The University of Michigan, an encyclopedic survey ... Wilfred B. Shaw, editor.

THE UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN EXTENSION SERVICE

Since its beginning in 1911 as an auxiliary service of the President's office, the function of the Extension Service has been modified from time to time with its present broad mandate from the Board of Regents reading: "The University Extension Service shall be maintained for the purpose of providing educational opportunities for residents of the state who are not in a position to pursue programs of study in residence at the University."

In the performance of this educational function, the Extension Service has assumed that the participants in extension programs want their instruction from the University faculty rather than from a separate faculty selected for the purpose. At the same time it has been of value to the University to have its faculty members come in contact with persons in all parts of the state who are working toward educational objectives rather than with just the campus student body. The result has been the development of close cooperation between the Extension Service and the various schools and colleges of the University, with the academic phases of the program being supervised and executed by academic personnel, and the organization and administration of the program by the Extension Service. By serving as innovator, developer, and expediter, assistance has been given to other University divisions and agencies in the development and extension of their services off-campus.

Parallel to the growth of the University, and to changes within, Extension operations have likewise been modified and adjusted. Often starting as experiments, many types of adult education programs and projects have been proposed, examined, and either developed or discarded. Some of those which were developed took root and still remain as integral parts of the extension operation. Others took root and afterward were either transferred to a later established and more appropriate University agency or were given autonomous status. Still others, especially established to satisfy particular needs of the moment — such as those related to war efforts and postwar adjustments, and some of the projects with community colleges — grew and flourished but were discontinued when the emergencies passed.

In addition to discussing its four methods of instruction (Lectures, Courses, Correspondence Study, and Adult Education Institutes) the earlier Extension description referred to the Joint Committee on Health Education, the Michigan High School Forensic Association, the Library Extension Service, Radio Broadcasting, and Visual Education. Although Correspondence Study has been renamed Independent Study and the name Conferences has replaced Adult Education Institutes, the same four methods still comprise the major part of the extension program. The work of the Joint Committee on Health Education ended when funds were discontinued by the various cooperating state agencies as their priorities shifted or as their own and new programs developed. The Michigan High School Forensic Association was appropriately transferred to the University's new Bureau of School Services. The Library Extension Service has continued to operate cooperatively with the Extension Service but the University Library has complete authority for its activities. Changes were necessitated especially because of the setting up of libraries in conjunction with the two branches, Flint and Dearborn, and the expansion of library operations in Detroit and Grand Rapids. With the construction of new radio facilities and the development of television, the original radio broadcasting operations were transferred from Extension to the Broadcasting Service. As the functions of the Visual Education Department changed and became more campus-oriented, a new and more appropriate autonomous organization was established, the Audio-Visual Education Center.

Course Program and Area Offices. — Most of the courses of the early years of the Extension Service were on the undergraduate level. As the requirements relating to teacher certification changed, and as other institutions expanded their undergraduate work off their campuses, the emphasis in the course program of the University began to swing toward graduate work. In the mid-1930s, the Executive Board of the Graduate School:

… gave consideration to, and final approval for, the establishment of Centers for Graduate Study in certain locations in Michigan presenting the necessary facilities for advanced work. The courses to be offered at such Graduate Study Centers are to be known as Graduate Study Courses and … are under the control of the Executive Board of the Graduate School … The details of class organization, announcement of courses, collection of fees, and payment of

instructors will be handled by the University Extension Division (now Service) in accordance with practices now in force.

The work presented in the Graduate Study Centers will be offered by members of the Faculties of the University of Michigan, whose courses offered for Graduate School credit have been approved by the Executive Board of the Graduate School. If it is found advisable to ask members of the faculties of other colleges or universities to offer Graduate Study Courses, such members will be appointed as Special Lecturers under the same policies as now control the appointment of University staff members offering courses giving Graduate School credit on the campus of the University of Michigan.

