Chairwoman Kostelecky, Members of the North Dakota State Board of Higher Education, Faculty, Staff, Students, Alumni, members of the Greater University community, and other friends everywhere,

I am pleased to present this Fall 2005 report on the state of your University of North Dakota. Once again, I’m pleased to have this opportunity to celebrate successes of the past year, and to present the results of a year and a half of strategic planning process in the form of a plan recommitting the University to even greater heights as one of America’s leading Universities.

As we say in the lead-in to the new strategic plan, the best way to predict the future is to invent it (Alan Kay), and, as we all know, the best way to ensure the future that we prefer, is for us to build it. William Jennings Bryan once said that destiny is not a matter of chance, it is a matter of choice. This is another way of expressing a theme that has been our guide for the past number of years; we are prepared and focused on how to meet the future proactively.

I continue to be very proud and honored to serve as President of this great institution, and because of the work of those who came before me, and before you, and all of us here today, we have a tradition of excellence upon which to build. Our whole approach to our strategic future is based on the theme, “Building on Excellence.” I’m going to spend a few moments now talking about the successes of the past several years, and in particular, this past year. What I want to do in this report is speak of how we are poised for the greatness that lies ahead. I want to focus on our future.

As someone once said, the main thing is to make sure that the main thing is the main thing. Here at The University of North Dakota, the main thing is serving students. Although we have some outstanding research programs and some outstanding public service and economic development programs, all of these are secondary to the core mission of serving students. Indeed, because of our continuing emphasis on experiential learning, one of the principal justifications for our research programs, our service programs, and our economic development programs is that they provide students an opportunity to put what they are learning in classrooms into practice – to hone their skills, to develop ethical habits of mind – as part of their education. We need to build on the long-standing tradition of excellence in classrooms and laboratories to give students an ever-richer experience through such things as experiential learning, through service learning, through study-abroad opportunities, and through co-curricular activities that hone leadership and other fundamental skills.

Among the highlights of this year include:

• Jane Goodall, noted primatologist visited the campus and gave a talk on her latest book, Reason for Hope.

• The College of Business & Public Administration neared its goal of $20 million in a vibrant capital campaign, literally allowing us to renovate Gamble Hall from the inside out.

• Credit to the UND spirit that brought us through critical stages of the very stressful implementation of PeopleSoft. The extraordinary effort brought to this extremely difficult task was exemplary, and should make us all proud of the great UND spirit.

• The United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces visited the School of Law and conducted an oral argument session in the Baker Courtroom. The session was led by Law School alum, Chief Judge H.F. “Sparky” Gierke.

• The INPSYDE program, directed by Doug McDonald, led a team of graduate students in providing mental health care to the residents of Red Lake, Minnesota, after the tragic school shootings there.

• Faculty members in Nursing and in Psychology were successful in securing a $4 million grant to build a behavior science research facility. The PI is Dr. Glenda Lindseth, College of Nursing.

• The Energy & Environmental Research Center, together with faculty in the Department of Psychology, collaborated to secure a $500,000 grant to study the effects of pesticide exposure.

• The new food court – Old Main Marketplace – was opened in the Student Union. This project was the result of two years of meetings with campus advisory groups, including students.

• A video claims-taking link was implemented, connecting the Indian Health Service Hospital in Belcourt with the Social Security Administration office in Minot, as a result of a project by the GRO (Government Rural Outreach) program operated jointly by Glenn Miller in the College of Business and Public Administration and Bob Rubeck in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences. It is now providing medical reimbursement or direct support to individuals in the Belcourt community in excess of $1 million during its first 22 months of operation.

• Chuck Kimmerle won the CASE National Photographer of the Year Award for the second straight year.

• The University implemented campus-wide web standards, with nearly every unit on the web now in compliance with a consistent look across the University, providing accessibility for people with disabilities, and with a standard navigation system for all users.

• In the Fall of 2004 the Surface Transportation Road Weather Research Center began instrumenting a road weather field research testing facility. This will eventually support a national system providing information on road surface conditions.

• Student Government launched the first Big Event in April, which was a city-wide service project, involving hundreds of students, with service projects ranging from painting to child-care.

