FOR INFORMATION:

On May 1, 2003, the Senate Consultative Committee acted on behalf of the University Senate and approved two amendments to the Uniform Grading and Transcript Policy as follows (language to be deleted is struck-out; language to be added is underlined):

UNIFORM GRADING AND TRANSCRIPT POLICY

...

II. PERMANENT GRADES FOR ACADEMIC WORK

1. There are five permanent grades given for a single course for which credit shall be awarded, which will be entered on a student's official transcript. : A-B-C-D-F-S grades including pluses and minuses, as follows, and carry the indicated grade points. The S grade shall not carry grade points but the credits shall count toward the student's degree program if allowed by the college, campus, or program.

...

IV. OTHER PROVISIONS

1. A student may repeat a course once. When a student repeats a course, (a) both grades for the course shall appear on the official transcript, (b) the course credits may not be counted more than once toward degree and program requirements, and (c) only the last enrollment for the course shall count in the student's grade point average. The preceding sentence of this policy shall not apply to courses using the same number but where students study different content each term of enrollment; all such courses falling under this provision must be approved by the college. When students enrolled in the Graduate School repeat a course, provisions (a) and (b) apply but not (c); both grades for the course shall be counted in the student's grade point average.

...

Agenda Items 10. through 12. are considered to be non-controversial or “housekeeping” in nature and are offered as a “Consent Agenda” to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator. (A simple majority is required for approval.)

MOTION:

To approve the University Senate, Faculty Senate, and Twin Cities Campus Assembly minutes, which are available on the Web at the following URL. A simple majority is required for approval.

http://www1.umn.edu/usenate/usen/020424sen.html

The chairs of the University Senate, Faculty Senate, Student Senate, and Twin Cities Campus Assembly recommend the following officers for 2003-04:

Clerk – Professor Stuart Goldstein
Parliamentarian – Professor Guy Charles

University Senate committee memberships for 2003-04:

DISABILITIES ISSUES - Faculty: Harold Pickett (chair), Marilyn Bruin, Felicia Hodge, Elizabeth Lightfoot, Virgil Mathiowetz, Patrick McNamara, Ken Myers. Academic Professionals: Kathleen Ball, Harvey Carlson. Civil Service: Maureen McManus, Karen Nelson. Students: Carrie Bloss, Christopher Johnstone. Ex Officio: Bobbi Cordano, Julie Sweitzer.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY - Faculty/PA: Emily Hoover (chair), Wilbert Ahern, Dale Branton, Vernon Cardwell, Shawn Curley, Frank Kulacki, Marsha Odom, Martin Sampson, Karen Seashore, Mary Ellen Shaw, Mary Sue Simmons, Douglas Wangensteen, Joel Weinsheimer. Students: Gretchen Haas, Scott LeBlanc, Geoffrey Meisner, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Craig Swan, 1 to be named.

EQUITY, ACCESS, AND DIVERSITY - Faculty: Mary Lay (chair), Eric Burgess, Carol Chomsky, Benjamin Clarke, Amy Kaminsky, Margaret Moss, Jeffrey Roberts, 2 to be named. Academic Professionals: Beverly Balos, 1 to be named. Students: Vanessa Bailey, Nena Fox, Chelsea Jean Helmer, 3 to be named. Civil Service: Rose Blixt, Don Cavalier. Ex Officio: Sallye McKee, Julie Sweitzer, Claire Walter-Marchetti.

FINANCE AND PLANNING - Faculty: Charles Campbell (chair), David Chapman, Joseph Konstan, Michael Korth, Timothy Nantell, Terry Roe, Warren Warwick, 3 to be named. Academic Professionals: Thomas Klein, Sue Van Voorhis. Civil Service: Stanley Bonnema, Susan Carlson Weinberg. Students: Brittny McCarthy-Barnes, Michael Frankosky, Yi Li, Rose Samuel. Ex Officio: Calvin Alexander, David M. Brown, Daniel Feeney, Kathleen O’Brien, Richard Pfutzenreuter, Charles Speaks, Thomas Stinton, Alfred Sullivan, Michael Volna.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGIES – Academic Professionals: April Schwartz (chair), Mark Bellcourt, Josephine Crawford, Nancy Herther. Faculty: Yosef Cohen, David Demuth, Alan Ek, Lynda Ellis, Douglas Ernie, Greg Laden, Stuart Speedie, Jim Waddell. Civil Service: Jeff Johnson. Students: Mike Varian, 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Steve Cawley, Eric Celeste, Linda Jorn.

LIBRARY - Faculty/PA: Ray Wakefield (chair), John H. Anderson, Jill Barnum, David R. Brown, Elaine Challacombe, Robert Dexter, Isaac Fox, Lael Gatewood, Victoria Iwanij, William Phillips, Leon Satkowski, Thomas Scanlan. Students: 4 to be named. Ex Officio: LeAnn Dean, Sue Engelmann, Joan Howland, Wendy Lougee, April Schwartz, Bill Sozansky, Owen Williams.

RESEARCH - Faculty: Gary Balas (chair), Kathleen Conklin, James Cotter, Christopher Cramer, Dan Dahlberg, Sharon Danes, J. Stephen Gantt, Paul Johnson, Katherine Klink, James Luby, James Orf, Maria Sera, Virginia Seybold, George Trachte, 1 to be named. Academic Professionals: Barbara Van Drasek, Jean Witson. Civil Service: Kathy Ensrud. Students: 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Robin Dittmann, David Hamilton, Phillip Larsen, Mark Paller, Thomas Schumacher, Charles Spetland, Michael Volna.

