Chancellor’s
Welcome
August
24, 2015
I. Points of Pride slide loop (click here) is being
shown as people arrive – slides are a compilation of major achievements over
the summer and the past several months.
II.
Welcome – Motivated and energetic
welcome to UMD for the new faculty and staff and welcome back to the returning
faculty and staff. Marching Band plays,
enters, and exits. I move onto the
stage. “Thank you, Dan Eaton and the UMD
Marching Band!”
a. Welcome
everyone and thank those who contributed to Champs Cupboard. If you did not
bring items today and would still like to contribute, you can make
contributions at the Student Life Office, 245 Kirby Plaza.
b. Have
new faculty and staff stand
c. Reference
note cards for questions
III.
New faces at UMD
a. VCFO:
Steve Keto, Associate Vice Chancellor at North Carolina State University and
oversees the Budget Office, Controller's Office, Office of Contracts and
Grants, and Office of Cost Analysis. Steve will join us October 1
b. HR/EO:
Melissa Honkola, Assistant Human Resources Director, St. Louis County. Melissa will join us August 31
c. Alumni
Relations update: Tricia Bunten, our Chief Development Officer, will take on
the additional duties as interim director of Alumni Relations until a new
director is identified, and the search for the new director will begin soon.
IV.
New Structures at UMD – We had a
difficult year last year for a number of reasons, and I have received much
feedback from you regarding things I could or should do differently. Although I do not agree with some of the comments
I’ve received, I do realize there are some things that need to change. I understand the frustration and confusion
some of you are experiencing, and I was already aware of most of the areas you
identified as needing improvement. As a
result I am focused primarily on the following areas for this academic year:
a. Being
more transparent
b. Providing
clear direction, and increase the pace and clarity of decision making
c. Opening
additional lines of communication
d. Being
more visible to faculty and staff on campus.
This last one will be a challenge, since many of my job responsibilities
are external and require me to be off campus.
However, I will make it a priority to be more visible on campus.
i.
Fund-raising for UMD is one of my areas
of responsibility that takes me off campus regularly. I’m pleased that our UMD development team has
again exceeded its goal for fiscal year 2015.
Our goal was $10 million. By the
end of the fiscal year, we had raised $10.5 million and we were informed
recently by the University of Minnesota Foundation that an additional $525,000
was given to UMD in an estate gift to endow scholarships for UMD students graduating
from Duluth high schools.
V.
Some of the actions related to my
primary focus areas include:
a. I
am changing the Chancellor’s Cabinet structure and creating a Chancellor’s
Senior Leadership Council. There has
been too much confusion and mystery about the cabinet. We need a fresh start. The new council will discuss major campus
initiatives and issues and will provide an important additional communication
link to the campus. This Council, like
the former Cabinet, will be advisory to me and the vice chancellors. I will
continue to be the primary decision maker with close collaboration with the
vice chancellors. There are some
decisions the vice chancellors make on their own, especially when the issue is
primarily in their units. But, like me,
they depend on the advice of others and they join me in a commitment to greater
transparency and communication. Current
Cabinet includes:
i.
3 Vice Chancellors
ii.
Chief of Staff
iii.
Chief Development Officer
iv.
Director of External Affairs
v.
Director of Athletics
vi.
Director of Alumni Relations
vii.
Two Faculty Fellows for Intercultural
Initiatives and Strategic Planning
b. I
am adding the following positions to the current cabinet members:
i.
Chairs of the faculty and staff
councils,
ii.
A representative from the deans
council,
iii.
Director of Human Resources and Equal
Opportunity, and
iv.
Director of Information Technology
Systems and Services.
c. I
will create meetings each semester with the department heads and unit directors
to improve communication and transparency.
d. Lynne
Williams, our new Director of External Affairs, is off to a great start and
will be assisting me closely with campus, as well as external communications. We will be pushing out many more stories
about the great things happening at UMD and solidifying relationships with
legislators, and other external stakeholders.
e. I
will continue to work with faculty council, staff council, student association,
and the University Coordinating Council to continue our improvement of campus
governance, and I will regularly attend meetings of each of these groups.
VI.
