What Is Outreach?

Outreach describes any activity that brings the work, experience, knowledge, information, inventions, etc. of the university out into the community, the nation or the world.

Outreach projects can take on many forms, yet they typically fall into one of three categories:  Service, Teaching or Research.

Service

Faculty and student engagement with community audiences and partners in both formal and informal settings are the types of activities that are most commonly associated with outreach.

Examples include:

• Dissemination of research findings to peer groups (e.g. conferences, technology transfer and patenting of inventions).
• Transfer of knowledge to the public at large (e.g. public lectures, Science-U camps, Exploration Day, Family Science Night and school visits).

For more information on these types of programs, or for assistance with research proposals requiring broader impacts or education and public outreach sections, please contact contact Michael Zeman, Director of Outreach,

Teaching  

Outreach also typically describes all courses and workshops that are offered outside of the regular university schedule for resident instruction.

These courses:

• are generally aimed at community audiences rather than our undergraduate and graduate student audiences,

• include credit and non-credit classes,

• are created and/or given through Continuing Education, Distance Education, Conferences & Institutes and other venues, and

• are often sponsored by units such as Huck Institutes for the Life Sciences, the NASA-supported Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, or the Penn State Center for Science and the Schools.

An example is the Forensic Science Teachers Workshop Series, developed by the forensic science department in collaboration with the Outreach Office.

Research

Outreach projects commonly take place in settings outside of the laboratory that directly or indirectly benefit community partners.  This is scholarly work that is objectively undertaken by faculty members throughout the university, and it is intended to be published in peer-reviewed periodicals.

Broader Impacts / Education and Public Outreach Sections of Grant Proposals

Grant proposals increasingly require an outreach component and this is consistent with the overall mission of the university.  The Outreach office is well-equipped to support this initiative and help connect the work of the researchers with the needs and community.

Eligible faculty members are strongly encouraged to apply to the National Science Foundation's Faculty Early Career Development Program (CAREER) and should contact the Outreach Office at least one month before the application deadline.

Please refer to the Information for Faculty pages on the Outreach web site, or contact Michael Zeman, Director of Outreach, for more information on this valuable resource.