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
