New Paradigm.

A large part of the new paradigm for land-grants is reflected in Creating Research, Extension, and Teaching Excellence in the 21st Century (CREATE-21). Fundamentally, CREATE-21 is designed to do combine USDAs research, extension, and teaching functions into a unified organization more responsive to stakeholder concerns and better able to address national and emerging problems. It is of critical importance that department chairs, deans of agriculture, and Extension program leaders within the land-grant system understand the mission of CREATE-21, why it has been articulated, and key substantive priorities in this initiative. Competitive funding is an important underpinning of CREATE-21, and can not be ignored.

Many land-grants already have made the transition to dispersion of and collaborative engagement in outreach with disciplines, programs, and departments traditionally seen as distinct from and incompatible with (or irrelevant to) public outreach.

A focus on the land-grant interface with and service to K-12 public schools and community colleges has arrived, and can no longer be seen as a peripheral activity to the mission of the land grants. This directive is reflected in strategic planning, evaluation and funding of programs and departments, and rewards to individual faculty. Science, Technology, Environment, and Math (STEM) programs of the land-grants with the K-12 public school systems appear to be lagging in some states, and must be strengthened.

Engagement with community colleges and training leaders of these colleges as tomorrows leaders, engagement with stakeholders, including service to public schools are shaping the future of the land-grants.

Facilitating access to higher education to more audiences beyond those enrolled in public schools is part of the mandate in the new paradigm. Distance education systems are part of the land-grants, but this not the end of the story. New technology allows for the portability of learning. With the integration of laptop computers and high speed Internet, satellite and cable linkages, faculty and Extension personnel can take conduct laboratory and other learning sessions with a broader range of constituents. This also is compatible with the Life Long Learning emphasized at many universities around the country. Within the context of the land-grant system, this emphasis on reaching beyond the boundaries of the campus is not an add-on; it is an integral part.
Given the dynamic nature of agriculture and the world, it is important that we constantly re-invent programs, and that we work with students of all types to ensure the development and refinement of skills needed by employers. The changing nature of the American workforce, and global competitiveness requires that skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, team work, decision making, and communication are essential for the future. Service learning and student research both contribute to preparing students for the ever-changing world that they will face.

Strategic planning should not to be taken lightly or dismissed. , Institutions today not only develop strategic plans, but set programmatic priorities based on strategic plans. Progress toward the objectives and goals identified in the strategic plans are regularly assessed. Funding for programs and departments, and evaluation and pay/merit raises are predicated largely on efforts to contribute to these goals and objectives. Thus, increased accountability and scrutiny has arrived.

With both rural sociology and Extension, the focus has changed from demand driven to what skills, abilities and understanding can the discipline provide (supply) . In addition, the emerging new paradigm calls for close collaboration of the more academic faculty with stakeholders, Extension agents and specialists. This new paradigm carries an expectation that there will be a knowledge transfer from academia to the public being served by the land-grant. Part of that package includes re-tooling faculty so that they operate effectively in this broader audience, and that they be able to transfer their knowledge and experience in this frame to their students. Included in this paradigm are civic engagement, self-evaluation, cultural awareness, diversity, and cultural competency.

Understanding and responding to the interdisciplinary nature of agriculture and to the interdisciplinary nature interconnected problems of the world means that faculty must actively seek out partners from other disciplines and establish and collaborative teaching, research, and outreach programs. To the extent possible, teaching, research, and outreach endeavors should be interdisciplinary, inclusive, and operating within an international/global frame of reference. This applies not merely to the social sciences, but to all fields represented at the land-grant.

Student development no longer focuses solely on graduate programs. The training and grooming of undergraduates are integral to the emerging new paradigm. This is reflected in the growth of Service Learning (domestic), International Service Learning, and Undergraduate Research.

When these elements of the new paradigm are placed in one basket, the bottom lines appear to be: Responsive Accountability; Competitive Funding; Strategic Planning; Interdisciplinary and Integrated Teaching, Research and Service; Substantive and Practical Development of Students; Accessibility of Higher Education; Portability of Learning; Internationalization of Teaching, Research and Service; Meaningful Engagement with Other Disciplines and Entities at the Land-Grant; and, Encompassing and Inclusive Service to the Public at Large.

REFERENCES

AASCU/NASULGC. Taskforce on Diversity. Now is the Time: Meeting the Challenges for a Diverse Academy. http://www.aascu.org or http://www.nasulgc..org

Brown. L. I. 2004. Diversity: The challenge for higher education. Race, Ethnicity and Education. 7(1): 21-28.

Byrne, J. V. 2006. Public Higher Education Reform Five Years after The Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities. Report to National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, and, The W. K. Kellogg Foundation. http://www.nasulgc.org/kellogg.htm Other related reports are also accessible from this portal.

Kezar, A. 2006. Redesigning for collaboration in learning initiatives: An examination of four highly collaborative campuses. The Journal of Higher Education, 77(5): 804-838.

Milliken, J. 2004. Postmodernism versus professionalism in higher education.  Higher Education in Europe. 29(1): 9-18.

National Academies of Science. 2006. Leadership Summit to Effect Change in Teaching and Learning, conference held October 3-5, 2006. Washington, DC, under the auspices of the National Academies of science. For documents from this conference: http://dels.nas.edu/banr/summit/

National Center for Cultural Competence. 2004. Definition and conceptual framework of cultural competence. Washington, DC: Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities. http://gucchd.georgetown,edu/ncc/framework.html

Richardson, R. C., Jr. and E. F. Skinner. 1996. Achieving Quality and Diversity: Universities in a Multi-Cultural Society. Phoenix, AZ: American Council on Education and Orynx Press.

12/27/2008

08/30/2009

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