March 27 , 2006
E. Thomas Sullivan
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Julius E. Davis
Chair in Law
Dear Faculty, Staff and Students,
Spring semester this year holds special promise. The University of Minnesota has taken the first important steps to transforming itself into one of the world's great public research universities. As Provost, I am delighted to report progress on major academic initiatives and to highlight the recent achievements of a few of your colleagues as exemplars of academic excellence on the Twin Cities campus.
Transforming the U Through Strategic Positioning: Update on Academic Recommendations
At its March meeting, the Board of Regents approved the names of the three new colleges that will officially open their doors on July 1, 2006:
- College of Design, created from the College of Architecture and Landscape Architecture and the Department of Design, Housing and Apparel from the College of Human Ecology;
- College of Education and Human Development, created by bringing together the current College of Education and Human Development, General College, and the Department of Family Social Science and School of Social Work from the College of Human Ecology;
- and College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences, created from the College of Agricultural, Food and Environmental Science, the College of Natural Resources, and the Department of Food Science and Nutrition from the College of Human Ecology.
I also reported to the Board some of the initial strategic research investments the university will make, taking into account current qualitative strengths, distinctiveness, and comparative advantages, the following areas have been identified as important for research investments:
- Biofuels research
- Neuroscience breakthroughs
- Biomedical technology
- Sustaining the environment, through the establishment of a new Institute on the Environment
- Food science solutions
- Addressing societal and cultural issues through interdisciplinary structures such as the Institute for Advanced Studies and the new Consortium for Post-Secondary Academic Success
Finally, as a result of recommendations contained in the first round of strategic positioning task force reports, I reported on strategic priorities designed to enhance undergraduate education, including a new campus-wide honors program and campus-wide writing initiatives. A more complete overview of the preliminary academic recommendations is available for review on the Provost's website and via this link: http://www.academic.umn.edu/provost/reports.html .
With over half of the task forces remaining to submit their final recommendations, further decisions and detail will result from a cumulative process that unfolds throughout the spring and summer months. Preliminary recommendations from another 10 strategic positioning task forces will be posted for public review and comment March 31 through April 30 at http://www.umn.edu/transforming_the_u . I encourage you to remain engaged in this process and share your feedback.
Congratulations to Award-Winning University Students, Faculty and Staff
- CLA senior, Joseph Walla, has been awarded a prestigious Henry Luce Foundation Scholarship for a professional internship experience in Asia. Walla, an honors student majoring in political science, is one of only 18 recipients nationwide.
- CLA Honors students Rebecca Mitchell and Joseph Walla have been selected as 2006 Truman Scholars. The Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation recognizes college juniors with exceptional leadership potential who are committed to careers in government, the nonprofit or advocacy sectors, education, and public service.
- Four University of Minnesota-Twin Cities juniors have been named 2006 Barry M. Goldwater Scholars, in recognition of outstanding sophomores and juniors in mathematics, science, and engineering who intend to pursue graduate study and research-oriented careers:
- Elizabeth Barnes, Physics, Institute of Technology
- Akash Kumar, Chemical Engineering and Biochemistry, Institute of Technology
- Eman Haidari, Chemistry, Institute of Technology, and Genetics, Cell Biology and Development, College of Biological Sciences
- Kimberly VanderWaal, Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, College of Biological Sciences
- Four University faculty members have been named 2006 University of Minnesota Distinguished McKnight University Professors (http://www.grad.umn.edu/faculty-staff/mcknight/distinguished_recipients.html):
- John C. Bischof, Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Technology
- Karin Musier-Forsyth, Chemistry, Institute of Technology
- J. Ilja Siepmann, Chemistry, Institute of Technology
- Christopher Uggen, Sociology, College of Liberal Arts
- Professors Timothy Brennan and Shaden Tageldin (Department of Cultural Studies, College of Liberal Arts) have been awarded National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipends.
- 2006 recipients of the Horace T. Morse-University of Minnesota Alumni Association Award for Outstanding Contributions to Undergraduate Education, given to faculty members who reflect the University's emphasis on the importance of high quality undergraduate education:
- Frederick Asher, Department of Art History, College of Liberal Arts
- Mark D. Distefano, Department of Chemistry, Institute of Technology
- Pareena Lawrence, Division of Social Sciences, University of Minnesota Morris
- James R. Leger, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Institute of Technology
- Donald Liu, Department of Applied Economics, College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences
- Randall Charles Moore, General College
- Marshall D. Stern, Department of Animal Science, College of Agricultural, Food, and Environmental Sciences
- Barbara Welke, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
- 2006 recipients of the Award for Outstanding Contributions to Postbaccalaureate, Graduate, and Professional Education, to recognize excellence in instruction; involvement in students' research, scholarship, and professional development; development of instructional programs; and advising and mentoring of students:
- Dennis Falk, Department of Social Work, College of Education and Human Service Professions, University of Minnesota Duluth
- Joan Garfield, Department of Educational Psychology, College of Education and Human Development
- Wendy Hellerstedt, Division of Epidemiology, School of Public Health
- Deborah Levison, Public Affairs, Hubert H. Humphrey Institute
- Richard Leppert, Department of Cultural Studies and Comparative Literature, College of Liberal Arts
- Jean O'Brien, Department of History, College of Liberal Arts
- Michel Sanders, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology, and Biophysics, Medical School
- 2006 recipients of the John Tate Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Advising, to recognize and reward high-quality academic advising:
- Thomas Fitch, Student Services, College of Liberal Arts
- Kathryn A. Jones, Student Services, General College
- Alon McCormick, Chemical Engineering and Materials Sciences, Institute of Technology
- Robert Silberman, Art History, College of Liberal Arts
New Program and Curriculum Approval System (PCAS)
In a major extension of the one-stop service concept, the University developed and in February went live with a new database system, the Program and Curriculum Approval System (PCAS). Among other things, the PCAS system provides a current database of all majors and minors, which will be immediately updatable by colleges as programs change. The University's online catalog will be drawn from this database, so programs will automatically be updated on line as they are changed. PCAS also will be an essential component of the Grad Planner project now under development. Grad Planner will give students the resources to do online web-based planning for their undergraduate programs.
National Searches for Deans are Underway in Two New Collegiate Units
The search committee for the dean of the new College of Education and Human Development is bringing finalist candidates to campus now through early April. Detailed information is available online at http://www.education.umn.edu/employment/dean.html . I convened and charged the search committee for the dean of the new College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences in mid March. Watch the new CFANS web page for more detailed information as this search progresses (http://www.newcollege.umn.edu). Through the transformations and investments described above along with those yet to come, we will actualize our vision of improving the human condition through the advancement of knowledge, and we will progress toward our goal to become one of the top three public research universities in the world. Given the momentous changes ahead, I appreciate your ongoing support and participation as we move forward in this process this spring.
Sincerely,
E. Thomas Sullivan
Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and Provost
Julius E. Davis
Chair in Law
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