• Funding was awarded by the 3M Company for a project entitled, “Access for American Indian Students for Engineering Education,” designed to increase the number of American Indians enrolled in and graduating from our Engineering programs.

• The School of Engineering & Mines established an Engineering Surfaces Center in September 2005. This unit partners with Alion Science & Technology, studying ways of reducing material wear and corrosion in aircraft parts.

• The Office of Continuing Medical Education and Outreach was granted six years of accreditation with exemplary commendation in six essential areas.

• Dr. Donna Brown was appointed by President Bush to serve on the National Advisory Council on Indian Education. She and her colleagues in the American Indian Student Services program raised over $200,000 to furnish the new American Indian Center on Princeton.

• Sandra Donaldson, Department of English, received a $130,000 grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities to lead an international team of scholars in producing a collection of the complete works of Elizabeth Barrett Browning.

• The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences concluded an agreement with Tokai University to train students from Japan for All Nippon Airlines.

• The Center for People and the Environment of the Northern Great Plains (George Seielstad) concluded a contract with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the U.S. Air Force, whereby the University of North Dakota will operate NASA’s DC-8 suborbital research platform. The contract has a total value of $32 million for the first five years.

• We broke ground for a new $20 million student-funded Wellness Center, which should be completed some time in the middle of 2006. This will be the centerpiece for a comprehensive wellness program for the entire University community.

• In conjunction with an overall move toward prevention in our health care system, and some new laws limiting exposure to second-hand smoke, it is significant that our Department of Community Medicine has acquired the North Dakota Tobacco Quit Line, a service available to all North Dakota citizens free of charge to assist them with smoking cessation. Services are provided in collaboration with the North Dakota Department of Health and the Mayo Clinic.

• New automatic admission standards were implemented with less-than-expected impact on our overall enrollment while measurably raising the overall ACT of our entering class.

• Because of its capital campaign, the School of Business & Public Administration was able to remodel several key areas, including the Eide Bailly Accounting Learning Center and the Kulas-Koppenhaver Memorial Accounting Lab, which opened in the Fall 2004.

• The Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneurship Center, designed by Bruce Gjovig, et al., was completed and opened to the community in late January 2005. Ray Rude, a benefactor of the Center for Innovation, donated $1.75 million toward the $4 million center, and the incubator is named in honor of his wife, Ina Mae. Other funding came from benefactor, James Ray.

• In the Fall of 2004, the Rural Technology Center, which housed the original Center for Innovation, was renamed the Norm Skalicky Tech Incubator. Mr. Skalicky contributed more than $1 million to advance entrepreneurial endeavors at UND.

• UND was named 14th in “The Top 25 Most Highly Entrepreneurial Undergraduate Universities” in the country by Forbes.com and The Princeton Review. UND also was ranked 19th in the country on The Princeton Review’s list of the “25 Most Connected Campuses.”

• The University of Shanghai for Science and Technology initiative of the College of Business & Public Administration continues to strengthen US-China business relations, introducing UND students to expanded international business opportunities. This initiative includes an executive-in-residence program offered by three College of Business & Public Administration alumni.

• Another 14,600 square feet of buildings and facilities were completed and brought online in 2004-05, including the Neurosciences Research Center ($4.5 million), the School of Medicine & Health Sciences Family Practice Center in Minot ($4.3 million), the Ina Mae Rude Entrepreneur Center ($4 million), 34 townhomes on the Bronson Property ($4 million), Suite 49 Restaurant ($2 million), Community National Bank ($1.5 million), mini-mall on the Bronson Property ($1.25 million), University Station ($2 million), and the Betty Engelstad Sioux Center ($7 million), for a total of nearly $30 million. Currently under construction or in progress are a $20 million Wellness Center, and a $500,000 American Indian Center. The Facilities Department also oversaw improvements to 11 buildings, a great increase in the clarity of signage on our campus, and a number of key renovations. It is noteworthy that another $53.2 million in projects are currently on the drawing board.

• The School of Medicine & Health Sciences opened a new Neurosciences Research Building in October 2004. Present for the Dedication were Senator Dorgan, Governor Hoeven, Mayor Brown, and various University officials. The facility, costing about $3 million, is a 14,000 square foot structure housing five researchers, working on significant areas having to do with neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson Disease, Alzheimer’s Disease, Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and Multiple Sclerosis.