SOCIAL CONCERNS - Faculty: Margaret Kuchenreuther (chair), Thomas Augst, Robert Bliar, Susan Craddock, Kenneth Heller, Ben Senauer, Mani Subramani. Academic Professionals: Jennifer Oliphant, Ruth Taylor, 1 to be named. Civil Service: Michelle Dawson, Susan Von Bank, 1 to be named. Alumni: Roger Beck, Karen Holtmeier, Ravi Norman. Students: Kara Ferguson, Bobak Ha’Eri, Joel Helfrich, Brandi Linderman, Joseph Nowak, Brian Wachutka, Melissa Williams. Ex Officio: Greg Schooler, Julie Sweitzer, 1 to be named.

STUDENT ACADEMIC INTEGRITY - Faculty/PA: Ava Trent (chair), Dorothy Anderson, Mark Bellcourt, Shawn Curley, Marilyn Grave, Thomas McRoberts, Robert Pepin, 1 to be named. Students: 5 to be named. Ex Officio: Laura Coffin Koch, Tracy Smith.

STUDENT AFFAIRS - Faculty/PA: Adam VanWagner (chair), Jean-Marie Del-Santo, Yasemin Kaygisiz, Cheryl Meyers, Janet Schottel, 2 to be named. Civil Service: David Lenander. Alumni: 1 to be named. Students: Shawn Lavelle, Ryan Osero, 6 to be named. Ex Officio: Gerald Rinehart.

FOR INFORMATION:

ALL-UNIVERSITY HONORS - Faculty: Shirley Garner (chair), Vernon Cardwell, Lester Drewes, Sara Evans, Laura Gurak, Jooinn Lee, Bernard Selzler, Katherine Solomonson. Academic Professionals: Stacie Christen, Jean Kucera. Alumni: Jacqueline Byrd, Archie Givens, Judy Lebedoff, Brian Osberg, 1 to be named. Students: Judy Berning, Matt deWerff, 1 to be named. Ex Officio: Gerald Fischer, Virginia Hansen, Cheryl Jones, Elizabeth Wroblewski.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES - Faculty: Catherine French (chair), Carl Adams, Subir Banerjee, Carol Chomsky, Anna Clark, Megan Gunnar, Kathryn Hanna, Dian Lopez, Sharon Neet, Richard Poppele, Deon Stuthman, Joel Weinsheimer, Cheryl Zimmerman, 1 to be named. Academic Professionals: Randy Croce, Lynne Schuman. Students: Matt Dewerff (chair), Josh Colburn, Adam VanWagner, Daniel Weiske, 3 to be named.

CONSULTATIVE - Faculty: Judith Martin (chair), Jean Bauer, Susan Brorson, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Daniel Feeney, Mary Jo Kane, Marvin Marshak, Jeff Ratliff-Crain, Martin Sampson. Academic Professional: Teresa Wallace. Students: Scott LeBlanc (chair), Sean Bell, Derek Brunsberg, Joshua Colburn, James Kanten, Levi Kary, Charles Stech, 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Charles Campbell, Gary L. Davis, Emily Hoover, Ryan Osero, Daniel Weiske, Carol Wells.

Faculty Senate committee memberships for 2003-04:

FACULTY AFFAIRS - Faculty: John Fossum (chair), Carole Bland, Terence Collins, A. Saari Csallany, Janet Erickson, Patricia Frazier, Richard Goldstein, Darwin Hendel, Dan Lim, Claudia Parliament, Wade Savage, Larry Wallace, Timothy Wiedmann, Aks Zaheer. Academic Professionals: Jessie Daniels, Kathleen Sellew. Ex Officio: F. Ron Akehurst, Carol Carrier, Dann Chapman, Robert Jones, Theodor Litman, 1 to be named. Students: Charles Stech, 1 to be named.

JUDICIAL - Faculty: George Sheets (chair), David Biesboer, Patrick Brezonik, Philip Bromiley, Edward Cushing, Amos Deinard, Mary Dempsey, Bruce Downing, Jeanette Gundel, Patrick Hanna, Gordon Hirsch, Cynthia Jara, Diane Katsiaficas, Carol Klee, Alice Larson, Sanford Lipsky, Karin Musier-Forsyth, Sharon Neet, Phyllis Pirie, Michael Sadowsky, Tom Scott, Geoffrey Sirc, James Van Alstine, Ann Waltner.

FOR INFORMATION:

FACULTY CONSULTATIVE - Faculty: Judith Martin (chair), Jean Bauer, Susan Brorson, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Daniel Feeney, Mary Jo Kane, Marvin Marshak, Jeff Ratliff-Crain, Martin Sampson. Ex Officio: Gary Balas, Charles Campbell, Gary L. Davis, Daniel Feeney, John Fossum, Emily Hoover, Marc Jenkins, Fred Morrison, Martin Sampson, Carol Wells.

Twin Cities Campus Assembly committee memberships for 2003-04:

ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON ATHLETICS - Faculty/PA: Arthur Erdman (chair), Linda Brady, Terence Collins, Alex Johnson, Mary Jo Kane, Perry Leo, Laurie McLaughlin, Richard Weinberg. Civil Service: Duane Nelson. Alumni: Juanita Luis, Robert Mossefin. Students: Amanda Cipperly, Justin Isom, Alexandra Koch, Ryan Mann. Ex Officio: Carol Gruber, Frank Kara, Joel Maturi.

EDUCATIONAL POLICY - Faculty/PA: Emily Hoover (chair), Dale Branton, Vernon Cardwell, Shawn Curley, Frank Kulacki, Martin Sampson, Karen Seashore, Mary Ellen Shaw, Mary Sue Simmons, Douglas Wangensteen, Joel Weinsheimer. Students: Gretchen Haas, Scott LeBlanc, 3 to be named. Ex Officio: Victor Bloomfield, Craig Swan, 1 to be named.