Students who desire course credit in the Graduate School for work pursued in the Centers for Graduate Study must meet the usual admission requirements of the Graduate School, must be or become matriculants of the University of Michigan, and must be registered as students in the Gradu ate School. Such students and only such students will be considered in residence, with the understanding that any student may be required to take any part of his work on the campus of the University of Michigan …

Without doubt this action led to an expansion of the course program on the graduate level and was the single most important factor in the establishment of Extension offices in various strategic geographical areas. The first office was established in Detroit in 1935. Seven years later the program moved into quarters of its own in the newly constructed Horace H. Rackham Educational Memorial, a building provided for the joint use of the University of Michigan and the Engineering Society of Detroit. The gift was made by the Horace H. and Mary A. Rackham Fund and Mrs. Mary A. Rackham. The University section included some 20 classrooms, an auditorium seating 1,000, a library, a banquet hall, and administrative office space. The response was immediate, partly due to the training programs related to World War II. The classrooms not scheduled for the regular program were quickly filled during the later afternoon and evening by students in the Engineering, Science, and Management War Training program which was supervised by the University's College of Engineering. Also, Wayne University's building program was just getting underway and space there was at a premium; rooms

for some of Wayne's classes were provided during the daytime for several years.

Extension offices subsequently established were: Grand Rapids (1943), Flint (1944), Saginaw (1945), Escanaba (1947), Ann Arbor (1949), Traverse City (1952), Battle Creek (1952), Port Huron (1957), and Dearborn (1960). Detroit, Grand Rapids, Flint, Saginaw, and Dearborn were also classified as Centers for Graduate Study. It should be noted that at each of these locations, the office was established in response to an invitation from the local public schools and usually in quarters provided by them. In Grand Rapids the statement was made many times by the President of the Junior College and the Superintendent of Schools that the University's program and cooperation in Grand Rapids actually kept the Junior College open during the years of World War II. When the branches were established by the University in Flint and Dearborn, Extension offices were moved into their facilities, and plans were set in motion for joint cooperation in developing a coordinated and integrated program.

In 1951 the State Board of Education authorized the four regional colleges of education (now state universities) to offer master's degrees in Education. A few years later this restriction to Education was removed. About the same time, Michigan State College (now University) and Wayne University (now Wayne State University) began offering off-campus courses on the graduate level. Prior to this time, the Graduate School of The University of Michigan had some relationship to all graduate work given throughout the state, and especially to work given off the campuses. As cooperative arrangements with these other institutions were developed, and as they expanded their programs into nearby localities, responsibilities and priorities were reexamined, with the result that either joint offices have been established or offices phased out. Separate Extension Service staffs are no longer maintained in Traverse City, Battle Creek, and Port Huron, and minimal activity in Escanaba is being conducted jointly with Bay de Noc Community College.

From 1947 through 1958, enrollments in the course program each year exceeded 20,000. In the later years, almost 75 percent of the enrollees for academic credit were for graduate credit. At the same time, roughly one-quarter of all of the students enrolling in the Graduate School were enrolled through the Extension Service, and between 20 and 25 percent who received master's degrees

from the Graduate School have taken part of their work through the off-campus centers. Over half of those working toward advanced degrees in Education were taking a sizeable part of their work through the Graduate Study Centers.

Although the bulk of the course teaching has been done by faculty members on an overload basis for added compensation, in recent years some of the departments have preferred to make joint appointments with the Extension Service and make the off-campus teaching a part of the instructor's regular load. This has been especially true in those cases in which the department wanted to have a faculty member located in a specific geographical area, but available for work elsewhere. Stipend schedules for Extension teaching were developed by the Executive Committee of the Extension Service, and the current formula relates directly to the regular salary of the instructor. This means that as the on-campus salary of the faculty member is raised, his Extension stipend also increases.

When credit courses were first established, the understanding was that fees paid by students would pay a large part of the cost of the program. Later, the decision was made to budget the Extension Service in the same manner as the schools and colleges, with the course income being placed in the general funds of the University. This plan has been maintained through the years with the exception of the finances for the conference program which is operated on a self-liquidating basis. As stipends, transportation, and other costs have risen, course fees have also been increased. Today these fees are in keeping both with the campus fees and also with the extension fees being charged by other universities in the state. As a practical matter, there is general agreement that adult students who are earning salaries should pay a higher percentage of the costs of the courses they are taking than should the full-time young college student.

Thus far the emphasis in this discussion of the course program has been on credit courses. Enrollees in these courses are largely teachers, engineers, business men, librarians, social workers, and other "career" people who are interested basically in gaining additional preparation, or keeping up to date with advancements in their professional and occupational areas. On the other hand, there have always been substantial numbers of adults in the extension program who desired only to increase their

own knowledge and understanding of current topics and problems on the national and international scene, in the humanities, and in programs in some of the newer fields of knowledge in which only certificates and not degrees might be awarded. Then, too, there has been an expanding interest in the arts — painting, music, theater, and dance. Extension has given attention to all of these, largely through single lectures, series of lectures, concerts, and demonstrations.

