Remembering Jacob Lavoie

Dear Students, Faculty, and Staff:

It is with great sadness that I send you this message today. After almost a week of searching, the Duluth Police Department and St. Louis County Rescue Squad found missing UMD student Jacob Lavoie’s body in the Minnesota Slip area of canal park Friday afternoon.

As much as we try to be prepared for something like this, it's extremely difficult. UMD is such a tight-knit community and we’re concerned for Jacob's family, his friends, and the faculty and staff that knew him. One of the qualities that defines UMD is the strong contentedness that exists among our community. As much as we may mourn individually for Jacob, our strength is in pulling together and leaning on each other to move forward.

We acknowledge the tremendous efforts of our community law enforcement agencies who worked on this search – the Duluth Police Department, UMD Police Department, St. Louis County Sheriff's Office, and St. Louis County Rescue Squad. We are also so grateful to the community for their sincere support.

Last week, Vice Chancellor for Student Life Lisa Erwin sent an email with information about support resources. I have listed those resources here and encourage their use.

Support resources for students:

• Consider talking with a staff or faculty member you trust. Sometimes talking about your feelings with someone who cares can help. A trusted faculty or staff member can also help you connect to others that may be of assistance.
• Contact Counseling Services. Veronica Gaidelis-Langer, our Case Manager in Counseling Services, is a great resource. (x7913)
• Consider attending a UMD Counseling "Let's Talk" session. More about "Let's Talk" may be found here. The times and locations:

Mondays, 10 a.m. to 12 noon, Kirby Student Center 361
Tuesdays, 5 to 7 p.m, Lake Superior Hall 175
Wednesdays, 11:15 a.m. to 12:45 p.m., Sports and Health Center 193
Thursdays, 1 to 3 p.m., Kirby Student Center 361

• Call the Office of Student Life for assistance. (x8502)

Faculty and staff:

Your representative in Human Resource can assist you with the Employee Assistance Program (EAP). This program provides confidential professional consultation and referral services. EAP services at UMD are provided by The Sand Creek Group, Ltd. More information about EAP may be found here.

Most importantly, I’d like to send my deepest condolences to Jacob’s family, friends, and classmates. There is no easy path through something like this, and my hope is that we can support each other to find strength and peace.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor 

Updates and Priorities for the Start of the Semester

Dear Colleagues,

We are at the cusp of another academic year and the energy on campus is growing. Thank you for those who were able to join us Monday morning for our faculty and staff welcome breakfast. With your help, we collected 282 lbs of food and $61.50 in support of Champ’s Cupboard. Further donations to Champ’s cupboard, which is our free food shelf for students, can be dropped off in the Student Life office.

This email is intended to recap my speech and provide some updates as we enter the new year.

Land Acknowledgment
I am honored to share UMD’s new land acknowledgment with you:

We collectively acknowledge that the University of Minnesota Duluth is located on the traditional, ancestral, and contemporary lands of Indigenous people. The University resides on land that was cared for and called home by the Anishinaabe people, and the Dakota people before them, from time immemorial. Ceded by the Anishinaabe in an 1854 treaty, this land holds great historical, spiritual, and personal significance for its original stewards, the Native nations and peoples of this region. We recognize and continually support and advocate for the sovereignty of the Native nations in this territory and beyond. By offering this land acknowledgment, we affirm tribal sovereignty and will work to hold the University of Minnesota Duluth accountable to American Indian peoples and nations.

This Land Acknowledgment is a formal statement that recognizes the unique and enduring relationship that exists between American Indians and their territories, and this acknowledgment is an opportunity for the entire University community to increase their awareness of the history of the land on which UMD resides.

The acknowledgment was crafted through collaborative processes with our Department of American Indian Studies, the Campus Climate Leadership Team, Campus Climate Change Team, and participants at the 2019 Summit on Equity, Race, & Ethnicity. The statement was endorsed by the Minnesota Indian Affairs Council on June 4, 2019. You can find more information and context on the UMD About page.

Campus Priorities
1. Assisting President Joan Gabel in her first year as our new president and working with her to find new ways to further strengthen UMD.

