In today’s higher education environment, it is imperative that research universities play a more active role in the community affairs. Major constraints in funding public institutions mean that we have to be more proactive in reaching out to constituencies that can benefit from the expertise that a university can offer. In other words, the present difficulties of the national fiscal environment mean that providing service assistance in a variety of ways to Colorado and to other public policy communities is not just the purview of land grant universities.
Those of us fortunate to work in a university setting have an obligation to move beyond the confines of the academic world. In essence, doing just that is what the Buechner Institute for Governance is all about.
As you look at the information on our website, you’ll see that our mission is to contribute to the practice of sound governance in Colorado and to the nation more generally. Our Institute builds on a long and rich history of doing meaningful applied research and services projects through several different centers or institutes that resided in the School of Public Affairs. Today, those existing research centers, along with several leadership and training programs have been consolidated through the creation of the Buechner Institute.
The Buechner Institute integrates faculty and our internal research and administrative staff to do this outreach work to function effectively and be of relevance to both practitioner and academic communities alike.
As the applied arm of the School of Public Affairs, we welcome ideas and feedback about what kind of work we are doing from all interested parties. We encourage you to contact us if you have ideas or opportunities for collaboration.
Please take a look at our website and feel free to contact us!
Sincerely
Brian Gerber