Finding a sense of authentic self as an institution, a true sense of mission, and the means to live that mission were the central focus of a strategic planning process addressed by the University of Central Oklahoma about fifteen years ago. As the institution grew within a metropolitan-serving mission, the goal to transform students from adolescents to adults and find new potential in their lives led to an exciting journey that is still vibrant and relevant today. The theoretical base provided within transformative learning has helped students, staff, and faculty align efforts. This case study provides replicable processes and specifics that may help others find a clearer path for fulfilling their mission. The study describes how the University of Central Oklahoma's (UCO's) transformative learning focus coalesced and became the point of distinction for a UCO education, helping to ensure that all activity supported our mission-helping students learn. The compelling, lived sense of mission developed from the initial strategic planning process has helped to strengthen the learner-centered culture of the campus while providing a structure that facilitates implementation and assessment.
Continual disruption and change describe the new normal. Embedded in complex systems and cultures, Extension professionals are at the heart of this change for many of today's issues. Relying on the traditional models for developing Extension professionals will not be enough for Extension to make a significant impact in the future. We present a model of education and training to develop and support Extension professionals as they work with individuals, organizations, and communities in the 21st century.
"How can Extension thrive, not just survive?" This question, posited by the 2010 Extension Committee on Organization and Policy (p.1), echoes the literature addressing change within Extension. In this literature, prominent themes emerge reflecting the need for an organizational cultural transformation, aligned with an opportunity for creativity and innovation. Today's rapidly changing social and economic environments oblige Extension to re-conceive the future through creative thinking and innovative action to reduce barriers to success. Embracing the process of creativity and innovation in our everyday organizational practice will unlock a vast number of new opportunities for Extension.
As Extension's leaders prepare to move Extension into the future, they are obliged to take stock of the underlying internal forces that have the power to alter the manner and extent to which the mission is accomplished. Individually and organizationally held values are primary factors driving these forces. Acknowledging and understanding these values helps Extension leaders better understand tendencies toward resistance to change and aid in assessing the alignment of what exists with what could be. This article shares results from an Extension organizational values assessment and examine implications for the Extension system.
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