2. Continuing to reinforce our commitment to a diverse and inclusive campus climate and building further on the prevention of sexual misconduct initiative that began last year.
About 140 UMD faculty and staff have completed the Diversity and Inclusion module as a pilot project. After we assess their responses to the training, we will determine next steps towards having others at UMD complete it. In addition, this fall all new UMD students will take the Diversity and Inclusion module developed specifically for students.

Each of us is responsible for creating a healthy work environment and for supporting the retention and success of faculty, staff, and students of color, of diverse cultures, women, LGBTQAI, and all members of the UMD community. We also need to call out bullying when we see it and support those who are bullied.

3. Moving our retention and graduation rates to new levels of success.

4. Expanding UMD’s International Education programs with more international students coming to us and sending more UMD students to meaningful learning abroad experiences.

5. Expanding research and doctoral education. 

6. Expanded exploration of grant support to help sustain programmatic efforts and student access.

7. We will continue to advocate for capital funding to renovate A. B. Anderson and advocate for Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement funds (HEAPR) to renovate the old Chemistry Building and other key areas. 

8. In 2020, we will celebrate UMD’s 125 anniversary.

UMD Highlights
We have a lot to be proud of. This montage of student highlights throughout last year showcases some of the fantastic work from around campus. Swenson College of Science & Engineering, for the second year in a row, earned second place in their division at the Intercollegiate Rocket Engineering Competition in New Mexico. Students designed, built and successfully launched their rocket, placing higher than teams who represented entire countries and who had far greater budgets.

The Labovitz School of Business and Economics continues its designation as a 3M Frontline Sales Initiative School, one of only 14 in the country. In June, the Board of Regents approved our new Professional Sales Bachelor of Business Administration program.

Last fall, the School of Fine Arts held its fifth annual Fresh Foundations exhibit at the Tweed Museum of Art. The show is curated by seniors in the Art and Design program and highlights the work of first-year students in the same program. 

This summer, 20 undergraduate students from South Korea studied American environmental writing in the College of Liberal Arts for three weeks. This unique program was a collaboration between CLA’s Department of English, Linguistics, and Writing Studies, UMD’s Department of International Partnerships and Outreach, English as a Second Language International, and Kyung Hee University, in Seoul, South Korea.

UMD Athletics enjoyed another great year including men’s hockey capturing a third NCAA national championship, their second in a row. In addition, our scholar-athletes enjoyed success in the classroom with 44 individuals qualifying for a spot on the NSIC All-Academic Team. Each year, the team with the highest cumulative GPA receives the Chancellor’s Cup. Last spring, the 2019 Chancellor’s Cup went to our women’s volleyball team with a cumulative GPA of 3.74.

In Student Life, our Bulldog Welcome Week program has a new look thanks to the hard work of a number of campus units partnering with Kirby Student Center. The new Bulldog Welcome Week focuses on campus traditions and community engagement and provides students with a more customized exposure to campus resources that will help them be successful.

Facilities Update
Earlier this month, the Heikkila Chemistry and Advanced Materials Science building, HCAMS, had its grand opening. Classes will be held there this fall. It’s beautiful and will serve well our students, faculty, and staff.

The Multicultural Center is undergoing a much-needed renovation. It serves many students, and it’s important that it be a welcoming, comfortable, and well-designed space. The grand opening is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, September 18 from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. I hope you can attend, and I hope you will visit the Multicultural Center often.

Ordean Court is undergoing a major renovation. The work is being funded by Facilities Management. We believe the space will be much more inviting and useful for students and everyone on campus to enjoy. The project is currently scheduled to be completed in the middle of September.

We will break ground on a new Residence Hall and an additional Dining Center for students in May of 2020. We are excited to have increased capacity for freshmen to live in a residence hall, and to expand our ability to serve our campus community's dining options. The new facilities are anticipated to be open for fall 2021.

The on-campus Ice Rink renovation project consists of a comprehensive replacement of the building's heating, ventilation and air conditioning system to provide a healthier indoor air quality environment for building occupants. The ice-making system is also being replaced. This project is scheduled to be completed in November.