Unfortunately, when course work has been involved in these various types of programs, it has often been classified as "noncredit" because academic credit was not involved. It is interesting to note that such agencies as the National University Extension Association, the American Association of Evening Colleges, the National Association of State Universities and Land Grant Colleges, the Adult Education Association of the United States, and the American Association of Collegiate Registrars are attempting to find a method of evaluating activities of this sort which would lead to some type of academic recognition for both intra- and inter-institutional use. Many of these projects and programs lend themselves readily to joint and cooperative efforts among educational institutions — between colleges and universities themselves, between them and community colleges and other two-year institutions, and between them and the local adult education programs of the public schools. They certainly represent a trend in the entire field of continuing education.

Lecture Bureau. — The Lecture Bureau today does much more than carry on its original job of assigning lecturers to all parts of the state in response to requests for speakers from the University. Lecturers are still available but so are various types of performing groups and consultants. Each speaker, performer, or faculty consultant assigned is a specialist in his particular field, and many are persons of national and international reputation. In recent years assistance has also been given to student groups, making it possible for them to appear off-campus.

Requests made by communities may be roughly classified in two groups: (1) those that want assistance from someone with expertise in the solution of some type of problem, or (2) those having entertainment as the dominant factor, e.g. concerts. In general a single lecturer of the first type may be assigned to a community without

charge, especially when the meeting is open to the entire community. If possible, programs of the second type are planned to be self-supporting. No fee is ever charged for lecturers who are speaking about the University itself.

Conference Department. — The Conference Department has responsibility for those programs which have been or are sometimes called conferences, institutes, and short courses. Presently its major responsibility is to assist University faculty, academic units, and outside organizations in the planning, conducting, and evaluating of conferences. Because of the tremendous amount of new knowledge being discovered and the speed of obsolescence of much of the old, and because of the ever-increasing number of people who must keep up to date with these changes, growing numbers of professional, educational, business, technical, and other groups desire to avail themselves of the extensive educational resources of the University. For them the specialized services of the Conference Department are available. Although many of the schools and colleges may themselves operate programs of this type for their specific clienteles, a major part of the University's conferences are channeled through Extension's Conference Department. Even for those it does not plan and operate, the Conference Department often serves as a consultant. It is serving currently as the general clearing house for information about all University-sponsored conferences.

Each conference program is planned to meet a specific need. For over twenty-five years an annual Parent Education Institute was conducted in cooperation with the Michigan Congress of Parents and Teachers. For a similar period a so-called Adult Education Institute was conducted jointly with the Michigan State Federation of Women's Clubs. As conditions changed, the general type of program was phased out and was replaced by others having a more specialized focus. A random selection of conferences held in the past year is indicative of the current wide range of subject matter: Conference on Day Care, Drug Education Seminar, Workshop for Independent School Administrators, Conference on the Asian Environment, Juvenile Court Seminar, Michigan Pastors Conference, and a Vocational Education Workshop. Most conferences are scheduled on the campus, but an increasing number are held in other locations in the state, and occasionally outside of Michigan.

Department of Independent Study. — Though the Department of Independent Study has the fewest registrants, it probably

has the greatest potential for utilization of the new and rapidly developing technological methods of instruction. These are bringing out a completely different "image" than that engendered by the term "correspondence study." The old method was originally planned to assist adults seeking to complete or supplement an interrupted education, people of all ages wanting to begin college study especially if they had had no chance previously, men and women in the armed forces, patients in hospitals and sanitariums — in general, those who might be classified as "disadvantaged." Independent study now means freedom for the student to complete course work at his own pace without the necessity of being in a classroom at a specified time and place. The addition of a great variety of modern teaching-learning devices to the traditional methods has provided new tools which are both different and interesting. Extensive use is made of audio tapes, records, telephone lectures, self-directed review and evaluation devices, and "answer guides or models" which provide immediate feedback to the student. Other devices are tapes of simulated classroom environments and of actual classroom discussions and lectures. "Round-robin tapes" permit groups to participate in selected programs and assignments requiring active participation in community affairs. Personal contact with the instructor is established through telephone "tutorials" and conferences. In some instances, students who are enrolled in the same courses, but who live in different locations, conduct conference calls in which the instructor also participates. The "disadvantaged" are now only a part of the student body, and many are still interested in earning academic credit which is applicable to a degree program. Others are interested in specialized courses which have been developed to meet specific needs and to provide information unrelated to degree credit. For example, one series of courses leads to the "Professional Certificate in Management of Personnel" and another is the "Teaching of English as a Foreign Language."

