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C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association
of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges, said a new academic culture
is needed for the new millennium.
Photo: Greg Grieco
By Annemarie Mountz
Public Information
Although the dawn of the new millennium is officially still a few years away, higher education institutions already are operating in the 21st century. The model of the successful research-intensive university cannot survive in this new culture without change and adaptation, according to C. Peter Magrath, president of the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges.
Magrath spoke on "The Future of the Land-Grant University in the 21st Century" at the Penn State Issues Forum at University Park on Feb. 5.
"In the years ahead, universities are going to have to scramble for resources and support in many dramatic ways. We need college and university leaders to be joined by enlightened and forward-thinking faculty who will examine ways in which we can make all our operations as efficient as humanly possible -- including the especially difficult academic and curricular side," he said. "We must be vigilant in our use of resources, money being one, if our universities are to function at high speed and with full effectiveness in their mission of service to society."
Magrath said part of that vigilance includes fostering a new academic culture.
"The critical challenge is that we must modify our academic culture so that we truly value teaching, learning and outreach, and reward them as much as the research side," he said.
He said that fiscal support of research is finite, and is too precious to be scattered both within established research-intensive universities and among countless other universities who aspire to be labeled as such.
"This is a fundamental challenge for us. If the mindset or culture can be modified so that superb teaching and learning and other forms of educational engagement or outreach are valued and prized as highly as the pure research function, then it will be easier to have a more natural system of higher education in which only a limited number of universities will be major research universities," he said.
This will work to eliminate redundant programs both within bona-fide research universities and among schools that aspire to be research universities. In this new model, there will be a more rational division of labor and a more effective and efficient use of the limited resources available for research.
President Graham B. Spanier agrees.
"Peter's message strongly reinforces the importance of our efforts at this institution to integrate teaching, research and service," he said. "The University's renewed emphasis on outreach initiatives, the newly-launched World Campus and the dedication to increased opportunities for learning for all of our students through the Center for Excellence in Teaching and Learning, the Schreyer Honors College and other programs all are tangible evidence of this new academic culture at Penn State."
From his first day as University president, Spanier, who also serves as chairman of the Kellogg Commission on the Future of State and Land-Grant Universities, has emphasized the need to integrate the University's intertwined and interdependent missions in order to see Penn State operate successfully in the 21st century. Magrath sees such efforts from institutions of Penn State's calibre as essential for the success of higher education -- and society in general.
"It's critical that these kinds of self-examination and constructive calls for change come from successful state and land-grant universities such as Penn State that have benefited, profited from and contributed to the historical system that now needs to be adapted to the new century. If they speak and act, others will eventually listen and follow," Magrath said.
Magrath said that in recent years, American universities have become far more efficient, particularly on the administrative side, as well as increasingly creative in their use of funds. They've become committed to greater focus and less duplication.
"Efficiency and less redundancy will not by themselves bring fiscal sufficiency, but they are critical building blocks if we are to maintain public confidence and attract support from state and federal government, and from the business and industrial sectors," Magrath said.
He said state and land-grant universities must engage even more fully in new, imaginative ways with society. He envisions a future full of collaborative partnerships with regional universities and smaller governments, as well as with business, industry and communities.
"When all is said and done, the future of American higher education depends on all our colleges and universities, whether research-intensive or the smaller liberal arts colleges, focusing fundamentally and essentially, though not exclusively, on learning and teaching of students," Magrath said. "If their interests are not served by our colleges and universities, a good future for higher education, and even more important for our society, becomes questionable."
Are you wondering how CQI is making a difference at Penn State? Come to a Feb. 26 panel and learn how four teams have made a difference for their customers and the University.
From 8:30 - 10 a.m. in The Nittany Lion Inn Alumni Fireside Lounge, team representatives will present "Still Making a Difference: Four Teams Discuss Process Improvements." Panelists are: Jim Wager -- "Improving the Student Enrollment Process;" Sue Wiedemer -- "One-Stop Shopping in the Bursar's Office;" Deb Howard -- "Streamlining Real Estate & Property Management;" and Cindy Nicosia -- "Decentralizing Graduate School Admissions."
Please call the Center for Quality and Planning at (814) 863-8721 or e-mail dpn101@psu.edu (Dan Nugent) if you plan to attend.
It's the goal of a new team in the College of the Liberal Arts to better coordinate services and events offered jointly by the college's offices for alumni relations and undergraduate programs. The team is sponsored by Ray Lombra and Terry Peavler and is led by Marilyn Byers. Susan Kennedy is the team facilitator. Members include: Linette Courtney, Elena DeLuca, Chris Gamble, Mary Kay Hort, Janet Klinefelter and Angie Parrett.
Don't forget to mark your calendars for the Quality Conference on April 21-22 at The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel and the Quality Expo on April 22 at The Nittany Lion Inn.
For more information about Continuous Quality Improvement, please contact Louise Sandmeyer, executive director of the Center for Quality and Planning, at (814) 863-8721, LES1@PSU.EDU or see the center's Web site at http://www.psu.edu/president/cqi.