FACULTY ACADEMIC OVERSIGHT ON INTERCOLLEGIATE ATHLETICS -
Faculty: Perry Leo (chair), Linda Brady, Arthur Erdman, Jo-Ida Hansen, Laura Coffin Koch, Susan Mantell, Earl Scott, Cathrine Wambach, Richard Weinberg. Ex Officio: Carol Grubber, Frank Kara.

STUDENT BEHAVIOR - Faculty/PA: John S. Anderson (chair), Jane Carlstrom, Patricia Fillipi, Francis Harvey, Michael LuBrant, James Luby, Nikolaos Papanikolopoulos, Michael Rodriguez, Carol Shield, Eden Torres, Gretchen Zunkel. Students: Jessica Andrews, Carrie Bloss, Kristopher Hanson, Andrew Koch, Brandi Linderman, Wei-Fan Lo, Ryan Mann, Ryan Osero, at least 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Tracy Smith.

FOR INFORMATION:

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER FACULTY CONSULTATIVE - Faculty: Marc Jenkins (chair), Edward Combe, Michael Georgieff, Lois Heller, John Himes, Kathleen Krichbaum, Michael Murphy, Ronald Sawchuk. Ex Officio: Dan Feeney, 1 to be named.

ACADEMIC HEALTH CENTER STUDENT CONSULTATIVE - Student: Kim Canfield (chair), Leslie Carranza, Angela Feneis, Wesley Kurzewski, Tori-Thuy Le, Alisa Madson, Jeremy Olsen, David Renstrom, Kelly Schneider, Leah Van Gorp, Matthew Wiisanen, Christopher Zaun, 1 to be named.

COMMITTEE ON COMMITTEES - Faculty: Catherine French (chair), Carl Adams, Carol Chomsky, Kathryn Hanna, Richard Poppele, Deon Stuthman, Joel Weinsheimer. Academic Professionals: Randy Croce, Lynne Schuman. Students: Matthew deWerff (chair), Josh Colburn, Adam VanWagner, Daniel Weiske, 3 to be named.

COUNCIL ON LIBERAL EDUCATION - Faculty: Richard McCormick (chair), Greg Anderson, John Dickey, Charles Fletcher, Amy Lee, Joyce Lyon, Lary May, Lisa Norling, Kathryn Sikkink, Michael Simmons, Vaughan Voller, Nevin Young. Academic Professional: Beverly Atkinson. Students: 2 to be named.

NOMINATING - Faculty: Patrice Morrow (chair), Charles Campbell, W. Andrew Collins, Jean Quam, Nelson Rhodus, W. Phillips Shively, Carol Wells. Academic Professional: Michael Darger, Mary Ellen Shaw.

STEERING - Faculty: Judith Martin (chair), Jean Bauer, Tom Clayton, Arthur Erdman, Daniel Feeney, Mary Jo Kane, Marvin Marshak, Martin Sampson. Academic Professional: Teresa Wallace. Students: Scott LeBlanc (chair), Joshua Colburn, Levi Kary, Charles Stech, 2 to be named. Ex Officio: Charles Campbell, Emily Hoover, Ryan Osero, Daniel Weiske.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

Agenda Items 13. through 15. are offered as a one motion to be taken up as a single item with one vote. Any item will be taken up separately at the request of a senator. All items are being presented for the first time.

As an amendment to the Senate Constitution, a motion requires either a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Senate (160) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate (121) at each of two meetings.

As an amendment to the Assembly Constitution, a motion requires either a two-thirds majority of all voting members of the Assembly (131) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate (99) at each of two meetings.

As an amendment to the Senate Bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Senate (121) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Senate present and voting at each of two meetings.

As an amendment to the Assembly Bylaws, a motion requires either a majority of all voting members of the Assembly (99) at one regular or special meeting, or a majority of all members of the Assembly present and voting at each of two meetings.

As an amendment to the Senate/Assembly Rules, a motion requires a simple majority.

MOTION:

To amend Article III, Section 2 of the University Senate Constitution as follows (language to be deleted is struck out; language to be added is underlined). This is the second meeting at which this motion is being presented.

ARTICLE III. UNIVERSITY SENATE

...

4. Election of University Senate Members

...

c. Deans, vice presidents, chancellors, provosts, the University Librarian, and the General Counsel No individual (whether faculty or academic administrative or professional) holding a University position carrying as any part of its title president, vice president, chancellor, provost, dean, executive director, counsel, attorney, or chief of staff shall be eligible for election to the Senate as members of the faculties under "a" hereof, nor may the University Librarian or anyone who is a dean. Individuals with less than a one-third time appointment as assistant or associate dean shall be eligible for election to the Senate as members of the faculty under "a" hereof. (Article III, Section 4a, shall not be construed to conflict with Article III, Section 1, which provides that the president of the University is a voting member of the Senate. The president is not an elected member of the Senate.)

...

COMMENT:

This and several subsequent motions are intended to align membership rules for the Senate/Assembly and their committees. At present the rules vary somewhat. These amendments basically provide that no central administrator or any dean may serve as a voting member of the Senate/Assembly or their committees. Assistant and associate deans with less than one-third-time appointments may serve as voting members/chairs of committees and as voting members of the Senate.

It is the view of the Consultative Committee that any individual who holds a central administrative position (vice president, provost, etc.) will be dealing with issues that can come before a committee and it is inappropriate that those with administrative responsibility also have voting rights on governance committees. This same logic applies to chancellors. Deans also have administrative authority that differentiates them from faculty, student, P&A, or civil service members of committees. On the other hand, faculty members serving as very part-time assistant or associate deans remain primarily faculty members and are unlikely to be dealing with institutional issues that come before these committees or the Senate, so they should not be barred from committee or Senate service.

