The two selected quotations discuss, in vague terms, the essential role that universities should play in training its students to be useful and reputable members of society. These passages do not, however, define these nebulous concepts of usefulness and reputation. As an economist I tend to look at usefulness through the lens of economic utility. Those trained within a university gain skills and knowledge allowing them contribute more output or production within our society compared to those less skilled workers. The past thirty years have seen a substantial increase in the financial returns to a college degree. This is because our society values the useful skills that these graduates are bringing to the labor market (although the increase in return has been fueled by a drop in demand for low skilled workers, not a rise in demand for high skill workers. See Howell (1999)). The increased production benefit all in our society (except possibly those who are victims of negative externalities) regardless of whether the industry or service has a social goal in mind. Besides providing jobs, these benefits include increased tax revenue, which in the end may provide the funding for governmental social programs.
That being said, I feel it is absolutely essential for the university to work with the community to ascertain societal needs (wages, the market mechanism that deals with this, take too long to correct for shortages in educational areas). In order for a university to fulfill its goal of molding useful students, they must learn from the community the needs of the "street level bureaucrats." It is only through this interchange that the communities can receive useful help from academia (whether it is from students entering the labor market, or professors doing research). While I see academic utility as paramount, political and individual enrichment fit into this framework nicely. Educated students are more likely to make educated policy decisions, whether in the position of voter or elected official. Individuals who enjoy learning are more likely to undergo a process of lifelong learning. Both of these conditions result in a much more efficient workforce and production process.
My views about the role of educated students in the community come from my years of working in the Swearer center and my study of third world development. If the goal of a university is couched in vague terms of usefulness without policy to support this notion, we may end up like Nigeria, graduating more humanity majors than any other engineer-demanding country (this does not mean I see no use for humanity majors). While I understand the problems which arise on ascertaining a person's worth from how much they contribute to society, I feel it is the best place to start when attempting to define cloudy terms such as 'usefulness'.