Message from Chancellor Black regarding EVCAA transition

Dear Campus Community:

As you know, Andrea Schokker submitted her resignation as Executive Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs to me on Monday.  I wish to thank Andrea again for her service to UMD and for the many things she accomplished as Vice Chancellor.  She will continue to be an important part of our university community as a faculty member and researcher, and I wish her the very best.

I am moving forward quickly to identify an interim replacement for Andrea, and I will soon begin the process of conducting a national search for a new EVCAA.  My first priority is to find an interim who is a seasoned, academic administrator, and who can bring an experienced perspective to both the opportunities and challenges we face.  While my intent is to seek an external person, I will also consider a local interim appointment.

As we move forward and focus on clarifying UMD's strengths and opportunities, I am continuing to work with the Strategic Planning and Budget Committee on a series of meetings with students, faculty, and staff at the beginning of next semester. More information about this process will be sent to you next week.

Meanwhile, I hope we will focus on how to move forward in a productive and collaborative manner.  We need to find better ways to have constructive conversations and keep professional disagreements from becoming personal, and resulting in hurtful behaviors.

Please let me know if you have comments or would like additional information.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Chancellor's Message to the Campus

Dear students, staff, and faculty,

Like many of you, I have been moved and concerned by the acts of racism and senseless violence of the last several weeks happening around us in the world, across our nation, and close to home.  As a UMD community and as individuals, we are all impacted by these events.  There is undoubtedly a mix of emotions, fears, and opinions.

We are well aware that our community is not immune to the disparities, prejudice, and behavior that fuel these matters.  Here at UMD, Goal 2 is a core component of our Strategic Plan.  It states our desire to "create a positive and inclusive campus climate for all by advancing equity, diversity, and social justice."  We have made good progress at integrating Goal 2 into our actions and activities.

Yet, we need to recognize and to support historically marginalized members of our community who still seek justice, or even feel threatened, right now. We must realize that we have a long way to go to reach the ambitious goal of a universally inclusive campus community.  Meaningful diversity work requires both community and individual commitments to change, and it requires us all to honestly self-reflect on our own prejudices and shortcomings. We should also be aware of where we are on our journey of understanding and support each other. Each of us should seek actions that we can take to respond to injustice and to make UMD a welcoming place for all.

I am writing you today to ask that we encourage healthy dialogue, that we listen to multiple perspectives, and that we continue to demonstrate our core values and commitment to inclusive excellence.  Universities are exactly where we should have these types of conversations.
 
We have a number of upcoming events that can help us, including this Wednesday, December 2 at 5 p.m. in Kirby Ballroom where Duke Professor Eduardo Bonilla-Silva is presenting "Color Blind Racism: Racism Without Racists."

As well, anyone who has experienced racial or other types of discrimination are encouraged to file an incident report with Office of Student Conduct or the Office of Human Resource and Equal Opportunity.

The path to ensuring an inclusive, respectful, and supportive environment starts with me and with all of us.  We need to continue our commitment to equity, diversity, and social justice.  We need to continue to encourage open dialogue and learn from each other.  We need to continue to assess our campus climate and take action to strengthen it.

I ask you to join me and the Campus Climate Leadership Team on this journey.

Sincerely,

Lendley Black, Chancellor

Campus Climate Leadership Team

Thank you for your survey participation

Dear Colleagues,

Thank you so much to everyone who took time to complete this year's E2 Employee Engagement Survey and the Campus Climate Survey.  Overall, we had a good response rate for both of these very important surveys.  I am confident that through your feedback we have gathered a wealth of useful information, which we can apply to enhance the living, learning, and working environment here at UMD.   

Response rates for the Employee Engagement Survey:

UMD Overall Response: Employee Engagement	66%
UMD Faculty	60%
UMD Staff	67%

Response rates for the Campus Climate Survey:

UMD Overall Response: Campus Climate	26.8%
Undergraduate Student	22.5%
Graduate Student	30.4%
Professional Student	26.4%
Faculty (medical and pharmacy)	54.4%
Faculty	47.2%
Staff	37.5%

The leadership team and I appreciate those who provided feedback. We look forward to engaging the campus community to review the results and work together to develop and execute action plans.  The results of the Engagement Survey will be shared with campus early in 2016.  The results of the Climate Survey will take longer due to timelines with our vendor and summer schedules.  Those results will be shared with campus in Fall 2016.  

