Letter to Dr. Ed Ray, Pres. OSU

I sent this letter early in Pres. Ray's tenure as I knew he had the experience and vision to change the culture of OSU in positive ways. In particualar I was writing to support a Center for Engagement, Outreach.

Dr. Ed Ray, President Friday, December 16, 2005
Oregon State University
Subject: A Center for Outreach and Engagement at OSU

President Ray:
My experience at OSU suggests that many of the conversations on campus are best understood when interlinked. They include student engagement, pre-college programs, outreach and broader impact, P-20, and even elements of measuring faculty productivity. Each of these elements link within the “The Engaged University”. I have looked at other universities and suggest we form a, “Center for Engagement, Outreach” at the university level here at OSU. Here are some of my thoughts about the COE.

We need a central partnering organization to support, highlight and fund a holistic approach to university engagement. A center to enfold programs, academic and service courses, and research-funded outreach into a coherent coalition. A center that connects these programs within the OSU strategic plan and provides the tools to measure and document these successes, and to provide methods for improvement.

As Programming and Evaluation Coordinator for The SMILE Program I work to ensure our efforts are linked to the OSU’s Mission and Strategic Plan. Part of the rationale for our work is OSU’s Land Grant mission. The conversations that enfold outreach, pre-college programs, and funding partnerships focus on how to best fulfill OSU’s pledge to serve the least served.

We recognize that community-based and outreach programs are critical elements in OSU’s strategic plan: supporting engagement of faculty, staff and students, enfolding service as part of academic programs, and supporting federal research grants by providing BIO programs. Support from a COE would provide coherence for supporting these goals. It also provides focus for current and future initiatives.

The COE would:
* Create a campus-wide structure that takes responsibility for defining and instilling a sense of pride for OSU as a Land-Grant University.”

* Link to the Center for Teaching and Learning and their efforts to improve the academic experience and the efficacy of teaching and learning at OSU.

* Form a hub at OSU for academic programs to support outreach scholarship at OSU and provide both a research and assessment home for outreach programming.

* Provide the engaged university three things that are needed to define engagement:
• Makes the case for needs and service in Oregon;
• Links this case to research, programs and academics; and
• Provides the linkage through partnerships and programs, through academics and research, to fulfill this need.
* Define and document:
1) OSU as an “Engaged University”
2) Our vision for becoming a “Top Ten Land Grant”:
3) OSU as a Problem-solving university; and
4) Support and funding for broader impact and outreach campus-wide.

Further questions include:

• Who is the core group that gets up each morning and says, “What are we doing today to make OSU an Engaged Land Grant University!”
• How we build our Land Grant commitment through student and faculty engagement and assessment of student’s learning?
• How could we better define OSU--“OSU--Problem-solvers” "Get-er-done!"
• How do we make the case for OSU being at the center for engagement in communities, as providing the highest quality education linked to a purpose, and connecting this educational quality to serving and building the communities of Oregon.

Models
In reviewing materials, I visited Ohio State’s website—I know you are well acquainted with this campus’s efforts—to find out more about how they have structured partnerships and supported outreach programs as part of a systemic university-wide effort. It is clear in reviewing these materials that student/faculty engagement, Land Grant programming, and statewide priorities link throughout Ohio State’s materials.

This model could guide OSU in building the infrastructure necessary to define and implement a campus-wide commitment to the core values and deliverables inherent in our Land Grant status. The overarching aspect that impresses me from Ohio State is the clear campus-wide statement supporting a Land-Grant University.

I would hope we could play a part of creating the infrastructure. Borrowing from existing successes seems to be an efficient starting point to generate the understanding and buy-in from a core group that builds on existing partnerships and experience.

Thank you so much for your time and commitment. I know this is something near and dear to your heart and expertise. I also believe, based on experience here at OSU, that we work best when we blend our core values into a coherent, elegant solution.

Sincerely,
Ryan Collay, Programming and Evaluation Coordinator
The SMILE Program