The following recommendations reflect a vision and a hope that more KU faculty, students, and staff will undertake relationships of service with the people of Kansas, which includes finding ways to promote mutually beneficial alliances. New and expanded KU/community partnerships that feature reciprocal learning among university faculty, staff, and students and their community partners will develop. The University can and should apply its talents more effectively to issues that matter to the people of Kansas and to concerns that are of particular importance to underserved communities that have fewer resources with which to address those concerns. The Task Force envisions that KU will become a State and national leader in integrating public service with research and teaching.
The intent of these recommendations is to put in perspective the value placed on service to Kansans at the institutional level. The recommendations also allow for diverse ways of contributing to public service. Collectively, the several campuses will work in a collaborative manner to fulfill the institution's commitment to Kansans. Such an approach also reinforces the "One University" concept.
1. Adopt a philosophical statement that clarifies the institutional commitment to serving Kansans, describes the institutional expectations of faculty and staff, and offers a vision for the involvement of students in service as part of their academic studies.
A Philosophy of Service statement would go beyond referencing service in an institution-wide mission statement and would reflect the University's commitment to the integration of its roles in teaching, research, and public service. It would be broadly disseminated to faculty, staff, and students. As would be true of an institution-wide mission statement, individual campuses may vary in how they implement the service philosophy, depending on their respective missions.
It is recommended that the following Philosophy of Service statement be adopted:
The University of Kansas as a comprehensive public research and teaching university has a commitment to the State of Kansas. This commitment goes beyond the institution's commitment to the creation, preservation, and dissemination of knowledge through teaching and research. The University of Kansas has a special responsibility to participate in assisting communities and State agencies in achieving the best quality of life possible for Kansas citizens. This commitment is consonant with our responsibility to the State to create and maintain academic and research programs. We cannot assume that our commitment to serving Kansans is met solely through the institutes and centers whose individual missions include the provision of specific services to Kansans. We should strive to provide our students with the opportunity to serve Kansans as a way of encouraging their participation in service when they become members of communities and pursue their respective careers. The University community (faculty, staff, and students) shares in meeting the institution's commitment to addressing what matters to the people of the State.
2. Establish a University of Kansas Center for Public Service.
The public service outreach effort of The University of Kansas affects all campuses of the University; therefore, the magnitude of such an initiative requires significant effort and resources. The Task Force does not believe that attaching a new Center to the Office of Research and Public Service in Lawrence or to the KUMC Office of Academic Affairs would be either effective or appropriate. Because the purpose of this office would be to coordinate Statewide efforts from the several campuses, someone reporting directly to the Chancellor should manage the responsibility. This seems to be the only mechanism available to coordinate outreach from the several campuses. Another possibility would be to include this effort in an expanded mission in the just-forming Robert J. Dole Institute for Public Service and Public Policy.
The Center's functions should include the following:
- Provide a gateway through which the public can gain access to KU resources that serve the public interest (e. g., technical assistance, community problem solving, technology transfer, and Area Health Education Centers);
- Connect students (and faculty advisers) to opportunities for public service through a student-run clearing house (i. e., similar to the student-run Center for Community Outreach, and the medical students' Community Health Project);
- Establish and maintain an inventory of public-service initiatives by faculty, staff and students, including by city and county in Kansas; and by issue (e. g., preventing adolescent pregnancy, improving water quality, and the nutritional consultation toll-free telephone line);
- Facilitate communication among KU public-service initiatives for better coordination at Statewide and community levels;
- Facilitate and support models of public-service involvement with the people of Kansas, including those underserved constituencies that lack resources;
- Communicate exemplary models of KU-community partnerships that address issues that matter to the diverse populations in Kansas; and
- Provide full-time equivalent staff (2 FTE) and administrative support (1 FTE) tocoordinate and stimulate public-service efforts throughout the University.
3. Adopt an institution-wide mission statement that addresses the commitment to public service, especially to the people of Kansas.
The statement should focus on the institution's commitment to serving the State beyond the traditional reference to teaching, research, scholarship and the dissemination of knowledge.
4. Integrate a commitment to serving Kansans into the mission statement of each campus of the University.
Each campus of the University should develop a mission statement that includes a commitment to serving Kansans, to be represented in the institutional mission statement.
5. Promote service-based learning as part of the teaching curriculum.
Service-based learning recognizes that in many fields, students learn best when engaged in service and serve best when learning. Students should be encouraged to perform academically appropriate service functions for academic credit. These opportunities could include:
- Providing faculty supervision and academic credit for service-based learning opportunities (e.g., practica, independent study, cooperative education, alternative spring break, summer public-service programs).
- Developing faculty workshops on incorporating service-based learning in courses, among all departments and schools, at undergraduate and graduate levels.
- Adopting creative semester scheduling to facilitate students working with diverse populations and communities.
- Creating a Special Honors degree designation (e. g., with Public Service Honors) for students who incorporate extensive (e. g., 200 hrs.) public service in their learning before graduation.
- Providing travel and other resources that connect University faculty, staff, and students with organizations and communities in Kansas.
6. Establish a University-wide communications plan and enhance communications technology.
The communications plan should include actively listening to the people of Kansas to help direct the strategic plan of the University. University Relations should proactively promote not only the University, but faculty and staff and their contributions to public service, teaching, and research.
- Enhance the mission of University Relations to include the establishment of a University-wide communications plan and to develop and communicate information about public-service activities at the University.
- Develop a uniform communications structure that is understandable and accessible to citizens.
- Develop ongoing, community-based focus groups to allow influence by a broad array of people in Kansas to provide input on University activities and planning.
- Upgrade communications technology (e. g., satellite video teleconferencing) to enhance links among the University campuses and with organizations and communities serving the public interest throughout Kansas.
- Enhance support services for distance learning and on-line courses that could serve enrolled students and non-enrolled citizens in local Kansas communities.
- Provide full-time professional staff to University Relations (1 FTE) who would work exclusively to enhance KU communications, disseminate the public-service mission, and coordinate closely with the KU Center for Public Service.
7. Enhance the legitimacy of and incentives for public-service activities.
- Revise performance criteria for faculty and staff to reward public-service activities that are integrated with research and teaching by, among other measures, awarding larger salary increases and contributing favorably to promotion and tenure decisions.
- Solicit funds for a named professorship in public service, which would pass to a different person each year. This will honor and reward excellence in integrating public service with scholarly research and teaching.
- Solicit funds for named/endowment awards for distinguished public service including cash awards, honoring ceremonies, and recognition plaques in appropriate administrative buildings.
- Establish a General Public Service fund to provide grants to faculty and staff for projects that integrate public service into research and teaching. These resources should provide seed money to encourage innovations in public service.
- Establish undergraduate and graduate fellowships in public service. These awards will provide stipends to recognize and enhance students' exemplary contributions in joining their research and learning to public service to the communities of Kansas.
8. Establish benchmarks to gauge progress in achieving the University's public-service mission.
- Develop methods of tracking the University's service performance through time. Some measures should be continuous, whereas others, such as public-opinion surveys, should be done on a periodic basis, for example every three or four years.
- Provide an effective feedback mechanism for demonstrating this progress to faculty, staff, students and the public at large.
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