Your contributions to UMD are vital, and we look forward to working together to continue developing a campus where people are connected, welcomed, and feel supported in their success.

Thank you again for your cooperation and participation in the survey.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black

Chancellor

Save the Date - End of Semester Buffet - Thursday, December 17

Dear Campus Community:

The Chancellor's Office and Dining Services invite all UMD faculty and staff to the End of Semester Buffet featuring an Italian theme on Thursday, December 17, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Kirby Ballroom and Kirby Rafters.  Due to space limitations, no students, please.

We are requesting voluntary donations of non-perishable food items for donation to CHUM's Food Shelf or UMD Champ's Cupboard, or cash donations for the Union Gospel Mission.

Food Shelf and Champ's Cupboard Needs:

(All items in non-perishable & store bought, non-expired form.)

Fruit - Applesauce, fruit cocktail, pineapple, pears, peaches, mandarin oranges, dried fruit. 

Dry Breakfast Cereal and Oatmeal Packets.

Mac & Cheese and "Just add Water Meals" (Pasta-Roni, Rice-a-Roni, Bear Creek Soups, Idaho Mashed Potato Mix) 

Ethnic Foods 

Hamburger Helper (and Chicken Helper and Tuna Helper) 

Dry Pasta, Rice and Pasta Sauce 

Lighter meals/snacks: Granola bars, trail mix 

Peanut Butter 

Chunky Soups 

Canned Vegetables

Ramen Noodles

Spaghettios, Chili, Stew 

Laundry Detergent & Home Cleaning Products 

Toiletries such as Toothpaste & Deodorant. 

Diapers

  Please join us to celebrate another successful year!

________________

Chancellor's Office
University of Minnesota Duluth
515 Darland Administration Building
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
218.726.7106
218.726.6535 (fax)

Town Hall Meeting - Wednesday, November 4

Dear Campus Community,

Please join me on Wednesday, November 4 from 3:00 -  4:30 p.m. in the Kirby Ballroom for a special Town Hall Meeting with UMD faculty and staff.

Instead of the traditional update, I am asking the campus community to actively participate in a discussion about student success and r etention. As I shared in my recent Chancellor's Update , our enrollment is down slightly. Retention and graduation rates are critically important to our enrollment story, and we all play a role in creating a campus environment where students thrive both in and out of the classroom. We will spend time working together to brainstorm ideas and help develop retention action items to help our students continue their education a t UMD. Members of the Strategic Enrollment Management (SEM) subcommittee will share insights in order to guide our conversation.

If you are unable to attend the Town Hall Meeting, please review the information available on theSEM retention framework website and email your suggestions on best ways to retain our students to the SEM subcommittee (umdsem@d.umn.edu), and we will add them to the collected information. Thank you, and I hope to see you on November 4.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black

Chancellor

Chancellor's Update - October 21, 2015

Good afternoon,

I hope you all have been able to get out and enjoy this beautiful fall weather.  This semester sure seems to be flying by quickly.  Chief Development Officer Tricia Bunten and I were out last week visiting with donors and will be back on the road next week doing the same.  It is great to be able to share the impressive work of our campus community with supporters and hear their memories as well.  

We have had a busy year thus far and while I could write about many things, I am going to focus in and provide an update on a few topics including budget, campus surveys, enrollment, and our upcoming campus town hall meeting.  

Budget Update

We have received our final budget allocation, and it was consistent with our preliminary numbers.  Our new Vice Chancellor of Finance and Operations Steve Keto has been with us for a few weeks now.  By the end of the semester we will have a specific plan for resolving the budget deficit and moving forward in a strategic and productive way. Please be assured, the campus community will be involved in that process.

Campus Surveys

We are currently in the middle of two very important surveys for our campus community.  Please find time in your workday to complete these two surveys.  Your input is valuable and appreciated.   

