U Pride: A Wise Investment
By Robert H. Bruininks, President of the University of Minnesota
Published in the Pioneer Press editorials April 12, 2004
With the success of the Gopher women's basketball team in the NCAA tournament, we're again reminded why we take so much pride in the University of Minnesota.
But it’s not only exhilarating, winning athletics teams that fuel our pride; for 153 years, the university has been educating our children, preparing our workforce and making discoveries that improve our lives and communities. These innovations, the result of research conducted on our campuses by world class faculty and highly motivated students, range from public health strategies for addressing emerging diseases, to developing farming techniques to preserve the environment while maximizing yields, to helping children get the most out of school.
To sustain this great source of pride that benefits us all, we’re asking the Legislature to make a modest investment to maintain the university’s physical infrastructure. Fulfilling our extraordinary teaching and research mission requires modern classrooms, state of the art laboratories and advanced health and safety systems. Great minds and great discoveries need high-quality facilities.
Teaching and learning has changed dramatically over the last generation. Today’s undergraduate students can receive their assignments and lecture notes directly to their laptop computers through wireless networks. Professors often post assignments and class rosters on the Web. E-discussion groups are standard in some courses. In short, technology is more integral than ever to teaching and learning.
Recognizing this critical need, the university has modernized more than 300 classrooms in the past five years. However, there’s still work to be done. For example, through the Academic Health Center, the university is educating Minnesota’s next generation of health professionals. Yet, most of the AHC’s classrooms are 25 years old; they lack the flexibility needed for small-group teaching and the technology needed for medical simulations and computer-based testing. We simply cannot train tomorrow’s health care professionals in yesterday’s classrooms.
More broadly, the university, which was founded prior to the State of Minnesota, has one of the oldest infrastructures in the entire state. Approximately 65 percent of our major campus buildings are more than 30 years old and 25 percent are more than 70 years old. On the Twin Cities campus alone, more than 100 buildings are at least half a century old. On a typical day, more than 80,000 people visit our campuses and use our facilities across the state. We must maintain these important public places.
In this austere fiscal climate, we cannot afford to squander the investment that generations before us have made in the university. Failure to invest now in the university’s facilities and infrastructure will cost more in the future and undermine our ability to fulfill our important teaching and research mission.
The Legislature is now considering the university’s capital request. It represents a modest and reasonable investment that builds on our rich history and tradition and will pay great dividends to the people of this state. With legislative support, the University of Minnesota will continue to be uniquely positioned to improve the quality of life for Minnesotans for generations to come.
Note: For more information on the University’s legislative request go to, www.umn.edu/govrel
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