Commentary: Outreach, Engagement, and the Changing Culture of the University--1998

In this commentary, author John Byrne reflects on his 1998 "Journal of Public Service & Outreach" article, "Outreach, Engagement, and the Changing Culture of the University" reprinted in this 20th anniversary issue of "Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement." Byrne's 1998 article was a call to modify the culture of universities so that effective engagement with society might take place. Now, almost 20 years after the article was published, engagement is an important function of many universities. The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching has created a new classification for universities to aspire to, the Community Engaged Classification and to date, more than 350 universities have been selected to receive this classification. The introduction of "engagement with society," now an important function of the modern university, has stimulated changes in university missions, processes, and administrative structures. University cultures have changed as a result, and no doubt will continue to change. In responding to the needs of a rapidly changing society, locally and globally, engagement will become increasingly important to the integration of higher education with the society it serves. [For "Outreach, Engagement, and the Changing Culture of the University" (2016), see EJ1097237.]