Engagement & Service

Iowa State University engages with individuals, organizations, and communities with various educational opportunities and services that benefit those clientele and groups. This section of the self-study provides an overview of outreach activities in specific areas, including: University Extension, Community and Economic Development, Educating Iowans, Engaged Alumni and Friends, and Town and Gown relationships. In the following sections, several success stories are shared as examples of a larger picture of engagement and service.

University Extension, the institution’s outreach arm, is the primary means of fulfilling Iowa State’s land-grant mission of engagement and service. Extension builds partnerships and delivers research-based learning opportunities to enhance community economic development and quality of life. In cooperation with the federal government (through the USDA), Extension delivers educational programs through offices located in all 99 Iowa counties, a unique infrastructure of land-grant universities. Community and economic development is an emphasis area for Iowa State and a key component in its 2005-2010 Strategic Plan. Important thrusts of this work include: community and business planning and infrastructure development; assistance to existing companies through educational and business assistance; and business development support, including that driven by technology transfer and newly generated intellectual property.

Iowa State is involved in many areas of engagement and service that enhance its ability, as a public university, to educate Iowans. These varied programs and activities meet key tests of responsiveness, partnership, academic neutrality, and integration of varied disciplines and units to develop Iowa citizens, both adult and youth. Emanating from various departments within colleges and through University Extension, these programs are delivered through both face-to-face and virtual means. The audience includes both formally enrolled Iowa State students and non-formal education clientele.

The ISU Alumni Association is actively involved with organized programs to engage alumni and friends of the University. Various means of communication and engagement are employed to inform alumni, increase Alumni Association membership, and add to the overall mission of the University, as the Alumni Association connects former students with current students and people in the community. Programs and activities enrich the education of current Iowa State students and help recruit future students. The University is also committed to providing scholarships to students and recognizing outstanding civic and professional contributions of alumni through awards provided by the Alumni Association and various other University units. At the close of the year 2005, The ISU Alumni Association reached its 50,000 member goal to become the second largest dues-based alumni association in the Big 12.

Iowa State has an exceptional Town-Gown relationship with the Ames community and central Iowa region. These partnerships provide infrastructure and services to students and citizens in the areas of public transportation, law enforcement, housing, and recreation/entertainment. Through formal and informal discussions, the University and its partners continually review joint ventures designed to further strengthen the Town-Gown connection.

Iowa State Extension has a century of experience in using the University’s knowledge and resources to meet the challenges and opportunities facing Iowa and its diverse cultures and communities. Extension improves the quality of life and contributes to economic development in Iowa with a number of strengths.

• Effective systems that link those who create, disseminate, and apply knowledge
• Proactive communication with constituents and stakeholders
• Established connections to policy and decision makers
• Recognized capacity to build and maintain thriving partnerships among citizens, agencies, and organizations
• Entrepreneurial spirit and a reputation for successful innovation
• Efficient use of information and technology
• Highly successful efforts in community development
• Engaged in multiple efforts to promote economic develoment throughout the state

The strongest programs are those that familiarize themselves with the challenges of tomorrow and look at the opportunities they have to meet those challenges. The following two lists summarize the steps Extension must take to remain vital and the tools it possesses to do so. Although the formal institutional element, Iowa State Extension, provides many of the specific examples of extensive institutional engagement, virtually all programs of the university are directly and indirectly engaged with local, state, and national external constituencies.

• Increasing Extension’s engagement in unique projects initiated by communities

• Aligning programming more closely with the priorities of state government and Iowans

• Enhancing a staffing model that supports a strong county presence and the best partnership of local and university resources throughout the state

• Creating professional development opportunities that address new subject matter research while preserving organizational relationships and culture to engage a new generation of workers and learners

• Expanding collaboration with other service providers in education and technical assistance

• Responding to the demographic and economic needs of a state that is in transition, as Iowa becomes more a part of the rapidly evolving global economy

• Reporting impact of transformational education to help Iowans understand the connection between lifelong learning and economic development

• Incorporating new continuous improvement tools into Extension management practices

• Iowa communities seek the expertise and assistance of ISU Extension and the University in efforts to improve economic vitality and quality of life.

• Iowa State and ISU Extension continue to produce high impact, cutting-edge knowledge, highly relevant to the needs and interests of Iowans, generating opportunities for new Extension programs and services to reach more citizens.

• Iowa’s governmental units value the University’s support and engagement in achieving their goals, providing opportunities to connect Extension efforts to identified needs.

• Iowa’s increasing ethnic and cultural diversity creates opportunities for Extension engagement.

• Extension can better communicate the results of its programs to key constituents (See http://www.extension.iastate.edu/emms/isuemarketing.)

A committee of ISU Extension and Iowa citizens held hearings across the state to gain input from Iowans and develop a vision for the future of ISU Extension. Extension is in the midst of implementing initiatives in 11 areas identified through that process. (See http://www.extension.iastate.edu/futuring/.)