MOTION:

To amend Article III, Section 6 of the University Senate Constitution as follows (language to be deleted is struck out; language to be added is underlined). This is the second meeting at which this motion is being presented.

SENATE CONSTITUTION

ARTICLE III. UNIVERSITY SENATE

...

6. University Senate and Student Senate Officers

...

b. The officers of the Student Senate shall be a chair and a vice chair.

The chair and vice chair shall be elected at a special spring semester session of the Student Senate attended only by student senators elected for the following year. The outgoing chair shall preside over the election. Non-senators and outgoing student senators may not be candidates for these positions. The chair and vice chair shall not be from the same campus. In the event that no one is nominated for the vice chair position from a separate campus, the position will be open to all qualified members of the Student Senate. Term of office shall be July 1 to June 30, and the person holding office is eligible for re-election. The duties of the chair are (1) to be the official spokesperson of the Student Senate and the Student Senate Consultative Committee; (2) to set the Student Senate agenda, to be approved by the Student Consultative Committee; (3) to serve on the board of the Student Legislative Coalition, the University's student lobbying organization to serve as chair of the Student Senate Consultative Committee; and (4) to serve as the University's representative on the Student Advisory Council; (5) to serve on one central University advisory committee and to delegate student members for other advisory committees.

The duties of the vice chair are (1) to assume the duties of the chair in the event of an absence or incapacity of the chair; (2) to assume responsibilities delegated by the chair; (3) to submit to the Senate Office an annual budget request for the Student Senate and Student Consultative Committee, to be approved by the Student Senate during its fall semester meeting; (4) to organize an annual orientation for members of the Student Senate; (5) to monitor Student Senate attendance and ensure that the Student Senate Handbook is updated and distributed; (6) to serve on a central advisory committee that is not attended by the Student Senate chair if there is more than one such committee active; (7) to serve as the vice chair of the Student Senate Consultative Committee.

...

COMMENT:

By consolidating the Student Senate Chair and the SSCC Chair, the Student Senate will be able to streamline their efforts. First, instead of having two leadership roles, administration, faculty, and students will be able to easily identify the one leadership voice of the Student Senate. Second, the Student Senate Vice Chair will be able to become a more prominent role in the Student Senate. Third, this structure is very similar to Faculty Senate structure, which has proven to be very efficient.

The biggest change in the responsibilities will be the number of meetings the new chair will have to preside over. Furthermore, this change will ensure that the Chair of SSCC is not tied to a student association and will be able to act in the best interest of the Student Senate. If passed, the SSCC will plan to evaluate this leadership decision by December of 2005.

It is proposed that this change take effect upon approval by the Board of Regents. If approved, the current Student Senate Chair will also assume the SSCC Chair position and the current SSCC Chair will remain as a student member of SSCC.

MOTION:

To amend Article III, Section 7 of the Twin Cities Campus Assembly Bylaws as follows (language to be deleted is struck out; language to be added is underlined). This is the first meeting at which this motion is being presented.

7. NOMINATING COMMITTEE

...

Membership

The Nominating Committee shall consist of seven nine tenured or tenure-track faculty and two academic professional staff members. Both the faculty and the academic professional members shall serve for three-year terms. In case of a vacancy, the remaining members, by majority vote, shall fill the vacancy by interim appointment until the next general election.

...

COMMENT:

The Nominating Committee believes it would better be able to fulfill its responsibilities if it had slightly greater breadth in its membership. It is difficult for seven faculty, no matter how knowledgeable they are about the campus and the faculty, to be able to identify all the individuals who might appropriately be considered for service on the Faculty Consultative Committee and Committee on Committees. While it is also difficult for nine people to do so, two more faculty members would provide some additional breadth in its membership, so the Nominating Committee requests the Assembly to approve this enlargement of its membership.

The P&A members of the Nominating Committee do not recommend an increase in the P&A membership at this time.

DISCUSSION:

With no discussion a vote was taken and the motion was approved.

Professor Judith Martin, Chair of the Senate Consultative Committee (SCC), said that as part of the Senate reorganization discussion, every committee has been asked to review its current charge and propose any changes. A more thorough discussion of the reorganization project will take place at the October 30 Senate meeting.

She said that the Faculty Consultative Committee (FCC) received a report regarding a formal Ombuds office. Due to budget constraints, at formal office was not being proposed at this time. FCC has also been discussing the Federal lobbyist report, intellectual future of the University, on-campus stadium principles, and the budget. It has also established three ad hoc committees. The first is discussing a three-semester calendar. The other two are joint task forces with the provost on academic freedom and instrumentalization.

Vice Chair Carol Wells introduced Deborah Powell as the new Medical School Dean.

Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to be here to present the State of the University.

I note with great satisfaction our return to this venue today, Coffman Student Union. Working with Twin Cities student leaders, we have created a renovated space that mirrors their energy, enthusiasm, and high aspirations. This project serves to reconnect the campus to one of its most unsung natural resources, the Mississippi River.

It has been my great honor to serve as the 15th president of the University of Minnesota, to be part of a 152-year legacy of discovery and engagement.

Throughout its history, it has been part of a larger public higher education enterprise, one that has provided more than 80 percent of the growth of access to higher education in this country since 1950. We owe it to our forward-thinking predecessors to ensure that the University of Minnesota continues to make a difference in the lives of our state's citizens. The rising cost of attendance must not bar access to future generations of students. This is Minnesota's legacy as much as it is the University's.