Higher Education Macro Issues &
Trends for 2015-2016
a. There
are many macro issues and trends at the national level in higher education, and
here are some of those that were discussed this summer at meetings of the Presidents/Chancellors
Councils of the Association of Public and Land- Grant Universities (APLU) and
from the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU).
i.
Republican Senator Lamar Alexander,
Chair of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pension Committee, met with the APLU
presidents and chancellors in June and emphasized his focus on simplifying rules and regulations for
higher education. He also supports legislation
from Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski, also a member of the HELP Committee, and
others have proposed to help make higher education more affordable and allowing
former students more attractive options to refinance student loan debt; Senator
Alexander supports reducing the long FAFSA form to a postcard; his FAST Act (Financial
Aid Simplification & Transparency) program would simplify student grants and loans, the re-paying
of those loans, and restoring year-round Pell grants; he is distressed about
decreasing state support in higher education (In spite of our challenges, in
Minnesota, we are the one of the lucky states that has seen continued
investments in higher education. No
doubt, we would still like to see more state money coming to the University of
Minnesota and to UMD.); We in higher education know we need to be regulated and
held accountable, but the costs for “accountability”
need to be reduced and the processes need to be streamlined, and I am
supportive of the reforms Senator Alexander proposes.
ii.
Another topic we discussed this summer
was the Higher Education Act
Reauthorization – President Obama and his Department of Education has been
calling for a rating system for higher education, which both APLU and AASCU
oppose. As proposed, the rating system
is far too complicated and links ratings to things like net price, graduation
rates, student loan default rates, percentages of low-income students enrolled,
etc. One problem is that the data to do
what they want to do is not readily available in ways that make a true rating
system feasible. For now, this rating
system has been placed on the back burner, which I see as good news. Some say the
ratings proposal is dead. We shall see.
iii.
Performance-based
Funding/Accountability are topics that continue to gain
traction and attention at the national and state levels, so part of our tasks
as university leaders is to advocate for ways to meet the demands of
performance-based funding and accountability and lessen the cost and burden
these issues have on our campuses. For
example, earlier this month, I joined with presidents and chancellors across
the country in signing a letter to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan
advocating for the use of the Student Achievement Measure in assessing
graduation rates, instead of the more limited federal graduation rate
calculations. SAM uses data from the
National Clearing House and is able to track the progress and completion of
transfer students, part-time students, full-time students, and the outcomes of
students who enroll in multiple institutions.
iv.
National and state concerns about Student Debt continue to increase.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has proposed lower interest rates on student loans and moving towards a debt-free undergraduate education. Last year she proposed a bill which would allow students to pay the same interest rate on their government loans as big banks. She asks why student loans interest rates continue to climb and range from 2.25% to 9%, while banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve’s discount window at a rate of approximately .75 percent? Federal student loan rate for 2015-2016 is 4.29% for undergraduates and 5.84% for graduate students. So far, Senator Warren’s proposals have not been successful, but she is one of many federal legislators calling for significant reforms to address student debt.
Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has proposed lower interest rates on student loans and moving towards a debt-free undergraduate education. Last year she proposed a bill which would allow students to pay the same interest rate on their government loans as big banks. She asks why student loans interest rates continue to climb and range from 2.25% to 9%, while banks can borrow from the Federal Reserve’s discount window at a rate of approximately .75 percent? Federal student loan rate for 2015-2016 is 4.29% for undergraduates and 5.84% for graduate students. So far, Senator Warren’s proposals have not been successful, but she is one of many federal legislators calling for significant reforms to address student debt.
v.
Technology-Enhanced
Instruction was a major topic at both APLU and
AASCU meetings. Three major topics
included:
1. Improving
learning outcomes through technology-enhanced instruction,
2. Using
technology-enhanced instruction to design and implement new learning experiences
based upon learning science, and
3. Promoting
dissemination and sharing of information globally.
4. There
is great interest among some current BOR members in MN about making greater use
of online and other types of technology-enhanced instruction.
5. I
applaud the increased interest in online offerings at UMD, as well as
explorations of flipped classrooms, and of other ways to effectively use
technology-enhanced instruction. Technology-enhanced
instruction will not solve all our problems.
