Public Engagement and Service Work Group

Members

Don Hill - Co-chair Gary Wyatt - Co-chair June Coleman-Hull
Jean Dedonder Drew Donahoo - Student Joyce French - Community
Courtney George - Student Judith Heasley Sue Peterson
Don Shafer Marjorie Werly Vicki Worrell
Matt Zimmerman - Community

 

ROLE AND PURPOSE

This work group will develop strategic goals to ensure that the University plays an increasingly critical role in the economic and cultural health and development of the region, Kansas, the nation, and beyond.

This work force will:

  • Assess the University’s current efforts in public engagement and service.
  • Identify the expressed needs and priorities of Kansas that have implications for the University’s public engagement and service mission.
  • Identify national trends with regard to this mission and the implication of such trends on how we shape our mission.
  • Identify existing public engagement and service programs and services that might be nurtured because they do, or could, add to the University’s distinctiveness, distinction and comparative advantages.
  • Identify new possibilities or opportunities that exist for enhancing the University’s public engagement and service mission, its distinctiveness, distinction and comparative advantages.
  • Offer recommendations regarding the mission (i.e., role, scope, priorities) of the University’s public engagement and service role. Identify the criteria to be applied in making such decisions.
  • Recommend criteria for identifying high priority “partners”, and recommend initiatives for developing the most strategically important partnerships.
  • • Using the supplied format, recommend to the Strategic Planning Task Force one statement of “strategic direction” (i.e., one goal), and three to five strategic initiatives and action steps (for each initiative) that should be pursued in order to make progress toward the recommended strategic direction.
  • Determine the mechanisms and criteria which should be used to monitor, assess and validate our progress in achieving our public engagement and service aspirations.

 

PROCESS GUIDELINES

The work group should collect data from a variety of sources including available documents and should invite expert witnesses to present relevant information.

The work group should sponsor open forums and/or focus groups as a means of collecting additional data and advice regarding their charge.

The work group should identify areas of distinctiveness within the university, possible ways of enhancing these areas, as well as exploring additional areas of possible distinction.

The work group should communicate and coordinate its deliberations with other work groups so as to promote constructive “cross fertilization” of ideas and recommendations.

The work group will maintain appropriate records of its proceedings and communicate widely with the University’s various constituencies.

OUTCOMES

  • Progress reports delivered at bi-weekly Steering Committee Meetings
  • Preliminary Report due February 1, 2008
  • Revised Report due March 3, 2008