Assessing the Boundary-Spanning Roles of Cooperative Extension Professionals in Higher Education Community Partnerships

Cooperative Extension has a long-standing history of placing individuals in communities to lead community-wide change. These individuals are employees of the nation's land-grant universities, with significant roles and responsibilities working between and among institutions and their communities. They often must maintain dual identities and roles, bridging the university mission and community needs. This study examined the boundary-spanning behaviors and orientations of Cooperative Extension staff and found few personal or work characteristics correlated with boundary-spanning behaviors. We explain how this lack of correlation may serve to assuage concerns about objectivity in the boundary-spanning work of Extension professionals. Higher education administrators and community leaders can use this information to better orient, equip, and train these Cooperative Extension professionals to make a lasting impact through propelling objective community change.