Although the Virginia 2020 commission reports mapped out sketches for the University's next 20 years, certain targeted areas may feel effects in the very near future.
According to University Provost Gene Block, the Public Service and Outreach commission recommendations will issue a reformed report within the next two to three months, focusing on recommendations the University can realistically implement over the next five years.
University President John T. Casteen, III created the Virginia 2020 commissions in 1998 as a means of defining where the University would like to be in 20 years. The individual commissions - fine and performing arts, international activities, public service and outreach and science and technology - each released their reports to the public in spring 2000.
Block now is meeting with deans to try to find common ground between the 2020 report recommendations and the strategic plans of each specific school.
"We are determining what's common and then going back to reform the 2020" report, Block said.
Block said University officials are working to determine the most urgent needs of the Commonwealth, and shaping public service and outreach efforts to meet those needs. Virginia's aging population, rural health, transportation and the environment top the list, he said.
"We are identifying major challenges to the Commonwealth and shaping public service around that," he said.
Indeed, Laura Hawthorne, an official in the office of research and public service, said a large research university should offer its expertise to the surrounding community.
"The reason that area [public service and outreach] was selected is because we are a public research institution," Hawthorne said. "We have a mandate and a responsibility to impact life in the state."
Block cited funding as a major obstacle to plans for increasing the scope of public service initiatives, because the University still must dedicate itself to its core mission of teaching and research.
Virginia Tech, as a land grant institution, receives a fair amount of funding for public service efforts throughout the Commonwealth. The University does not receive such high levels of funding for similar endeavors, he said.
University public service "can't be on the same scale as Tech, but it can still have the same impact," he added.
He also said the University needs to find ways to provide more institutional support for public service endeavors, including deciding under which administrative office to house such support.
"We don't have enough people inside the University to coordinate public service activities," Block said. "We need a little more help internally."
Hawthorne cited the success of Outreach Virginia as demonstrable evidence of increased public service commitments on the part of the University.
Outreach Virginia is a Web site listing University public service opportunities and provides information for community members interested in specific programs.
About a thousand individuals visit the site each month, and the youth outreach program alone offers over 50 programs, Hawthorne said.
"You want people in the community to realize not only is the University valuable for education, but also for a lot of other things," Block said.
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