A new economy is quickly transforming one of the most staid pillars of the nation. As Dixon Hanna described on this page one year ago, a quiet revolution is occurring on college and university campuses across the United States. The changes extend beyond the land grant model he described to other smaller research, doctoral, comprehensive, and baccalaureate granting institutions like James Madison University. As this transition occurs, the Carnegie classification system categories used for the past 30 years are rapidly blurring. However, the impetus for change is the same: responding to a new economy in a world of changing boundaries, finite resources, and exploding technologies.

Education is changing with society

The higher education landscape in Virginia provides a vivid example of this transformation. The campuses of the commonwealth are becoming increasingly entrepreneurial, agile, and responsive to the changing needs of the Virginia economy. Trends toward a closer relationship with the needs of society have ebbed and flowed throughout the last 100 years of the modern American university. The land grant efforts to revitalize agriculture, basic education initiatives, and science research to counter Sputnik are all examples of commendable responses to societal challenges. But today the response is different and includes all types of institutions. It is driven by a technological revolution on a scale never experienced before, especially the omnipresence of the Internet. The issue of workforce development in an economy fueled by human talent as its major raw material underlines the opportunity for all players in higher education to contribute.

A "New American College"

In a recent extensive study of the higher education terrain in the Commonwealth of Virginia, an extremely entrepreneurial and innovative array of public service programs were observed. The changes noted in the study are consistent with what the late Ernest Boyer has described as a "New American College" that places a distinct emphasis on public service partnerships to meet the needs of society and to solve problems. He describes the "New American College" as an institution that celebrates teaching and selectively supports research, while also taking special pride in its capacity to connect thought to action and theory to practice.

Information from the study yielded the following public service framework that demonstrates proactive and entrepreneurial engagement on the part of the academy:

• Human resource development
• Organizational development and enhancement
• Research, development, and policy analysis
• Reciprocal agreements and technology transfer
• Strategic, systemic, and collaborative initiatives
• Enhanced access to resources and technology assistance
• Targeted industry initiatives.

While the first four categories are traditional roles for higher education, the last three demonstrate a much more responsive role with regard to interacting with external constituents. The framework may be especially useful from a public policy perspective for planning the outreach activities of the academy.

Economic development and K-12 partnerships are the key

As Boyer challenged, this "New American College" should organize cross-disciplinary institutes around pressing social issues. Undergraduates at the collegiate level should participate in field projects, relating ideas to real life. Classrooms and laboratories would be extended to include health clinics, youth centers, schools, and government offices. Faculty members should build partnerships with practitioners who would, in turn, come on campus as lecturers and students' advisers.

All types of higher education institutions can and should play an integral role in the shaping of society for the future and creating a new model of higher education. This leadership role is necessary to maximize the potential of students at all levels and the economic and cultural development of the nation and the world. The overall effectiveness of the academy's efforts will be greatly enhanced if efforts are focused on long-term, systemic reform of K-12 education and focused support for local and regional economic advancement. The involvement of undergraduate and graduate students in these service endeavors will add to their vitality, enhance the learning experiences of students, and improve the relationship of the community to the institution and its students.

The mere existence of an institution in a community, state or region is no longer an acceptable response to questions about public service contributions of colleges and universities. Effective partnerships hold the key to this transformation to the "New American College." The opportunity for every higher education institution to continue leading the new economy instead of just responding to it should be happily, strategically, and promptly embraced.

John B. Noftsinger Jr. is the associate vice president of academic affairs for research and program innovation at James Madison University and president of the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council.

If you seek further information or the assistance of JMU, please e-mail outreach-jmu@jmu.edu or visit our website at www.jmu.edu/outreach.