Our challenge today is to move ahead, to set high academic aspirations--to ensure the excellence, strength, and vitality of the University for our students and for the people of Minnesota in a time of fiscal austerity.

Your University took one of the largest cuts in state appropriations in the nation this year, one that set us back 5 years in real dollars and 17 years in adjusted dollars. At the same time, we faced significant new costs for employee health care premiums, for recruitment and retention of top faculty, for new technology and laboratories, and for improvements in student access and the student experience.

Consequently, this has been a time of shared pain in our community. Subject to negotiations, we've asked employees to take a wage freeze this year--although we plan to offer compensation increases next year. We've asked employees to pay more toward the increased cost of health care benefits premiums. This is a nationwide trend, with premium costs rising more than 60 percent over the past five years. Within our proposed changes we will still retain a benefits program that is above par in terms of services offered and cost to employees. Sadly, we've seen hundreds of lay-offs and the elimination of programs that we can no longer support in the current funding environment. And last, but by no means least, we've asked students to pay more toward their education than ever before.

During this challenging time, I've been heartened by the creativity and the sense of shared sacrifice among our students, staff, and faculty. Only with the commitment of our people can we preserve our academic strengths, minimize the impact of these cuts, find new effectiveness and efficiencies, and look toward the best, long-term interest of this great institution.

For me, the long-term health and well-being of the University of Minnesota lies in the values we have always held, and which we must hold closer during these less certain times. In my inaugural address I mentioned several of these values, including:

• Excellence in education, research, and outreach;
• Diversity in discourse, thought, and theory, as well as in the different cultures and backgrounds of faculty, staff, and students; and
• A sense of community, one that stretches across our individual areas of studies and that reaches out to the public at large to help solve problems and provide critical knowledge.

We see evidence of our values in the progress and impact of the University across this state.

People in my position across the country have long talked of the value of research universities to a state's or a region's economic growth. There is always a danger of mistaking the outcome of economic growth from the University's work with the purpose of its work. But there is a growing body of scholarship that points to the invaluable role a research university plays in today's knowledge-based economy. Research universities are magnets for talent, and they are fonts of knowledge that can contribute strongly to the economy.

A recent study from the Humphrey Institute used well-accepted economic impact measures to determine that the University leverages each dollar of state appropriations by a factor of 16, as you can see from the slide on the next page. Out of an initial state investment of $600 million, the University creates nearly $10 billion in annual economic activity in this state! And that's before you take into account the unique and less measurable effects of a research university, such as knowledge and technology transfer, spin-offs of technology, licensing and start-up companies. We've led the Big Ten and placed in the top 20 nationally on a number of these leading technology transfer indicators.

But the University of Minnesota's economic value to the state is a very incomplete measure of its impact. We also have a profound bearing upon other aspects of this state's culture and civic life. For example, we are part of a critical mass of arts activity here in Minnesota--developing musicians, authors, artists, dancers, and actors who challenge and inform and inspire us. That role will only continue to grow with new facilities and new energy across our campuses. We are also a wellspring of civic and cultural engagement in countless other aspects of Minnesota's quality of life.

And there are many indicators that the University of Minnesota is stronger and more vibrant than ever.

This year we concluded our highly successful Campaign Minnesota, bringing in $1.66 billion in gifts and pledges over seven years--25 percent more than our original goal. Some 220,000 donors gave during this campaign--the second most successful public university campaign in history--and half of them were first-time donors, a fact that bodes very well for the future. The success of this campaign was widespread, with every campus, college, and program receiving record levels of giving. Our success was and is premised on state support for core University operations, which private philanthropy simply cannot replace. It would take the University more than 20 years of fund-raising at the current extraordinary rates just to make up for the recent state budget cuts.

The students we attract continue to amaze. Last year we had 63,000 students enrolled across our campuses and centers, and we expect to top that number this year. Our incoming freshman class at our Twin Cities campus is the best prepared we've ever had and was drawn from a record number of applications. We've also had two Rhodes Scholars, three Truman Scholars, and ten Goldwater scholars between 2001 and 2003, which I think is a good indication of the high achieving students we have attracted to our campuses.

University of Minnesota, Duluth, continues to be a popular destination; Outside magazine has recognized Duluth and UMD among America's best college towns, a list that included "40 schools that turn out," and I quote, "smart grads with top-notch academic credentials, a healthy environment ethos, and an A-plus sense of adventure."

During the spring 2003 commencement ceremonies, UMD graduated the largest American Indian teacher education group in the history of the state through an innovative collaboration with Fond Du Lac Tribal and Community College.

The University of Minnesota, Morris, continues to thrive as one of the top three public liberal arts colleges in the country according to US News and World Report. The campus's central core has been declared a National Historic District, and Morris has received a grant from the Getty Foundation to research the exterior and landscape history of the campus.

At Crookston, our new chancellor, Velmer Burton, will be formally inaugurated in a few short weeks. We welcome him and give a hearty "thank you" to Chancellor Emeritus Don Sargeant for his many years of service. Enrollment is up this year, and Chancellor Burton is working to develop new academic degree programs in applied areas that support Crookston's mission and contribute greatly to economic development of greater Minnesota.

This year, the University of Minnesota at Rochester began, with the Twin Cities campus, a new Ph.D. Program in higher education. This program now enrolls 25 people across southeast Minnesota. In cooperation with UMD, Rochester has grown its MBA program from 9 students last January to 42 students today, and enrollments were up in this, the second year of the bachelors of science in nursing program.

This year, the University has made some major decisions about realigning the resources that support our University of Minnesota Extension Service, and our research and outreach centers.
In January, Extension will move its more than 150 regional Extension educators to one of 18 regional centers located across Minnesota. In doing so, we will spend less money on facilities and infrastructure and more on vital programs and services. These changes were driven in part by state budget cuts to the University and to the counties, but we also believe they are essential to bringing the University's high quality research and resources to all Minnesotans.