The new methods and techniques involve the student deeply in setting and achieving his own goals and in evaluating his progress. Since the change in the University calendar and the resulting longer summer vacation period, both the Honors Program and the Residential College are making greater use of the offerings of the Department of Independent Study. Presently several of the professional schools and colleges are participating in the development of specialized independent study courses in their disciplines.

Special Programs. — Although a survey such as this cannot cover all that a year-to-year history might include, comments about some of the specialized activities of the Extension Service and a few statistical facts should be recorded. Parallel to the credit-program expansion and development, due largely to changes and rearrangements within the University, many of the developments in the certificate and noncredit programs were the result of outside pressures and the attempt of the Extension Service to meet the new and expanding interests and needs as they arose. Even a partial list of important events between 1940 and 1970 should be sufficient to indicate the scope of special interests.

A start may be made with mention of World War II and all of the technical training developed in connection with it. The war years also generated the Victory Garden project which, over several semesters, eventually enrolled more than 750, and whose graduates furnished a high percentage of the volunteers who supervised the metropolitan Detroit gardens. The race riots of 1943 and the civil disorders in Detroit in 1967 had their effects. The Korean War and the Vietnam War also created their conditioning factors. Then too, consider the rapid changes in frequency modulation, radio, television, commercial flying, superhighways, telephonic communications, atomic fission and fusion, and space exploration, including landings on the moon. The University did not have to develop programs to meet all the needs that were generated by these events but it was essential that the changing needs and interests be recognized, and that plans be developed and put into operation when feasible.

By the end of the period, the state-supported educational system had grown to include four statewide universities, four regional universities, two branches of The University of Michigan, Oakland University associated with Michigan State University, four state colleges, and thirty two-year community colleges. As all of these were developing continuing education activities during this period, the University of Michigan program became one of selectivity and priority determination, plus cooperation with all of the other institutions in providing appropriate programs for all sections of the state.

One of the early projects in Detroit of the World War II period was the organization in 1943 of a symphony orchestra. Professor David Mattern of the School of Music served as conductor from its beginning until his death fifteen years later. To make the orchestra possible,

Dr. Joseph Maddy of the Interlochen Music Camp each year provided the necessary sheet music and instruments. A University truck transported instruments, music, and music racks to Detroit after the close of Camp in the fall and back again before the June reopening.

After World War II, a choral group was also started in Detroit, under the direction of Professor Maynard Klein. This has continued for nearly twenty-five years and, as the Rackham Symphony Choir, has served much of that time as the official choral group of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. Similarly, the Michigan Youth Symphony was conducted by Professor Orien Dalley, its organizer, for about twenty years prior to his retirement in 1970. This orchestra is composed of students who drive into Ann Arbor on alternate Saturdays to practice and to "make music" with others of like ability. Many of its graduates have provided the University orchestral units with some of their best personnel.

Another unique program, first sponsored by the Extension Service and then by the University Center for Adult Education, was the discussion group on American affairs and world events conducted for forty years by Professor Wesley Maurer of the Department of Journalism. Two other long-term projects should also be mentioned. Through the many years that President Harlan Hatcher served as Chairman of the Cultural Activities Section of Michigan Week, Michael Church of the Extension staff served as Secretary of the Section. During this period he organized the Summer Art Conference and Exhibit which has continued for nearly twenty years. The exhibit shows paintings selected from area exhibits conducted in various sections of the state. An annual Program Planners Institute is held in Detroit and Grand Rapids. At the time of its beginning some thirty years ago, some 7,500 clubs in Detroit were conducting their yearly programs on a catch-as-catch-can basis. In general, the object of the Institute has been to provide club officers and program chairmen with information about the best methods of building and conducting club programs.

In 1947-48 the Extension Service began its first courses in gerontology. The first gerontology conference on the campus was held in 1948 as a memorial to Dr. Charles Fisher who had been instrumental in starting the program. The papers from the first three annual conferences were printed under the auspices of the Extension Service and were three of the first volumes printed in the rapidly expanding field of gerontology.

