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Projects with Promise

Vol. 28 No. 3: Special Issue on Community-Engaged Scholars, Practitioners, and Boundary Spanners: Identity, Well-Being, and Career Development

Spanning Boundaries and Transforming Roles: Broadening Extension’s Reach With OSU Open Campus and Juntos

  • Emily N. Henry
  • Gina R. Galaviz-Yap
  • Jeff R. Sherman-Duncan
  • Amy W. Young
  • Didgette M. McCracken
  • Becky M. Munn
  • Shannon Caplan
Submitted
December 14, 2023
Published
2024-10-18

Abstract

For over 100 years, Cooperative Extension has served communities through local Extension agents with expertise in such topics as agriculture, youth development, and family and community health. In 2008, the Oregon State University Extension Service launched a pilot (Open Campus and Juntos) to broaden Extension’s reach by placing agents with “boundary spanning” expertise inside communities to address disparities in educational and economic opportunities. Open Campus and Juntos span three university–community boundaries: cultural dissonance between higher education and communities, particularly for Latinx families; the disconnect among community colleges and universities in supporting transfer students; and the silos among traditional Extension content areas to build programs addressing community needs. Impacts include 7,200 students and family members served through Juntos, increased high school graduation rates for Juntos students, additional transfer support for 1,500 community college students, and the creation of multiple centers providing broadband access in one of Oregon’s most rural counties.