Public Engagement

Tomorrow, April 11, is our first annual Public Engagement Day. Information about the event can be found on the Office for Public Engagement (OPE) web site, an associated news story, and the complete schedule.

As my part in the big day, I've been asked to provide a brief overview of the history and context of the establishment of our public engagement activities and of OPE. I thought this would be a good opportunity to review some of the developments that were independent of OPE and its action committee arm, the Council on Public Engagement (COPE), but which have strongly influenced us. I began at the very beginning, with some key dates:

• 1851 Founding of the UM predates founding of the State (1858)
• 1862 Morrill Act - Land Grant Colleges and Universities
• 1887 Hatch Act - Ag Experiment Stations
• 1914 Smith-Lever Act - Extension Services
• 1994 Citizenship and Public Ethics Liberal Education requirement
• 1996 Jane Addams School for Democracy in the Cener for Democracy and Citizenship
• 1996 Center for Small Towns at UM Morris
• 1997 Regional Sustainable Development Partnerships
• 2002 Establishment of COPE
• 2005 Establishment of OPE
• 2006 University-Northside Parntership, University Metropolitan Consortium
• 2007 University of Minnesota Urban Agenda

A noteworthy trend is the recent transition from rural to urban emphasis. My colleague Geoff Maruyama, in drafting a report for the University of Minnesota Urban Agenda Task Force, has explained the transition eloquently:

When land grant universities were envisioned in 1862, most of the population of states like Minnesota was rural, and the economy was heavily agricultural. Over time land grant-related funding supported the University as a driver of engaged scholarship, but focused primarily on rural areas and limited parts of the University. The Minnesota Extension Service (now University of Minnesota Extension) and the Agricultural Experiment Stations (now University of Minnesota Research and Outreach Centers) coupled community education with research and outreach that addressed major needs of Minnesotans ranging from farms and crops to those of families and youth.

Now, in the 21st century, 60-70% of the population of Minnesota lives in metropolitan areas, and �urban“concerns that historically were viewed as limited to Minneapolis and Saint Paul have become issues that reach all across Minnesota. We are part of national trends of suburbanization, de-population of rural areas, and people leaving “rust-belt� and Eastern areas for the West and South. Therefore, we believe that it is important to formally extend the research and outreach land grant mission to look more broadly at Minnesota, particularly including urban/metropolitan issues as well as rural ones.