• In Athletics, the UND hockey team played for the national title, losing to Denver, and also played in the semi-final championship game in football. The composite GPA for all scholarship athletes was above 3.0. Again, 26 players recognized as first, second, or third team All-Americans. The hockey team competed for the national title for the 12th time, having won 7 of the 12. The athletic programs at UND continue to be one of the classiest, most successful by every measure, intercollegiate athletic programs in the country.

• The University of North Dakota’s Center for Conflict Resolution joined forces with Hofstra University’s School of Law, Temple University, and James Madison University to create a consortium designed to support the work of the Institute for the Study of Conflict Transformation. The partnership and the consortium’s formation was announced in May 2005.

• The University continues to be a leader in North Dakota regionally and internationally in the delivery of off-campus degree programs. UND currently offers 24 degree programs and certificates at a distance. In FY05 the division had over 20,000 enrollments through distance degree programs, workforce development, conferences, certificate programs, correspondence, and online studies, as well as extension.

• Student interns with Studio One, the University of North Dakota’s television show, won a record-breaking 54 awards in FY05. (Barry Brode)

• Workforce Development partnered with the North Dakota Department of Health to create and operate a worksite wellness resource center for the State of North Dakota.

• The Center for Rural Health at UND hosted a series of North Dakota state and tribal health policy forums on suicide prevention. The Center’s “National Needs Assessment of Native American Elders” project worked with 347 of the 562 tribes in the United States this past year, surveying the health status of more than 11,000 American Indian elders nationwide.

• The Registrar’s Office maintained over 750 articulation agreements with two-year schools throughout a wide region of the Upper Midwest while initiating another 75 new agreements and continuing to provide reports and information to the campus.

• The United Tribes Technical College and the University of North Dakota were awarded a joint $1.07 million grant intended to increase the number of American Indian special educators in North Dakota.

• UND’s Department of Teaching & Learning is delivering face-to-face courses at Fort Berthold Community College whereby students can earn a Master of Science in Early Childhood Education. The program is administered through UND’s Division of Continuing Education.

• The Graduate School enrolled a record 2,045 students this past year, exceeding the Strategic Plan goal by nearly 400 students.

• The Indians Into Medicine program continues to encourage American Indians to enter health care careers and prepare for practice in underserved Indian communities. The INMED program offers academic and personal support to 150 students on the UND campus last year. In addition, it conducted college transitional and pre-medical programs during the summer.

• The Energy & Environmental Research Center, Gerry Groenewold, director, was designated the National Center for Hydrogen Technology, with a $3 million award.

• The UND School of Medicine & Health Sciences was again ranked in the top three in the nation for accomplishments in rural health by US News and World Report. The School of Medicine was also included in a study commissioned by the Carnegie Foundation to study medical education models for the 21st Century. UND’s school was the only community-based medical school chosen for the study.

• Michael Blake and the UND Jazz Ensemble performed once again at the prestigious Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland in July 2005.

• The College of Nursing received a three-year federal grant of nearly $600,000 to augment the ongoing RAIN program, providing for recruitment and retention efforts directed toward American Indian students in nursing.

• College of Nursing faculty member, Dr. Cindy Anderson, is doing research using laboratory space at the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center through a cooperative agreement between UND and the Human Nutrition Research Center.

• Each of the colleges of UND was provided funding to name a development professional to help spearhead the college’s private fund-raising efforts.

• The University’s Theatre Department had successful productions of “All’s Well That Ends Well,” “Metamorphosis,” and “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man in the Moon Marigolds.”

• The Chester Fritz Library continues as the largest library in the state, holding over 1.3 million volumes. The Library supports the State of North Dakota’s depository for patents and trademarks.

• UND employed a consultant to study the construction of a new parking structure on the UND campus. It appears this will be built on the site of the parking lot east of Swanson Hall, currently in planning stages.

• Christina Brown, a third-year medical student at UND, has been named an American Medical Association (AMA) Foundation Minority Scholar. She is one of only ten medical students in the country to receive the award. The award is given in recognition of her excellence as a medical student and outstanding promise for a future career in medicine.

