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Rural Perspectives

Q&A with Robert H. Bruininks, President of the University of Minnesota
Published in Center for Rural Policy and Development, Summer 2004

You were appointed the University of Minnesota's 15th president in November of 2002. How have you enjoyed your first 18 months?

The past 18 months have been an incredible experience, and it has been an honor to lead a community that I've so long been a part of; it's going on 37 years that I've been at the University of Minnesota. I have long felt that the University is one of the state's most important assets-as a creator of knowledge, as an attractor of talent, and as a place for learning and growth-and I have spent a great deal of my time reminding the people of Minnesota of the world-class research institution they have in their midst.

As president of the U of M system, you oversee campuses located in very different regions of the state. How does it benefit the University to have these far-flung campuses, and in what ways do these campuses relate to each other, especially between the Twin Cities campuses and the ones in Greater Minnesota?

It has long been my contention that the University of Minnesota is a resource for the entire state, and the location of campuses and centers in Duluth, the Twin Cities, Crookston, Morris and Rochester is an important aspect of the reach that we have. All of our campuses have strong relationships with their communities and the regions, which benefit the people who live in proximity to our campuses as well as our students at these campuses, who connect to local communities through coursework as well as community service.

The University has what I believe is an efficient organizational structure, with senior officers of the Twin Cities Campus doubling as managers of the overall University system. Within that structure, our campuses outside the metro area have a great deal of latitude to pursue the areas of study and outreach that meet the needs of their communities. That's why you see the Large Lakes Observatory at Duluth, or the Center for Small Towns at Morris, to give just a couple of examples. The University also maintains a strong presence in Greater Minnesota through its seven Research and Outreach Centers and 18 regional Extension Service offices, which provide practical, research-based collaboration with people from the Iron Range to the Red River Valley to the Hiawatha Valley.

There are many different views on what exactly the University's "land grant mission" means. How do you define this mission, and how does it define the University's scope, especially in reaching out to all of Minnesota?

For me, our land grant mission means that we are an institution that creates knowledge through research as well as reasoned debate, that imparts knowledge to students, and that brings knowledge to the people of the state. The land grant tradition is an evolving and changing legacy, one that reflects the society - and the expectations of the society - it serves. The Morrill Act of 1862 and subsequent legislation integrated education, research and engagement into the land grant mission. With great wisdom, the Civil War-era Congress foresaw how the donation of public lands could provide a foundation for long-term economic growth and future revenue, whereas the mere sale of public lands would only provide a one-time return to the government. Their progressive outlook was that when the people are well educated, they will prosper, and when the people prosper, the state and the nation will prosper. Thus, the land was given to the states for colleges to educate the people.

The University's mission is integrated: research, teaching and engagement with the public are not addressed separately. It is our core research strength and the transfer and application of knowledge, however, that makes education and outreach at the land grant institutions unique.

The U of M Extension Service, which has been the primary connection to the University for much of Greater Minnesota over the last century, has undergone some significant changes recently in its structure and its function. Is its existence stabilizing now? And what can Greater Minnesota expect from Extension in the next few years?

The University Extension Service recently reorganized, going from a largely county-based system to one based on eighteen regional centers throughout the state. The changes to Extension were made because they were in the best, long-term interest of the service and the people it serves. The process of change was accelerated by crises in budgets at the state and county level, two primary sources of funding for Extension, yet they were also designed to allow local elected officials more choice in the Extension services provided in their communities. By housing Extension faculty more centrally, we reduced operating costs, strengthened connections to research faculty, and improved our capacity to provide timely information and technical assistance. These changes will also create new synergies between the talented people we employ.

The long and short of it was that we could no longer afford to provide services in the way that we had traditionally done, and we had at our disposal many new communications technologies, such as the web, to connect the people of Minnesota more directly to the University's research enterprise. Through this reorganization we sought to leverage technology along with the University's existing infrastructure (which is why many of our Regional Offices are co-located with other university facilities) in order to provide the best extension product possible. Ultimately, I believe that the Extension reorganization enhances the critical link to the research base at the University, thus strengthening the ability to deliver research-based information to all parts of the state.

There has been a distinct shift in the price of education from the school to the student over the past few years. As president, and as a longtime member of the faculty and administration, what is you perspective on this shift and where do you see it going in the future?

I am deeply troubled by the shift toward students funding more of the cost of their education. I fear that policymakers more and more view education as a private good, rather than paying attention to how society benefits from an educated population. Your readers may be surprised to learn that two-thirds of the tuition increases in 2003-04 and 2004-05 are directly attributable to the nearly $200 Million cut we took from the state. On the one hand, it bothers me a great deal that students are working longer hours to meet their tuition bills, that they are taking out larger loans than ever before, and that the value of federal financial aid (Pell Grants) has eroded by half between 1986 and 1999. On the other hand, the University of Minnesota relies on its academic quality to attract top students, top scholars, and a half billion dollars in research funding each year; we simply cannot sacrifice quality at the University if we are to remain the asset we've been; for our students and for the state.

I hope that, in the near future, policymakers can reach a consensus over how the University is funded. We have taken the initiative to solve many of our own challenges, such as self-insuring for employee health coverage, reorganizing our central administration and the extension service. In order to maintain access and affordability in an era of rising tuition, we are embarking on a major new scholarship drive that will raise $150 million for undergraduate and professional students. But these internal initiatives are not enough; it is high time that University and the State of Minnesota agree on a renewed partnership that will provide adequate resources for the University. That partnership will be a key part of the our ability to provide the next generation of Minnesotan college students the same educational opportunities their parents and grandparents had.

The University of Minnesota is the acknowledged center of innovation in Minnesota and one of the top research institutions in the world. What are some of the next "big things" you see coming from the University, and what does having this kind of an institution mean to the state?

Many observers have called the 21st Century the Biological Century, and the University is at the cutting edge of the rapid growth of knowledge and interconnectedness in the life sciences. It is the broad of interest and expertise among our faculty-the breadth we are sometimes criticized for; that allows us to remain at the leading edge of research that cuts across traditional disciplinary lines.

At the intersection of fields such as medicine, genetics, agriculture, biology, chemistry, and even ethics, law and philosophy, University researchers are pursuing new forms of renewable energy, extracting hydrogen from ethanol; they're looking for ways to address our country's problem of obesity; they're finding ways to protect the food supply from intentional tampering as well as animal and plant disease; they're exploring new ways to manufacture consumer products using biological materials, which harm the environment less than petroleum based processes; and, perhaps most importantly, they are looking at the legal and ethical ramifications new biotechnologies for our society. These examples represent just a few of the eight broad areas of interdisciplinary study the University has laid out as priorities. Other areas of focus include the arts and humanities, translational research in human health, brain vitality, and arts and humanities.

Through the education we provide, the research we perform and the sharing of knowledge with the broader community, the University of Minnesota has been a key part of how our state has built a quality of life that is the envy of the nation. In an increasingly knowledge-based economy, we will continue to be a key part of creating and disseminating knowledge. Our ability to continue to play that role, to remain a top public research university, depends on the quality of the scholars we attract and retain. Maintaining a state asset like the University is not cheap, but, in the long run, the University of Minnesota is the best single investment the people of Minnesota can make in the future of our economy and our culture.

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