Real Estate. — In 1948 the Extension Service and the School of Business Administration established a statewide real estate program. More than 2,000 men and women have now earned the coveted certificate in real estate which is awarded to those who complete the necessary eight courses. Through the years the program had the cooperation of the Michigan Real Estate Association, local real estate boards, and the Division of Vocational Education of the State Department of Education. Instructors are approved by the School of Business Administration, and all instruction is given under the School's supervision. Educational services are presented through three formats: (1) regular courses that meet weekly during the fall and winter terms; (2) week-long institutes that cover in concentrated study the material in certain regular courses; and (3) the annual Real Estate Clinic, a one-day program focused on salesmanship. The present scope of the program is such that about 80 class sections are offered in 30 or more locations across the state. Annual enrollments have been running between 2,500 and 3,000.

Firemanship Training. — Another program which has been operating for more than twenty-five years is that in firemanship training. This originated in the Department of Vocational Education of the School of Education and has continuously had the assistance of the State Board of Vocational Education. Through the years the program has also had the enthusiastic support of the following organizations: Michigan Firemen's Association; Michigan Firefighters Association; Firefighters Training Council; Michigan Fire Chiefs Association; Fire Marshal's Division of the Michigan State Police; Michigan Sheriffs Association; Michigan Association of Police Chiefs; Michigan Chapter of the International Association of Arson Investigators; National Fire Protection Association; and the American Insurance Association. The complexity of our industrial society has increased the demand for specialized training for firefighting personnel. The constantly increasing use of plastics and other synthetics in manufacturing and construction; the transportation of combustible materials on the highways as well as by rail, often through heavily populated areas; the incidence of accidents resulting in fire, including those involving aircraft; and the sharp increase in the rate of arson — all call for specialized knowledge.

Basic training for small departments and training schools on a regional level are held each year. In 1958 the Civil Defense and Disaster Training Center on the

University's North Campus was opened. Funds for this building were provided by the Michigan Legislature and the U.S. Office of Civil Defense. In addition to classrooms and accommodations for student firemen to "live in" during the week-long training in basic or advanced firefighting methods, housing is also provided for the unit of the Ann Arbor Fire Department, which serves the North Campus and the general area around it. In addition to these practical aspects of fire prevention and control, specialized programs are also put on which relate to the administrative duties of fire chiefs and other departmental officers. These give instruction in preparation of reports, personnel management, budget development, and public relations.

University Center for Adult Education. — When the Detroit office was opened in 1935, participation in local adult education projects began. Joint projects were developed in cooperation with the Detroit Association of Adult Education and with other institutions operating in Detroit's cultural center — Merrill Palmer School, Wayne University, Detroit Public Library, Detroit Institute of Arts, and the Council of Social Agencies. When the Rackham Educational Memorial was opened in 1942, both projects and contacts were expanded. For example, long-range programs were developed with the Detroit Audubon Society and travel programs with The Detroit News. After Wayne University became a state institution, casual discussions among representatives of Wayne State University and the University of Michigan indicated a desire on the part of the two institutions to pool and integrate their resources and facilities in the metropolitan area. As most of the work under discussion related to nondegree study areas, they wanted to insure that educational programs in these areas might be systematically expanded and encouraged and that this would be done without unnecessary duplication of effort and facilities. The result was that, in 1957, a Division of Adult Education was set up under the joint sponsorship of the two institutions. Headquarters were in the Rackham Building and the business affairs of the Division were channeled through Wayne State University. The University of Michigan budget allocations for the Division were channeled through the Extension Service. Most of the noncredit programs that the Extension Service had been developing in Detroit were gradually transferred to the new Division, the Extension Service retaining only those that were statewide in scope or were tied closely to on-going programs stemming from the Ann Arbor campus. A few years later, Eastern Michigan

University joined the group and the name was changed from Division of Adult Education to University Center for Adult Education. Still later, a change in local conditions resulted in Eastern's withdrawal from the project, at least for the time being. The staffs of the Extension Service in Detroit, Dearborn, and Ann Arbor have cooperated closely with the UCAE staff and the two programs are well coordinated.

Institutional Cooperation. — The Extension Service is justifiably proud of the part it has played in the development of cooperative projects in programs with all of Michigan's educational institutions during this period. Probably the single greatest impetus for the development of cooperation among the state's institutions came as a result of the establishment of a statewide experimental program in adult education, supported by a grant of $250,000 made by the 1944 Michigan Legislature. The Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction invited the various colleges to participate in the development of an experimental program. The University of Michigan was asked to work especially in workers education, leadership training, and home and family living. Lack of funds caused several of these programs to be phased out four or five years later when the Legislature discontinued the special grant.

