Comments on: Community Service Transforms a University into Driver of Economic Development https://innovate.cired.vt.edu/community-service-transforms-university-driver-economic-development/ Innovation for Agricultural Training and Education Thu, 26 May 2016 16:21:46 +0000 hourly 1 By: David O. Hansen https://innovate.cired.vt.edu/community-service-transforms-university-driver-economic-development/#comment-11 Thu, 26 May 2016 16:21:46 +0000 https://innovate.cired.vt.edu/?p=1614#comment-11 It would seem that institutions such as UCAD are at least doubly challenged when it comes to increasing their level of outreach activity. Given the history of focus on teaching and research, a concentration on outreach would require a change in “mind set” of staff and administrators. Ideally, this would be facilitated by changes in the norms and official policies which guide UCAD’s daily operations as well as staff performance evaluation. Staff would need to be rewarded for this activity. Changes in this normative structure will eventually need to be approved by governing entities.

The tremendous increases in student numbers experienced by UCAD over the past several decades make it particularly difficult for staff to focus on outreach activities. Thus, new additional resources may be required to address this new dimension of activity, and that some of these resources may need to be allocated for staff hiring for this purpose.

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