IN THIS ISSUE:
Acts of Altruism | Alumni Interview | Class Profiles

FEATURE STORY (continued) — November/December 2004


Acts of Altruism ...

By Becky Mabry

Beyond Its Borders
University's public engagement mission offers hundreds of programs to the people of Illinois

In the early days of this country's history, universities like Harvard, Yale and William and Mary served the needs and interests of a privileged few with courses in philosophy, theology and law. But in 1862, Illinois' honored son, President Abraham Lincoln, signed the Land-Grant Act to establish colleges and universities to offer practical education to citizens of ordinary means.

The University of Illinois welcomed its first class of 77 students in 1868 with Regent John Milton Gregory promising "a full table spread with every form of human knowledge" and promising to "bid (students) freely to the feast." Decades later, a subsequent Morrill Act, the Hatch Act of 1887 and the Smith-Lever Act of 1914 charged the land-grant universities with not only educating the young but also with conducting research and with using its academic and research programs to solve the problems and needs of society.

The oft-quoted remark from missionary doctor Albert Schweitzer — "There is no greater religion than human service. To work for the common good is the greatest creed" — is often tied to the land-grant universities' mission of public engagement.

For decades now, the faculty and staff of the University have advocated the philosophy of helping people help themselves by taking the University to the people. Partnership Illinois, a campuswide commitment to raise the visibility of UI programs and services available for the public, offers more than 450 such outlets that link the University to Illinois citizens.

The outreach efforts are as diverse as classes for senior citizens on Shakespeare or Count Basie to kids' birthday parties that explore "Silly Science" at the Allerton Conference Center to online credit courses for homebound adults.

Nowadays, one can live in a Chicago suburb and earn a master's degree in engineering or food science from the U of I without ever stepping foot on campus, said Charles Evans, EDM '73, PHD '85 ED, the University's director of outreach and public service. The Office of Continuing Education offered more than 400 credit courses with 6,000 enrollments last year. That includes 19 off-campus degree programs, nine of which are online, and an assortment of courses in everything from dairy science to social work.

A total of 16,828 farmers, teachers, scientists and other professionals — as well as members of professional societies as disparate as the American Society of Civil Engineers to the Municipal Clerks of Illinois — attended educational programs sponsored by the U of I last year, while the Allerton Park and Conference Center received more than 100,000 visitors last year.

Probably the most well-known leg of the University's public engagement mission is UI Extension, which serves 2.5 million Illinois residents a year in urban and rural areas. It offers programs to about 300,000 youngsters through 4-H, and adult citizens can get information about issues and concerns ranging from farming and gardening to economic development and nutrition and family issues. Extension has offices in 100 of the state's 102 counties.

"The Master Gardeners, 4-H leaders and other volunteers give ... Extension enormous reach that wouldn't be possible if our staff members had to do the job alone," said Dennis Campion, associate dean for extension and outreach in the College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. "And the volunteers who lead our local Extension councils help ensure that our programs meet the most pressing needs in their communities."

The University continues to meet those needs and interests via programs such as:

• The Employee Justice Clinic at the College of Law, where students help low-income people or groups with employment issues

• The Physics Van, a traveling science show for kids

• The I-Space Gallery in Chicago — 2,500 square feet of exhibit space for the visual, performing and design arts of the College of Fine and Applied Arts, as well as a place to host lectures and demonstrations

• The P-16 Partnership commission to help prepare teachers to be effective and reduce the turnover rate of new teachers

• The Academy for Municipal Excel-lence for training of city personnel

• WILL-TV, WILL-AM and WILL-FM public broadcasting media

• The Office for Mathematics, Science and Technology Education in the College of Education, which models innovative, technology-intensive math and science instruction and offers an online database of math lessons to teachers around the world

• The East St. Louis Research Project, which uses faculty and students to address the needs of the city's poorest neighborhoods

• Civitas, a consortium of faculty and students in architecture and urban and regional planning that helps tackle city and neighborhood issues

"It really is a win-win situation," said Emily Talen, associate professor of urban and regional planning, about Civitas and the U of I's public engagement efforts.

"Civitas provides important opportunities for students to engage in the real world . . . and of course, the University has a lot to offer the community."

Mabry '81 COM is the assistant director in the UI Office of University Relations.