Building for the future in the context of large state budget cuts means that we have to invest strategically, and at the same time, we have to make difficult decisions to balance our own budget. While we will reallocate our internal resources to address new opportunities, let us be under no illusion--to continue to improve, to reach the next level, and to generate the dynamic intellectual capital that helps drive this entire region's economy and quality of life--the University will need significant investment. We can learn from other states' experiences, but I believe that Minnesota must blaze its own trail. Our future, as a state of five million souls, is still tied to a strong University of Minnesota, and I see no way for the University to continue to succeed without adequate state and private investment.

So what is our strategy to strengthen the University? To play off Louis Pasteur's quip that "chance favors the prepared mind," I would say that success favors the prepared organization. Our best preparation is to build on the pre-existing strengths of our core academic programs and to take advantage of the cutting-edge, world-changing synergies that occur when our researchers and scholars work across the disciplines.

This administration is committed to maintaining the areas of strength that our colleges and departments have built over the years. The skyline of this University is impressive in both its breadth and the heights that scholars in many set disciplines have carved out--for themselves and for the University of Minnesota. These are departments and programs throughout the University that are recognized as leaders in their fields. They are in the performing arts, the social sciences, engineering, the physical sciences, in medicine and the life sciences, and in rigorous professional school programs. While we cannot be excellent in all things, we must maintain these distinctive strengths while recognizing new areas of potential.

The strength of individual programs is an important end in itself, but it is also the foundation for a second strategy. We seek to deepen the interdisciplinary work that allows us to leverage the breadth and particular strengths of the University. The commissioned areas that I will emphasize are based on long-term investment and continuity of priorities. They represent areas of comparative advantage for the University, have high-quality foundational programs, are central to our land-grant mission and research enterprise, and reflect the needs and resources of Minnesota. They are areas where further investment will yield significant return in intellectual quality and capital and where we can leverage considerable outside resources.

The rationale for interdisciplinary investments is no mystery. Today, more than ever, pushing the boundaries of knowledge in one field often means crossing into other disciplines. And interdisciplinary work often has mutual reward; often the tools required to build new knowledge in one field require innovation in another. In chemical biology, for example, interdisciplinary work that creates new drugs and therapies for cancer patients is also accelerating the miniaturization of electronic circuits. Furthermore, the applied areas where the "rubber hits the road"--where art meets science, where technology meets health, and where policy meets philosophy--these are all intrinsically interdisciplinary, and they are all part of the University's balanced academic culture.

The eight commissioned areas of interdisciplinary investment I will outline can be divided into two categories--not by importance but rather by how capital-intensive they are. These areas have developed through years of study, review, consensus and investment, supported by special task forces and ongoing strategic agreements through the compact process.

The first three interdisciplinary priorities can largely be funded through reallocation of our existing resources and private philanthropy. They are:

1. Children, Youth, and Families--The recommendations of our Children's Summit this spring are being explored and implemented in several areas. These include creating a new Center on Excellence in Children's Mental Health, improvement of educational and life outcomes for low-income children, and addressing the disparities in health, development, income, and legal concerns we see among children of color and new immigrant populations.
2. Arts and Humanities--A second interdisciplinary area consists of the Arts and Humanities. We are considering a new interdisciplinary arts curriculum, a deepening of our collaborations with other arts organizations in the community, and a system wide resource in our Humanities Institute.
3. Law and Values in Health, Environment, and the Life Sciences--In a third area, we will deepen our commitment to the Consortium on Law and Values in Health, Environment, and the Life Sciences. This highly successful effort has leveraged the University's strengths in the life sciences, the humanities, law, and public policy. Its success has underscored my conviction that the truly big questions raised by new knowledge or technology are best tackled at a university like ours, in close proximity to the scholars performing cutting-edge research.

By contrast, the other five commissioned interdisciplinary areas I will outline cannot be fully capitalized without additional support from the state and partnerships with the private sector.

