This collection documents the integration of University of Wisconsin Extension programs
throughout the UW System from the early 1980s to the mid 1990s, with a particular emphasis
on the activities of Patrick G. Boyle (1928-2013), who served as Chancellor of UW Extension
from 1983-1993, and institutional bodies such as the Board of Regents Study Committee on the
Integration of the Extension Function and the Systemwide Extension Council.
Beginning in 1975, Wisconsin Department of Administration policies and decreased state
funding caused significant budget shortfalls for Cooperative Extension and Continuing
Education programs, despite increases in student fees. Despite these challenges, UW
Extension established new programs such as the Division of Urban Outreach in cooperation
with UW-Milwaukee in 1974 and the Small Business Development Center funded by $600,000 in
state funding and a $40,000 federal grant in 1978. In response to budget shortfalls, the
1979-1981 Wisconsin Biennial Budget Bill mandated three studies on federal funding prospects
and fee policies for Cooperative Extension and Continuing Education.
In April, 1982 the Board of Regents Study Committee on UW Extension created guidelines for
the reorganization of UW Extension, which recommended integrating Extension programs and
faculty with other UW schools and departments, while also leaving UW Extension under the
leadership of its own Chancellor. Furthermore, the preexisting five UW Extension divisions
were reorganized into three divisions: Cooperative Extension, General Extension, and
Educational Communications. Despite the concerns of UW Extension faculty and staff, by July
1985 all UW System campuses signed inter-institutional agreements and began to integrate
Extension personnel and programs into their departments and programs. In May, 1988 the Board
of Regents developed five additional policies to improve the integration process, which
addressed issues such as the rights of UW Extension faculty and staff with joint
appointments.
On July 25, 1988 the UW System and the State Vocational, Technical and Adult Education
System Joint Administrative Committee on Continuing Education issued a report on non-credit
programs in the two systems, with particular emphasis on problems differentiating programs
in the disciplines of Agriculture, Home Economics, and Business.
In 1990, the Systemwide Extension Council formed in order to advise the Extension
Chancellor on the direction of UW Extension. The Council included faculty and staff holding
both UW Extension and collaborative appointments. As a result of their recommendations, UW
Extension developed the Extension Administrative Leadership Program (EALP) in 1990, a two
year management program for extension staff, and hosted the 1991 Futures Conference on
"Change and Technology: Extension and Its Audiences" and the 1993 Futures Conference on
"Total Quality Management."
