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U, business team on best-management
By Robert H. Bruininks, President of the University of Minnesota Conventional wisdom holds that large institutions -- be they corporations, governments or educational institutions -- are sluggish bureaucracies with little incentive to economize, innovate or change. As the University of Minnesota seeks a renewed financial partnership with the state this year, we've set out to prove otherwise. In short, we aspire to be known as much for good management and innovation as for high-quality education and research. In fact, we contend that good business practices enable and even enhance our central mission of education, research and public service. Two years ago I challenged the university community to think creatively about enhancing service, value and productivity. The response was overwhelming. Improvements included the development of online tools that dramatically improved student services at lower cost, procedural changes in asset-management strategies that significantly increased revenues and the renegotiation of key technology contracts to reduce costs. The university proved itself willing and able to step up to the plate for the common good of the institution. We also led the university through wrenching budget cuts in the 2004-2005 biennium without materially damaging our core educational and research capabilities, an achievement that earned us high marks for financial stewardship from the university's outside auditor and Twin Cities editorial writers. In order to institutionalize this type of work and take it to the next level, we established the Office of Service and Continuous Improvement (OSCI) in June 2004. The OSCI staff is putting structures in place to advance the cultural, financial and operational transformation of the university. Specifically, the office is helping to identify opportunities for operational improvement, bringing best-management practices to bear in addressing those opportunities, and spreading knowledge about operational innovations so that success breeds more success. OSCI does not work alone. It has an advisory committee made up of academic experts, university leaders, and top Minnesota business executives with experience transforming organizations. This group gives guidance and feedback on the progress of our initiative to improve service and free up resources for our central mission of academics, research, and outreach. As OSCI and its advisory committee lay a foundation, the university has embarked on a strategic positioning process that establishes our vision to become one of the top three public research universities in the world within the next decade. To reach this goal, the university will undertake a handful of strategic action areas that include the recruitment and retention of talented students and world-class faculty, as well as a renewed focus on aligning our activities with the public good. A key piece of the strategy is to ensure that the university is managing its operations as effectively and efficiently as possible and promoting an organizational culture that is committed to excellence and responsive to change. The Office of Service and Continuous Improvement and its advisers will play an integral role in making this strategy and the overall vision a reality. The University of Minnesota is putting all of the necessary pieces in place to bring best-management practices to bear on its administrative and academic aspirations. Minnesota has only one major research university, and that's the U of M. It is uniquely qualified as a center of learning, research, and enterprise to position Minnesota strongly within the global knowledge-based economy of the 21st century. The university's ability to do so will depend on strong state support, but it will also rely on its ability to adopt strategic and efficient management practices, to embrace change and to inculcate a culture of continuous improvement. Robert H. Bruininks (UPres@umn.edu) is the president of the University of Minnesota. For more information about the Office of Service and Continuous Improvement, visit http://www.umn.edu/osci. |
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