4. Biosciences and Biotechnology--Biosciences and Biotechnology will remain a primary interest for the scholars of the University of Minnesota. This is a large umbrella for some fascinating, rapidly evolving fields such as:
• industrial biology, where University researchers are turning renewable raw materials, such as corn and soybeans, into biodegradable plastics and textiles;
• elements of our renewable energy strategy; and
• bioinformatics and material sciences, two disciplines that now underpin many areas of progress in the biosciences and biotechnology, and which require powerful computational facilities and sophisticated new experimental tools.
5. Environment and Renewable Energy--An area that will also overlap with our Biosciences and Biotechnology initiative is Environment and Renewable Energy. Investments in this area would include the following:
• Some seed funding to implement recommendations from the Commission on Environmental Science and Policy that I was proud to appoint as executive vice president and provost. These are efforts largely aimed at "tying together" the multitude of environmental and energy-related work happening at the University. As one example, we are actively seeking private foundation support for an ecosystem science and sustainability initiative.
• A second aspect is our Renewable Energy and the Environment work that will be funded by Xcel Energy under a mandate from the legislature. This work includes clusters of scholarly activity around:
--Hydrogen fuel cells;
--Bioenergy and bioproducts;
--Policy, economics, and ecosystems; and
--Conservation and efficient energy systems.
• A third aspect of this initiative will be more of a research and demonstration project aimed at integrating sustainable practices and energy conservation across the full range of University activities. It will involve applied sustainable resource applications at the University--including renewable energy projects at the Twin Cities, Morris, and Duluth campuses. This effort will be spearheaded by University Services and the provost's office.
6. Translational Research in Human Health--Another initiative is Translational Research in Human Health. This focus reflects some major investments we are making in connecting our basic science knowledge to treating disease. These investments include:
• A new translational research facility made possible by a gift from William and Nadine McGuire in partnership with the state, which will help provide the intermediate step between the laboratory and the bedside for many of the most promising therapies and cures our researchers are investigating.
• The Mayo-University Partnership for Biotechnology and Medical Genomics, which will build on each other's distinctive research strengths with the help of a $2 million initial appropriation from the state.
• And continued targeted investments in areas like oncology, neurosciences, cardiac disease, organ transplantation, applications of stem cell development, and clinical research.
7. Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives--We will draw upon the University's unique mix of strengths in agriculture, foods, and human health as well as our proximity to major areas of food production and food processing in an initiative we are tentatively calling Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives. The University is well-positioned to provide accurate unbiased knowledge about how our eating habits affect our health. The University can help reframe the public discussion about foods and health--from its current emphasis on how foods can hurt us to how foods can be used to promote healthful lives.
8. Brain Development and Vitality over the Life Span--Another exciting initiative will be in Brain Development and Vitality over the Life Span. This field, which is also referred to as cognitive developmental neuroscience, will bring together many research strengths--from basic neuroscience to education--to help broaden our understanding of how the brain changes over the life span and how aging influences the way we think. This exciting area has the potential to help us understand when infants and children are ready to learn and how best to teach them. It will help us understand what can go wrong with the developing brain and how best to treat developmental disorders and psychopathology. It will help us understand the declines that accompany aging with the potential to diminish the ravages of Alzheimer's and other age-related disorders of the brain. In this interdisciplinary collaboration we possess many well-regarded academic programs, including the Center for Magnetic Resonance Research.

As I've said, these last five areas--Biosciences and Biotechnology; the Environment and Renewable Energy; Translational Research in Human Health; Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives; and Brain Development and Vitality over the Life Span will require significant deepening of state and private sector commitments in order to make Minnesota a true leader. They require the top scholars in highly competitive fields for talent and the most cutting-edge technology and facilities. The University will continue to reallocate and find new efficiencies. But, if Minnesota is to compete in these capital- and technology-intensive areas that the governor, legislators and private sector leaders have expressed interest in, we cannot get there by cutting the University's budget.

At the University of Minnesota, we have a proud history of and reputation for interdisciplinary work. I want to stress that the areas I've outlined by no means represent the full spectrum of interdisciplinary work at the University, nor do they represent the only areas of ongoing and future investment. Through the strategic compact process, we've identified, supported, and will continue to invest in many other promising interdisciplinary projects and programs.

Having said that, we have a long way to go in becoming a more interdisciplinary University. I'd like to make the identification and cultivation of promising interdisciplinary fields less challenging and more institutionalized. We will soon announce a "request for proposals" process with the purpose of funding academic conferences that focus on new, grassroots interdisciplinary efforts, ones that can percolate from our talented faculty and staff, just as the previous initiatives that I have outlined. These conferences--and I envision some eight to ten each year--would become part of a larger, system wide President's Interdisciplinary Conference Series. There are several conferences planned for this academic year.

The conference series will serve multiple purposes and will largely be funded with newly created, privately financed discretionary funds. Our strategy will include bringing scholarly experts together to frame the issues and set the agendas for investment in interdisciplinary academic frontiers. The working conferences will also provide a venue for research dissemination that connects our resources to serious public concerns.

I also believe that our public mission must continue to evolve and, as I mentioned in my inaugural address, our challenge is to strengthen the connection between our research and education missions and the needs of our society. I've talked about the emerging regional strategy for our Extension Service. These changes are but one aspect of a broader, coordinated public effort that the University can make toward regional economic and community development. In the coming months, I will continue to meet with elected officials, philanthropic foundations, nonprofit groups, and leaders in the private sector to see if we can build new partnerships. If our aims are the same, we will work to align our strategies so that our efforts are not piecemeal.

We must continue our focus on our students, the lifeblood of this institution. We will work to raise private scholarship funds to attract the best students and to keep the U accessible for students of more modest means. We also seek to improve the student experience at all levels, to focus on the quality of learning, and to apply outcome-based measures to inform our work.

With success in focusing on the First Year Experience of our undergraduate students on all campuses, I believe that it is time to turn anew to the latter stages of our student's degree programs. We need to ensure that all students who achieve senior status are able to complete degrees and to do so in a reasonable time frame. We will be launching a series of projects through the provost's office in cooperation with the schools and colleges and faculty governance to improve student progress and graduation rates. We will invest in undergraduate research opportunities, international study and curricula, learning communities, mentorship experiences, and advisement and career services.

Higher education institutions throughout the country are all expected to be better stewards of the resources that have been entrusted to us. To do so will require concurrent improvements in our University's service and efficiency.

In the same way that we've pursued an agenda of compliance during the past decade, we must today mount an equal if not stronger effort to ensure that we are using our resources in the most efficient way we can. Last year, in close partnership with the faculty, through the FCC's review of service operations, we kicked off a service and productivity initiative. We will continue to work closely with the faculty and other leaders to ensure that changes in our service reflect our core academic values.

The public we serve has come to expect great things from our faculty, staff, and students. According to opinion polls, Minnesotans think highly of the research, education and outreach that we provide, but they are clearly less confident about whether we are managing resources well and providing high levels of service. It is my hope that one day soon the University will be known as much for how it operates and how it provides service as for what we create--in our research breakthroughs or high-quality education programs.

Bill George, former CEO of Medtronic has written that, "One of the greatest challenges of business today is creating a culture that is both values-centered and performance-driven. Many business executives believe that they must make trade-offs between them. I don't buy it."