Other cooperative activities of the Extension Service not mentioned earlier were: (a) In 1945, on invitation from the local board of education, a joint office was opened in Saginaw with Central Michigan College; later both moved into Saginaw Valley College along with Michigan State University. (b) In 1945-46, the University of Michigan joined with Northern Michigan College and Michigan College of Mining and Technology in assisting reorganization of Gogebic Community College, including the provision of funds for weekly travel of Northern Michigan College instructors from Marquette to Ironwood and return. (c) After World War II, when Michigan Tech established a branch at Sault Ste Marie, an instructor in English was provided gratis during the first few years. (d) In Saginaw, Traverse City, and Petoskey, when the establishment of a local junior or community college was being considered, experimental class offerings on the freshman level were conducted by the Extension Service; all three cities later organized community colleges. (e) The Port Huron office also provided information about programs offered in the area by Eastern Michigan, Michigan State, and Wayne State Universities.

(f) At Ferris State College special technical programs were arranged, which carried both senior college and graduate credit. (g) Utilizing unusual facilities on Lake Michigan available to Grand Valley State College, joint summer courses in oceanography were developed with that college. (h) To help enrich the senior college offerings of Saginaw Valley College, certain courses were opened to appropriately prepared students.

Michigan Coordinating Council of State College Field Services. — In 1958 the Michigan Council of State College Presidents requested their directors of field or extension services to "draw up plans for establishing a single integrated extension system involving all nine tax supported colleges and universities and recognizing the unique functions of particular institutions." This request resulted in the subsequent official organization and recognition of the Michigan Coordinating Council of State College Field Services (now called the Coordinating Council for Continuing Higher Education).

This formal organization was a culmination of many years of voluntary collaboration developed by the directors themselves. On the recommendation of the Coordinating Council, these institutional commitments were approved the following year by the Council of Presidents:

• a) The state tax-supported colleges and universities are committed to a system of cooperation and coordination in field service programs on both a regional and a statewide basis.
• b) The individual identity and unique functions of each institution shall be respected.
• c) Individuals, organizations, and agencies shall have free choice in the selection of the institution from which they wish to request services. Such requests shall be honored by the institution concerned whenever it is practical to do so and when not contrary to approved policies and regulations either of the Council of State College Presidents or of the governing boards of the institutions of which this Council is composed.

During the succeeding ten years, the number of institutions grew from nine to thirteen and new presidents were appointed in all of the institutions except Western Michigan University. Regional field office coordination gradually developed. Simplification of plans of cross-enrollments and transfer of credit involved campus rules

and regulations, including those of the graduate schools and departments.

Extension Service News. — This publication is a four-page newspaper of tabloid size which has been in continuous publication since 1941. Its function has been to provide broad, state-wide information about the activities and programs of the Extension Service, plus other items and stories of general interest about the University. Eight to ten issues have been printed annually and the number of copies distributed has varied between 25,000 and 60,000. For years the News was mailed to more people in Michigan than any other single University publication. Extension students, alumni, schools, and other individuals and groups interested in adult education programs and in other work of the University are on the mailing list. The News has had the advantage of being under the same editor, Miss Marion McDonald, during these past thirty years.

Conclusion. — In 1969 a Planning Committee on Extension and Adult Education was appointed by the executive officers of the University. The committee was asked to review the University's "outreach programs and activities, as they exist today, and to make recommendations as to how such work shall be further developed and modified in view of the changing social and cultural environment." The committee was also asked to determine "the University's guiding philosophy with respect to continuing education," as well as "the implications of this philosophy for such varied clientele groups as prospective full-time students, persons who have not been able to finish college, University alumni, professional practitioners, and adults in search of intellectual and cultural stimulation." "The University must intensify its effort and invention because of the urgent needs of Michigan's citizens for educational opportunities which will enable them to resolve the state's rapidly emerging social problems and to keep up with the burgeoning growth of new knowledge."

From 1911 until 1971, the Extension Service has had only three directors: William Henderson, organizer in 1911 and first Director, 1919-37; Charles Fisher, Director, 1937-48; and Everett Soop, Director, 1948-71. In 1971 a new director was appointed, Alfred Storey, previously Associate Director, and Associate Professor of Speech.

Everett J. Soop