Enrollment
The quality of our new student class this year is excellent, but as sometimes happens within the cycle of undergraduate enrollment, we are experiencing a decline in new student enrollment this fall. This is projected to impact our overall undergraduate enrollment by approximately two percent or 180 students. The decline in new students is due to a number of factors including greater competition from private and public institutions both within and outside Minnesota and fewer transfer students within the community college pipeline.
 
As we keep our academic standards high and seek to overcome new and recurring enrollment challenges, we need to redouble our efforts on retaining and successfully graduating the nearly 9,000 undergraduate students who are enrolled this fall. We project 674 graduate students this fall and an overall enrollment, which also includes non-degree and professional students, of 10,830. Nothing benefits us more within student recruitment than our positive word-of-mouth reputation. As we welcome over 2,400 first-year and transfer students to campus later this week and welcome back over 6,400 returning undergraduates next Monday, let’s each renew our commitment to supporting their success within this exceptional community of learners, educators, and scholars.

Budget
We have not yet received our budget allocation for this fiscal year. President Gabel told me recently that we will receive it soon. As we have done in the past, I will share the allocation letter with the campus and keep you up-to-date on our budget plans.

See the Google Slides from today’s event if you’d like to see the visual presentation that includes design concepts of Ordean Court and the new Residence Hall.

Please let me know if you have any questions and I look forward to another successful year. Each of you contributes to our success and I thank you for your time, commitment, and dedication to our students and UMD.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Bulldog Yard Contest | $2000 in Prizes!

Dear UMD Students,

We are excited to have you back on campus for the 2019-2020 school year and to welcome the UMD class of 2023. We hope you all enjoyed your well deserved summer break, had fun, and made lasting memories with your loved ones. We are thrilled to welcome all of you back to a new school year of learning and growing.

One of the most exciting days of the year is move-in day. Not only are newly enrolled students moving into their new home, but current staff and students join hands and welcome them to the UMD family. Though this experience is usually overwhelmingly positive, we know that in the past, the conduct of a few students has sent an unwelcoming message to the UMD and Duluth community.

This year, the UMD Student Association and the Office of Student Life are partnering to host the second annual  "Best Yard Contest". We invite students who live in the areas surrounding campus to decorate their yards with Bulldog pride, and help us welcome our new incoming students. Prizes will be awarded to the best yards, including a grand prize of a $250 gift card to SuperOne. UMD Student Association judges will visit the participating houses between the hours of 11am and 3pm on move-in day.

Learn more about the Best Yard Contest and sign-up to participate. Whether or not you and your roommates choose to participate in this event, we look forward to an exciting, fun, and safe move-in day and Bulldog Welcome Week.


Best Regards,

Neal Bhakta
UMD SA President

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty 2019

Chancellor's Welcome for All Staff and Faculty 2019

When:    Monday, August 19, 2019

Time:      8:30 - 10:00 a.m.

Where:   Ward Wells Field House (follow the ramp down to the field house on the side where the tennis courts are located)

Chancellor Black invites you to join him in kicking off a new fall semester. A continental breakfast will be served (pastries, fruit, and yogurt).

We will be collecting nonperishable food for Champ's Cupboard, the UMD Food Shelf located in 245 Kirby Plaza. Unused/unopened/unexpired items specifically needed are:

• Canned chicken/tuna
• Boxed noodles, pasta, etc
• Pasta sauce
• Boxed meals and dinner sides
• Canned meals: spaghetti's, ravioli, etc
• Canned fruit
• Peanut butter, jelly, condiments
• Lighter meals/snacks, granola bars, etc
• Miscellaneous toiletries, such as toothpaste, toothbrushes, shampoo
• Diapers and laundry detergent

Getting Ready for UMD! Parent Information

  Dear UMD Parents and Family Members:

As the University of Minnesota Duluth’s Chancellor, it is a pleasure for me to welcome you to our outstanding university community.  The faculty, staff, and students of UMD join me in our commitment to making your student’s new university home an intellectually stimulating, enjoyable, and safe place to learn and grow.

We take every part of the UMD experience very seriously, and we are committed to making a difference with our students.  Most of our students excel, but many of them also encounter challenging situations involving alcohol.  Most relationships among students are positive and supportive.  However, there are times when unhealthy relationships appear between students.  When abuse occurs, it is often related to alcohol use.  We've implemented a comprehensive prevention program to help our students make the safest, healthiest decisions possible.