• Dr. Mary Wakefield, director of the Center for Rural Health at the UND School of Medicine and Health Sciences, was elected to the Institute of Medicine (IOM) of the National Academies. Dr. Wakefield is the only member of the IOM in North Dakota.

• Senators Byron Dorgan and Kent Conrad and Congressman Earl Pomeroy announced that the University of North Dakota’s Health Careers Opportunity Program (HCOP) has received a $612,404 federal grant to support the training of American Indian health care professionals. The grant will support several programs that help identify, recruit and retain aspiring health care professionals in tribal communities. With test preparation courses, summer classes and other programs, HCOP’s goal is to foster American Indian medical professionals who will take their expertise home to serve the health care needs of tribal communities across America.

Some other notable achievements of the past year. Here again, I would hasten to point out that time and space will not allow me to present all of the many accomplishments of this past year. These represent but a small sample.

• “Writing nights” was initiated by Paul Boswell in the new Native Media Center.

• The Journal of Native Aging and Health, which publishes the latest information on Native aging and health, was launched as a collaborative effort by the School of Medicine, the School of Communication, the Center for Rural Health, and the National Resource Center on Native Aging. Pamela Kalbfleisch serves as editor.

• The Northern Plains Indian Law Center hosted a symposium on tribal economic development in April.

• Two of our faculty testified before Congress on the regulation of Indian gaming: Professor Kathryn R.L. Rand, School of Law, and Steven Light, College of Business & Public Administration. Their book, Indian Gaming and Tribal Sovereignty: The Casino Compromise, was published in September.

• Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, at the School of Medicine and Health Sciences, focuses on the prevention of health risk behaviors in youth including tobacco use, sedentary lifestyle, poor nutrition, and alcohol/other drug use. The Center also provides clinic- and worksite-based health promotion programs and training for healthcare providers in behavior change strategies.

• Dining services received two Loyal E. Horton Gold Awards from the National Association of College & University Food Services, for outstanding service in residential dining. UND was selected from more than 180 entries from colleges and universities across the nation.

• Housing has taken initial steps toward addressing need for new campus housing with the preparation of a master plan.

• The University of North Dakota School of Medicine and Health Sciences has provided a state-of-the-art retinal imaging system to the Spirit Lake Clinic Indian Health Services, which will allow local staff members and volunteers to conduct early preventive community-based screening of retinopathy associated with diabetes.

• The School of Medicine and Health Sciences has made available to Indian Health Services in Belcourt special radiology services, available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, that enable x-rays to be read at a distance.

• Student Government sponsored a new campus-wide collegiate leadership program, whereby students have access to free copies of USA Today, the Star Tribune, and the Grand Forks Herald daily in residence halls and other locations.

• The Distance Engineering Degree Program in our School of Engineering and Mines, remains the only accredited undergraduate engineering distance program in the US, and its student numbers have increased by 50 percent this fall with enrollment of 70 new students.

• George Bibel, Professor of Mechanical Engineering, received a contract by the Johns Hopkins University Press to write a book entitled, “Beyond the Black Box: The Physics of Airplane Crashes.”

• A student group of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers successfully hosted the Regional Student Conference of the ASME, attended by participants from 20 universities in seven states.

• A student group, Society for Energy Alternatives, led in fielding North America’s first ultra-light and ultra-aerodynamic hydrogen powered fuel cell car, completing a 2,600 mile North American solar challenge. This one-of-a-kind hydrogen powered fuel cell car, competed in the race as a demonstration vehicle.

• The faculty in the Department of Chemical Engineering submitted 165 research proposals during the past year, with a combined value of approximately $27 million. In the same year, that faculty combined for a total of 45 articles in refereed journals.

• The Office of Continuing Medical Education and Outreach in the School of Medicine and Health Sciences developed and delivered the course, Medicine 100 – Intro to Health Professions, via the Internet, throughout the UND campus and 26 high schools in North Dakota. 142 students participated in the initial offering in the Spring 2005.