1. The  Campus Climate Survey is open to all students, faculty, and staff.  This survey will help to measure and identify opportunity to further our goal of maintaining a positive and inclusive campus climate.  Complete the anonymous  Campus Climate Survey.  
2. The Engagement survey is open to all faculty and staff.  This survey will help measure your perspective on the workplace environment.  Look back in your email for your unique link to the confidential survey.

Enrollment

Across the University of Minnesota system, total headcount enrollment is down by 1.2% compared to Fall 2014.  While we met our overall enrollment target, it's important to remember enrollments strategy is not just about quantity it is about finding the right student who will be successful here at UMD.  As predicted, primarily due to the decrease in high school graduates, our overall enrollment is down slightly.  Total headcount for Fall 2015 is 10,878 which compares to 11,093 in Fall 2014.  We are up slightly in new transfer numbers, and down in new freshman with a total of 1,997 new freshman this fall.  SCSE has reached an all-time high with a total of 3,098 undergraduates.  LSBE also saw an overall increase in enrollment this fall with 2,040 undergraduate students.  See the full UM enrollment presentation  from the recent Board of Regents meeting.  

Town Hall - November 4

Speaking of enrollment, I am excited to announce that we have an upcoming town hall meeting where I am going to ask the campus community to actively participate in a discussion about retention.  Retention and graduation rates are critically important to our enrollment story and we all play a role in retention.  Please mark your calendars for 3 p.m. on Wednesday, November 4 in the Kirby Ballroom.  We will spend time working together to come up with ideas and develop actions to help our campus retention efforts.  

I also want to share with you that we are welcoming University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler to campus this Friday.  He has a full schedule and will be starting his visit up on the Iron Range before spending the afternoon on campus touring our newly renovated Kirby Student Center, our legislative bonding requests, visiting an active classroom, and enjoying some time in the MMAD Lab.  He will also meet with students, the Duluth News Tribune editorial board, and host a legislative dinner at Glensheen.  President Kaler will also meet with alumni and donors for breakfast and join us at the football game Saturday.  This is a great opportunity for us to showcase UMD and highlight some of what makes our campus so unique and special.  

As always, please contact me or a member of my senior leadership council if you have questions, thoughts, or suggestions about these topics or other campus matters.   Have a great rest of your week.  

Sincerely,

Lendley Black

Chancellor

Campus Climate Survey

October 6, 2015

Dear UMD Community member,

At UMD, a welcoming and inclusive campus climate is embedded in Goal #2 of our strategic plan and is one of the foundations of our educational model.  Creating and maintaining a positive and inclusive campus climate for all by advancing equity, diversity and social justice is critically important for all of us.

I am asking our campus community to participate and take the Campus Climate Survey.  This survey of all students, staff and faculty will provide an Assessment of Learning, Living, and Working at The University of Minnesota Duluth. The goals of the project are:

1.      identify successful initiatives

2.      uncover any challenges facing members of our community

3.      develop strategic initiatives to build on the successes and address the challenges.

The survey is your opportunity to describe your personal experiences, your observations, and to offer suggestions for change that might enhance the campus climate at UMD.  This survey is part of our on-going Campus Climate initiative and will be used in conjunction with previous surveys to guide our continued efforts.

Be assured: All of your answers will remain confidential and the results will be reported in group form only. You will not be identifiable as an individual. Your participation in this project is voluntary. This research has been reviewed and approved by the UMD University Institutional Review Board. Additional information about the project is available at https://www.d.umn.edu/climatesurvey

Upon completion of the survey, you can enter to win great prizes such as a free parking pass or $100 Visa gift cards.  Your information and entrance for the prize drawings are not attached to your confidential survey responses. 

Please note that the Climate Survey is for all students, staff and faculty.  Next week, on October 12, our faculty and staff will also be asked to participate in an important workplace engagement survey.  Both of these surveys will provide valuable insight and your participation in each of them is greatly appreciated. 

I urge you to take 20-30 minutes and complete this very important Campus Climate Survey by going to https://rankinsurveys2.com/umd.

Thank you in advance for your contribution to this vital project.

Sincerely,


Lendley (Lynn) Black, Chancellor