The Fifth International Conference on Adult Education held in Hamburg (July 14–18, 1997) signaled renewed commitment, hope, and solidarity for adult education’s promise. However, challenges of globalization, socialization, and survival for all humanity in the new century remain. In the United States (U. S.), a nation that is undergoing a crisis of unemployment and underemployment, there is an urgent need for new dimensions of adult and continuing education (ACE) with respect to provisions of lifelong learning that will foster the need for human capital and workforce development.

With the attention currently being given to the urgency of workforce development skills, the social component of ACE’s mission and initiatives are expected to help in coping with competitiveness of the U. S. Accordingly, accountability

relates to increased emphasis on the university’s mission of serving the social and educational needs of society. Recently, the changing demographics that are compounding the dynamics for higher educational institutions warrant much focus. As colleges and universities grapple with current socio-economic challenges, proponents and continuing educators are confident that higher education should promote ACE in proffering quality programs and benefits to the society

at large (Breneman, 2005; Pusser, et al., 2007; Stokes, 2006).

CHE is a very complex structure comprising of degree, noncredit, distance education,

community outreach, and summer programs, all with the mission of serving adults and nontraditional students. The 2004-2005 result of the National Household Education Surveys (National Center for Education Statistics) verifies the increase in participation of the number of adult students who use post secondary education as a means of access to university degree and some non-degree programs. Accordingly, the “report presents selected data on adult’s participation in educational activities in the United States” (p. 1). The study shows that of 211.6 million “adults,” five percent (5%) or greater than 11 million participated in adult education

(part-time) degree programs and work-related courses via colleges and or universities.

These statistics support the significance of ACE activities in proffering the social and economic mission of our societies. Hence, the philosophy of social innovation as a means of fostering organizational initiatives towards change and social responsibility is encouraged. This paper illustrates how factors and attributes associated with social entrepreneurship and systematic innovation (Drucker, 1985) are used to mitigate the effects of social, political, and economic challenges experienced in ACE organizations. Propositions about social entrepreneurship, social ! 448 innovations, and the attributes of systematic innovation within such marginalized organizations produce societal transformation that promotes symmetry between effectiveness and efficiencies.

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