First Generation Outcomes of the Outreach Movement: Many Voices, Multiple Paths

Abstract

University outreach in the 1990s is being viewed with fresh eyes. What once occupied a marginal position at many colleges and universities is now much closer to the institutional center. What can be learned from the experiences associated with the first generation of change? Higher education seems to be traveling along four change paths. Each of these paths represents a way for outreach to add value to institutional identity and capacity. Pervasive (even transformative) change is possible when outreach is connected to students' academic programs, with research, and through problem-focused interdisciplinary scholarship. To ensure long-term success, institutions must become proficient at embedding change permanently in organizational culture.