• Our health services and student life staff offer resources and programming designed to heighten student awareness of the dangers of alcohol abuse and underage drinking.  A comprehensive resource page may be found by visiting this website.  
• When violations of university alcohol policies occur we have disciplinary procedures in place to address these issues in a manner focused on education and changing behavior.  The emphasis is on helping students be successful in every aspect of their college experience.
• At UMD, we value our partnership with parents regarding the health and safety of our students.  To that end, we will contact the parents of any UMD student who has been taken to the hospital emergency room or to a local detoxification facility by UMD police for an alcohol-related emergency.  On a case-by-case basis, we may also contact the parents of underage UMD students who have violated the university’s alcohol policy, on or off campus.
• This summer every incoming student will be required to complete AlcoholEdu for College, a 2-3 hour online course that uses the latest prevention techniques and research to educate students about the impact of alcohol on the mind and body.  Whether or not your student drinks alcohol, AlcoholEdu for College will empower your student to make well-informed decisions about alcohol and help them better cope with the drinking behavior of peers.

We also understand that parents are the first line of defense against alcohol misuse and abuse.  There are several things you can do this summer to help your student get ready for the decisions they’ll be making after they get to UMD. We’re providing a brochure to serve as a resource and a guide if you decide to discuss the dangers of underage drinking and excessive alcohol use with your student.

Sexual misconduct is defined at UMD as sexual harassment, sexual assault, stalking, and relationship violence. The related University of Minnesota policy provides detailed information about our approach to reported sexual misconduct. At UMD, we take these issues very seriously and also have a number of educational programs focused on prevention that are offered during Bulldog Welcome Week and throughout the school year. Minnesota State Law requires that every incoming student must participate in training on sexual assault prevention. One way our students will receive training is through another online course called Sexual Assault Prevention. 

Our partner for providing the AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention is a company called EVERFI. (By the way, EVERFI also provides online training required for every UMD employee). We’re providing you with a link to an EVERFI website that has information for parents of college students.  The site includes downloadable resources to support conversations with your student about these important topics. In addition, this UMD website has links to an overview for each of the required courses.

The deadline for completing the AlcoholEdu and Sexual Assault Prevention courses is August 19, 2019. We hope you will encourage your student to meet that deadline.

We are proud of the safe and supportive learning environment at UMD, and we thank you for helping us educate students about the dangers of behaviors that put them at risk and that detract from their academic achievements.

Sincerely,

Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Progress on Campus Priorities

Dear Colleagues:

Despite remnants of winter weather over the past few weeks, UMD’s summer season is upon us. Not only did our graduates recently cross the finish line, but we also moved many campus initiatives forward this year. At the start of this academic year, I presented six priorities. I am pleased with the progress we made and ask for your continued support as we drive these forward. As a recap of the priorities and progress:

1. Reinforcing our commitment to a healthy campus climate and building on the prevention of sexual misconduct training.
In terms of campus climate, we launched the It’s More Than That campaign, continued training and development programs, and launched a new diversity and inclusion module.

It’s More Than That highlights many of the projects, efforts, and initiatives already underway at UMD. Please take time to explore the It’s More Than That website where you can find more information about the campaign, suggested actions steps, and take your own pledge.

UMD has contracted with Everfi to offer diversity and inclusion online training modules to students, staff, and faculty. Two modules were deployed to campus leaders this spring with a plan for a full campus rollout next fall. In the fall, students will also be invited to complete the Diversity & Inclusion module. The training will provide staff, faculty, and students with important skills and resources to help foster a more inclusive and engaging campus.

In addition, we continue to provide face to face training and development offerings to staff and faculty across campus. For fall term offerings and a link to sign up, go to Campus Climate: Training and Development website.

Related to our efforts to prevent sexual misconduct, we continue to provide online training to new employees. The UMD Sexual Violence Response Team held several follow-up sessions this year where participants were able to meet members of the team, ask questions about the Preventing and Responding to Sexual Misconduct training and/or the University's Administrative Policy: Sexual Harassment, Sexual Assault, Stalking and Relationship Violence, and explore scenarios based on different faculty and staff campus roles. The It Ends Here campaign also brought further awareness to the initiative and will roll into next year.