Our focus needs to be on what we can do well with a strong focus on
academic excellence and student success. How does it help us meet the changing needs
and demands of our students?
vi.
Federal
Legislation regarding Sexual Assaults on college campuses –
I spoke about this topic last year, and UMD continues to be up-to-date on both
federal and state legislation. When new
legislation concerning sexual assault was passed this past session of the
Minnesota legislature, we were pleased that UMD is already in compliance with
the majority of new requirements. We employ many best practices in responding
to and in encouraging members of our campus community to report sexual assaults. We
have also increased prevention and education programs for our students. Our
efforts include a bystander intervention program called Got Your Back! UMD. To
date, over 3000 students have completed bystander intervention training through
the program. In addition, new undergraduate and graduate students are required
to participate in on line training in sexual assault prevention. Finally,
HR&EO and Student Life teamed up to provide 8 training sessions for faculty
and staff. This year, we’ll also be offering online training for all employees.
b. Issues
such as state funding challenges, greater competition for students, calls for
accountability, performance-based funding, how we move forward with
technology-enhanced instruction, how do we address sexual assault, alcohol and
drug abuse among our students are Minnesota issues, as well as federal
issues. These issues and others are part
of macro trends that are driving the world of higher education today and in the
foreseeable future. As we pursue our
vision and goals at UMD, we need to be aware of these trends and frame the
re-engineering of UMD around the issues that we cannot ignore and that have the
greatest impact on who we are and where we are moving.
VII.
At the first meeting of the Chancellor’s
Senior Leadership Council this summer our focused theme was academic excellence
and student success. Action items with
timelines were determined on the following topics:
a. Communication
Action Items – Focused on campus internal communication and pushing out more
stories and social media about the great things happening at UMD.
i.
Increasing regular communications from
leadership, such as frequent Chancellor newsletters and three Town Hall
meetings that will be scheduled for this academic year.
ii.
Encourage cascading messaging at the
end of meetings so that people understand the main points or takeaways from the
meeting and the messages they are to take back to constituent groups
iii.
Conduct a communications audit throughout
campus followed by a gap analysis to see what’s missing and needed for formal
and informal communication.
iv.
One area that we will be communicating
clearly internally and externally is that we have now submitted all teacher
education programs for review by the Board of Teaching. These academic programs remain strong and the
students in these programs will continue to receive full licensing upon
graduation.
v.
Reaffirm our commitment to our vision
of becoming “a premiere comprehensive university recognized as world class for
its learning-centered student experiences, research, creative activities, and
public engagement.” This year we will
begin a new examination of our strategic plan to see what changes we may wish
to make in our goals and action steps.
b. Budget
Action Items
i.
Clarifying for the campus our final
budget picture at the end of FY2015, including identifying areas that were
reduced, new investments, and what else has changed. Continue our development of real budgets that
are all inclusive and sustainable and complete the transition away from the
squishy budgets, or non-existent budgets of the past.
ii.
With leadership from our new Vice Chancellor
for Finance and Operations, and in collaboration with UMD campus governance and
the system budget and finance office, complete a budget plan that addresses the
remaining structural imbalance and that establishes a sustainable budget
framework moving forward.
iii.
Explore investment opportunities in
areas of excellence that capitalize on our strengths in teaching, research, and
public engagement.
c. Morale
& Engagement Action Items
i.
Within departments and units, maximize
use of the system-wide engagement survey. I have asked my senior leadership to
submit employee engagement plans. That’s
occurring now and I’m pleased with the depth and breadth of the conversations
happening at the grass roots level. We
will again this fall join in the system-wide employee engagement survey.
ii.
In addition to the employee engagement
survey, we will conduct a campus-wide climate survey administered by Sue Rankin
and Associates, which will 1) identify successful campus climate initiatives,
2) uncover any challenges facing members of our community, and 3) develop
strategic initiatives to build on the successes and address the challenges. We have made much progress over the past five
years in campus climate issues, but because of some of the challenges we have
faced, especially last year, I felt it was time to have an external group to
help us assess where we are and where we need to make changes to maximize our
campus climate work. It is important to
our success for us to have a high completion rate on both surveys. For the Rankin survey, departments and units
need at least a 30% completion rate to receive feedback specific to their
unit. Please complete the survey yourself
and encourage your colleagues and students to complete it also. The engagement survey is for only faculty and
staff, not students. I encourage you and
your colleagues to complete this survey also in order to give the departments
and units a more complete picture of engagement among departmental and unit
members.
iii.
