May 19, 2020

TO:                Task Force on Outward-Facing Activities
                         Amy Vinlove, Chair, School of Education
                         Peggy Keiper, School of Management
                         Ginny Eckert, College of Fisheries & Ocean Sciences
                          Pete Pinney, Cooperative Extension Service
                          Owen Guthrie, eCampus
                          Mark Young, Community and Technical College
                          Jason Theis, Office of Management and Budget
                          Michelle Bartlett, Summer Sessions
                          Lynda McGilvary, Geophysical Institute
                          Nickole Conley, Executive Officer

FROM:          Daniel M. White, Chancellor 

RE:                  Charge to the Task Force on Outward-Facing Activities

Thank you for your willingness to serve on the task force on outward-facing activities.  I appreciate your commitment. I have asked Jeannie Phillips to set up an initial meeting of the group where Provost Prakash and I will share our thoughts on this important work. With respect to the time frame, I am hoping that the work can be completed by the middle of July. We can discuss an exact date at the first meeting.

The charge for this task force is as follows:

1. Assemble a comprehensive list of major outward-facing activities (outreach events, workshops, trainings, academies, non-credit courses) in which UAF is engaged and organize them according to the following types of activities:
   • Those that stem from and are directly related to UAF research and engage university employees (e.g. workshops on fisheries management or in building microsatellites).
   • Those that are not related to UAF research or scholarly activities but are educational in nature and are taken on because there is a community need or expressed interest (e.g., canning beans, smoking salmon, 4H).
   • Those that are not directly related to UAF research or scholarly activities but are designed to offer experiences or are undertaken because UAF is an attractive venue (e.g., exercise classes such as yoga, vacation trips)
2. With the assistance of OMB staff, address the following questions:
   • What are the costs to deliver the program (e.g., time, materials, travel)?
   • How are the costs supported (e.g., user fees, grants, state support)?
   • How are the returns on investment measured?
   • How are the classes counted toward university metrics?
   • Are the activities candidates for micro-credentials?
3. Consider all of the outreach activities and recommend if there are:
   • Activities we can stop doing,
   • Activities we need to continue doing as currently offered, or
   • Activities we need to continue doing but under a different business model, such as increasing user fees.

I look forward to meeting with you soon and receiving your recommendations later this summer.