Global Engagement Model for Land-Grant Universities, a Grounded Theory.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine how land-grant universities engage with the public in the era of globalization; to explain the institutionalization of engagement processes accounting for the global context; and, to integrate this analysis into a Global Engagement Model for Land-Grant Universities (GEM) implementing a grounded theory research methodology. GEM’s foundation is both theoretical and empirical. Applying the intensity sampling method, the universities selected for the empirical base were: The University of California, Davis, Michigan State University, and The Pennsylvania State University. Rather than an exact representation of individual universities’ engagement models, the model is the researcher’s representation of global engagement processes for land-grant universities in the twenty-first century. The model explains how land-grant universities engage with the public in the global context in response to the network society and its knowledge economy. GEM’s seminal component is Bilateral Relationships which are the basis for Quality Partnerships and subsequently Engagement Networks. GEM accounts for social processes occurring at the macro level and how they relate to local- and institutional-level processes. The model’s contextualization of the land-grant university in its socio, economic, political, and historical conditions makes it comprehensive. Moreover, the identification of seminal components and their interconnectedness with the entireness allows for explaining a complex phenomenon in simple terms. GEM model is a theoretical tool that can be instrumental in explaining change and continuity in the modern land-grant university. According to this research, the land-grant university has redefined its role over time. And, it is apparent that in the global society the land-grant university has become a scholarship node.