I don't buy it either, and I believe that institutions like the University of Minnesota, though they differ in many ways from private businesses, can thrive in today's competitive higher education environment without compromising their values.

We are in the planning stages of creating and funding a cross-functional team that will be available to work with a variety of campus units and colleges on implementing "best practices" in their operations.

As a University, we have many challenges ahead. Fortunately, I believe this past year has shown that the University, its students, faculty, staff, and regents, can act thoughtfully and deliberately to preserve and bolster our core strengths, even in these trying times. This year, the decisions we make about managing our resources will have to be all the more creative and more strategic.

Despite the difficult decisions we've had to make, in terms of academic excellence and opportunities, I'm hard-pressed to think of a better time for a student or a scholar to be at the University of Minnesota. Today, our campuses shine with new and renovated facilities, our academic reputation is similarly sterling, and our campuses are teeming with record numbers of talented students. We are poised to become an even greater institution. We will work to align our resources and assets in order to better leverage them.

We will continue to collaborate with a broad array of academic and community leaders, to measure our progress in order to improve, and to seek stronger levels of public and private support.

We are up to the challenge, and it is our people who will continue to build on the many successes we have experienced--in the recent past and more than a 150-year history. In short, we will be working hard to plan for this brighter future. The state of the University today is robust. We will need your support to move ahead!

Thank you.

Q: Understanding that the legislature and the public often perceive the University through how it appears in the media, is there anything that the average student, staff, or faculty member can do to bolster the University’s image?

A: In the next several months there are many ways that people can help the University. Increasingly, higher education is being viewed as a private good instead of a public investment. This is a disturbing trend in society. Trips are planned throughout the state to present the University’s case as well as investment in education at all levels. The argument needs to be framed that in a global economy and a knowledge-based society, investment in education is clearly the path to a better future. Minnesota’s economy and quality of life cannot be kept at current levels without investing in the University.

Q: Recent approval for a $2.6 million Scholars Walk to recognize top students and faculty is commendable. However, in light of recent budget cuts, is it justifiable to put time and effort into this project?

A: The Regents approved a schematic plan for the Scholars Walk. All funding will be provided by private donors, although no funds have been raised to date. Not a single brick will be laid with any University dollars and the total amount will have been raised before the project begins.

Q: How will the current budget situation impact the development of new programs and expansions of current programs, especially in health sciences and regional economic development?

A: The budget situation makes the task of building and implementing new programs more challenging. For programs to expand, they will need to meet some severe tests. There will need to be sufficient indication of demand and academic resources available for the demand. The budget situation should not last forever, and when the state’s budget situation improves, more funding should return to the University.

Q: Should education be made as democratic and as available as possible? If so, why does tuition continue to increase, forcing students to cover a large percentage of the budget cut, while spending for top administrators has increased by 36 percent in recent years? How many top administrators were released due to budget cuts?

A: Students and families have felt the impact of the budget cut. The University has tried to cushion these increases by allocating internal funds to student scholarships and financial aid. It is very difficult to make recommendations for double-digit tuition increases. As for administrative salaries, the current president makes 25 percent less than the previous president. More than 50 percent of the budget cuts were done through reductions and more than 30 percent of the reductions were in academic and administrative programs.

Q: What are the particular challenges and needs for economic development in rural Minnesota and how the University might be a part of the solution?

A: There is little doubt that the economic pain in Minnesota is felt more deeply outside the Twin Cities area. The University can play a major role in regional economic development and support of the vitality of Minnesota communities. The University can do better by aligning the Extension Offices with campuses and outreach centers of the University, and by working with activities of major philanthropic foundations, such as McKnight. If the University’s resources can be used in connection with public and private investments, then much more can be done to increase rural vitality.

Q: There are sixty administrators at the University who make more than the Governor. In order to share the pain, is the University willing to scale back all administrator salaries to that of the Governor?

A: No. The University conducts regular studies to benchmark administrator salaries to comparable institutions. University executives are not overpaid relative to any market that is studied. The Governor should make more for managing the complexity of the state, and it is the wrong standard for the University to use.

When the University testified before the state, it was asked to make a pledge to freeze salaries for two years. There is no question that employees are being asked to pay a big price this year, but it is one of the prices worth paying to keep this University strong. An unacceptable tradeoff is to put into the budget things that the University cannot afford and layoff potentially hundreds of employees in a poor labor market. This is a tradeoff that the University is unwilling to make. The University will try to put together a reasonable benefits and compensation package next year.

Q: The threat of layoffs is not fair since the University has, and will continue to layoff employees. The University just raised $1.66 billion in its Capital Campaign. Why does the University continue to insist that clerical workers sacrifice two to four weeks of salary? In a recent newspaper article, Gerald Fischer stated that, “..hum drum clerks [clerical workers], freshman composition, and computers are not world changing things and they do not matter..” Was he reprimanded for this statement? If not, why?

A: The President does not believe that Mr. Fischer actually made those comments. He is a person of great integrity and he values employees as much as the President. There is not greater strength at the University than its faculty and staff. Respecting employees is not issue, it is simply dealing with difficult budgetary challenges.

Regarding the campaign funds, these are pledges and commitments, nearly all of which are in endowments. They pay roughly five percent when the money is in the bank. Many of the campaign dollars are pledged in future gifts and 98 cents of every dollar is dedicated to a particular purpose. This is the nature of private fundraising. Private fundraising is a big part of funding the University, but overall it is only five percent of the total operating budget. This percentage is not enough to make up for the cuts from the state. The University’s case needs to be made with the general public since they cut the University’s budget by 15 percent this year.

The meeting was adjourned at 3:59 p.m.