Work toward greater commonalities among
us, across academic disciplines, across disparate units throughout campus, and
among faculty, staff and administrators.
Explore greater ways to connect with each other as Helen Mongan-Rallis
stated last spring at the UMD Women’s Luncheon: “I think there are some lessons
that may help us to break down the walls that we are building between groups
and that may enable us to seek to create a campus climate that is kinder,
gentler and more humane.” The Commission
on Women has expressed interest in working on these issues and Paula Pederson,
Faculty for Intercultural Initiatives will continue to provide leadership in
this area also.
iv.
I was thankful for the Supreme Court
decision this summer that our U.S. Constitution guarantees the right to
same-sex marriage, and I am thankful that I live in a state where the voters
had already taken a stand to support marriage for all people.
v.
But I was saddened at the news a little
over a week ago that civil rights leader Julian Bond had passed way. He was a major impact on me during my college
years by the way he approached civil rights issues. He was tough, thoughtful and assertive, but
calming. He was strong, but able to
bring people to compromise. Of all the
college speakers I heard in the early 1970s, he was one of the most memorable
and inspirational.
VIII.
Theatre Experiences
a. The
Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime
i.
This award-winning play is based upon
the mystery novel by British writer Mark Haddon. A major theme of the play is difference and
how we deal or do not deal well with people who are different from the norm. It focuses on Christopher, a 15 year-old boy
who is a mathematics genius with Asperger’s or Autism Spectrum Disorder, or perhaps
Savant Syndrome.
ii.
Focus is not on his specific condition,
but on his difficulties in dealing with a world that expects normalcy and a
world that is uncomfortable with difference and with things that people do not
understand.
iii.
A mother who cannot deal with him; a
father who tries to raise him, but falls short in a number of ways; law
enforcement and people on the street who are afraid of him or irritated by his
“odd behavior” and difficulties in interacting with people – he can’t stand to
be touched, responses strongly to loud noises, etc.
iv.
People who help him because they can
see beyond his unusual external behavior and try to understand him. People who are also seeking understanding and
searching for a life and society that is kinder, gentler and more humane.
b. Fun
Home
i.
An award-winning musical based upon the
graphic memoir of Alison Bechdel. The
plots of the memoir, subtitled “A Family Tragicomic,” and the musical focus on
Alison’s discovery of herself and her challenges of growing up in a family with
a domineering father and distant mother.
Her complex relationship with her father is the primary focus of the
story Alison narrates, and the Alison character is played by three different
actresses at different ages in her life. Her or their relationship with the father is
made more complex when Alison discovers that her father is gay and has numerous
secret relationships with men.
ii.
Alison’s life journey includes her
struggles, understanding, and embracing her own sexuality and identity as a
lesbian, and ultimately arriving at some understanding of her father. This is not your typical Broadway
musical. However, it is an outstanding
theatre piece that explores dealing with different types of difference, and
like The Curious Incident how one can move toward understanding in spite of
great challenges.
c. I
share these theatre experiences with you because they struck me as applicable
to many of the challenges and opportunities facing us here at UMD. We have had and will continue to have
multiple challenges, some created by our own mistakes, and some beyond our
control. For me, part of the power of
the theatre experience is what it teaches us about the human experience. I like to be entertained in the theatre, but
I am most drawn to theatre experiences that lead me to grow in my understanding
of others and of myself.
d. We
have a high calling as teachers, researchers, artists and public servants. We truly make a difference in the lives of our
students, in others at UMD, and in our communities. But we will not reach our full potential
until we can see beyond our differences, assume the sincerity of others, and
respect the dignity of all people.
Quoting from Helen Mongan-Rallis again, “So instead of rushing to
judgment about what others do, let us start by assuming their sincerity and
decency, and then lean in and really listen.”
IX.
You have my best wishes for an
outstanding year at UMD. Thank you for
all you do to make this an incredible place to work, to learn and to grow.