I am also happy to share that UMD is one of the sponsors to the Zeitgeist Arts Year of the Womxn celebration. The YOTW is a series of programming to recognize and celebrate women and I encourage you to review and participate in the event series.

2. Continue to make progress on the implementation of the UMD strategic plan and coordinate with systemwide strategic planning efforts.
This year, various campus groups were asked to submit ideas for objectives and key performance indicators related to our strategic goals. This summer the leadership team will use these ideas to draft a concise set of objectives with measures that can be tracked over time. The campus will have an opportunity to review these items and provide feedback in the fall. Once finalized, we will provide the information on our strategic planning website and regularly publish progress toward goal attainment.

In terms of systemwide strategic planning efforts, several individuals from UMD are serving on systemwide planning groups and continue to move forward with their efforts.

3. Moving our retention and graduation rate to new levels of success.
Improved undergraduate student success rates remain a central priority, and annual benchmark indicators show improvements in both student persistence and four-year graduation. Our campus first-to-second year retention rate for the 2017 entering cohort was 78.7%; up 1.7% compared to the previous year. Our campus four-year graduation rate for the 2014 cohort was 42.5%; up 4.9% compared to the previous year. These improvements are the result of your collective actions to address high DFW rates in gateway courses, implementation of mentorship programs, an expanded emphasis on strengths-based advising and coaching, proactive use of hardship grants to prevent stop-outs, enhanced student debt education, and numerous other initiatives.

Continued improvement of student persistence and graduation remains a priority for the BOR and for all of us. Moreover, enrollment will remain an ongoing challenge as we face increased competition and changing student demographics – making retention of our current students even more important. Whether through interactions with individual students, implementation of large-scale initiatives or delivery of services and facilities, we all have an impact on the success of our students. Many of the joyful stories I heard from recent graduates were about individual staff or faculty connections or opportunities for involvement or leadership roles that made a difference in their lives and persistence to graduation. We will continue to strive for all our students to have these experiences.

4. Expanding UMD's International Education programs and alliances.
UMD has expanded its partnership footprint with exchange, transfer, and training programs in Asia (China, South Korea, Vietnam); the Americas (Canada and Mexico); and Europe (Croatia, Ireland). The university has also invested in securing a dedicated international student recruiter.

5. Expanding UMD's public engagement reach.
UMD spent the last year conducting an inventory on community engagement initiatives and public service activities. We will look to reinforce our position, consistent with the strategic plan, as a key partner to the region via its research, education, and volunteer programs. These collective efforts are also consistent with UMD’s connection to the Association of Public Land-grant Universities’ Economic Development and Community Engagement projects.

6. Expand research and doctoral education.
We continue to make progress and have productive conversations with System administration in regards to doctoral education. We also continue to refine and appropriately expand other graduate education offerings.

Fundraising.
In addition to these six priorities, we continue to have another record-breaking year in UMD fundraising. Our goal for private contributions during fiscal year 2019 is $12 million. As of May 15, 2019 we have raised $12,522,530. Our current campaign total for private contributions is $89,052,079 towards a goal of $100 million, and we still have two years left in the campaign. Our fundraising needs continue to be great, especially in scholarships, so we will continue to work hard to surpass the $100 million goal. I am pleased that 719 UMD faculty and staff have contributed $13,824,562 to the campaign, and I give my most sincere thanks to those who are helping us fund UMD’s most critical needs.

As always, please do not hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions. I will send a budget campus communication later this summer after the Board of Regents approves the fiscal year 2020 budget. Thank you again for another great year.

Sincerely,


Lendley C. Black
Chancellor

Save the Date: Fall 2019 Faculty & Staff Welcome

Dear Colleagues,

As we get ready to send off yet another graduating class of Bulldogs, we are also looking forward to next semester.  Please mark your calendars for the Fall 2019 Faculty & Staff Welcome:

Monday, August 19th from 8:30 - 10:00 a.m.
Ward Wells Fieldhouse

Thank you for all of your dedication this year, and best of luck to our graduates.

Lendley Black
Chancellor