• Five UND students, Aaron Aamold, Patrick Ayd, Kathryn Crosby, Lisa Hedelson, and David Lannoye, participated in the Army High Performance Computing Research Center Undergraduate Summer Institute in Minneapolis. This program provides training and hands-on experience in the use of high performance computing and prepares those who choose to pursue graduate studies in technology areas dependent on high performance computing.

• 6,800 students were served through personal/academic counseling, testing, educational programs, psychiatric, and outreach services by the UND Counseling Center.

• Student Health Services conducted over 30,000 patient encounters at an extraordinary high customer-satisfaction rate. Congratulations, Alan Allery and Student Health Services staff.

• The Center for Community Engagement is now one year old. It was launched last fall to link academic resources with community needs. Lana Rakow serves as its Director.

• Wayne Swisher, Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, was elected to the Council on Academic Affairs of the American Speech, Language, and Hearing Association. Mary Jo Schill is serving her second year as an ASLHA Vice President.

• Dr. Tim Young joined Dr. Ron Marsh and others on an expedition to India in 2004 to observe and broadcast live on the internet the transient of Venus across the visible disc of the sun. They also traveled to Panama and, just this month, to Madrid, Spain, to webcast eclipses.

• The John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences began conversion of its aircraft fleet to the “all glass cockpit.” The school also obtained FAA funding for research to study unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

• As part of their first-year experience, 500 new freshmen were enrolled this fall in an Introduction to University Life course.

• The College of Business & Public Administration Small Business Development Center continues to provide one-on-one consulting service to small businesses across the state. The Center expanded this year to include more outreach in the southwest area of the state by adding offices in Dickinson and Fort Yates.

• Faculty in the English Department traveled to Italy, England, Bulgaria, Greece, Australia, South Africa, Uruguay, and throughout the United States and Canada, delivering conference papers, scrutinizing archives, consulting with other experts, and leading seminars on topics ranging from rural literacy to Australian Aboriginal Rights to problems in Italian translation.

• Recent English graduate, Rex Sorgatz, was named one of the “people who are changing our minds” by Wired magazine. He was a finalist in the “Blogger-of-the-Year” designation.

• Professor Robert Lewis, Department of English, served as editor of the “Under Kilimanjaro,” one of Ernest Hemingway’s previous unpublished manuscripts.

• Professor Heidi Sczerwiec, Department of English, was nominated for the coveted Pushcart Prize for Poets.

• The University’s English Department hosted another superb Writers Conference in a long series of successful conferences.

• Professor Thomas Gilsdorf, Department of Math, continues as the world’s leading authority on mathematics of the indigenous peoples of Central and South America.

• Dr. Juana Moreno, Department of Physics, won a Ralph E. Powe Junior Faculty Enhancement Award given by Oak Ridge Associated Universities.

• The Center for Rural Health is taking the lead role in assisting the North Dakota Department of Health in studying the burden of cancer upon North Dakotans. UND’s Dr. Mary Wakefield served as chair of the committee that wrote the Institute of Medicine’s report, “Quality Through Collaboration: The Future of Rural Health.” This report recommends steps that should be taken to ensure that the 20 percent of Americans living in rural communities are not left behind in the movement to improve the quality and safety of health care delivery in the US.

• Randall Bowden, a faculty member new to the Department of Teaching & Learning, is co-founder of The Journal of Hispanic Higher Education, now housed at UND.

• UND’s Department of Teaching & Learning has 104 students enrolled in its doctoral program.

• The Graduate School held its fourth Scholarly Forum, featuring Stanley Maloy, Director of the Center for Microbial Sciences and Director of the San Diego State University Center for Applied and Experimental Genomics.

• Al Berger, History Department, was elected as Director of the Grand Forks County State Historical Society.

• Jim Mochoruk, History Department, was awarded the Manitoba Historical Society’s “Margaret McWilliams Award for Best Scholarly Book, Formidable Heritage: Manitoba’s North and the Cost of Development 1870-1930, published in 2004.

• Kim Porter, History Department, was appointed editor of the journal, Oral History Review.

• The College of Nursing initiated the Nurse Educators Specialization in its Master’s program.

• The College of Nursing admitted its third class of eight doctoral students this past year.

• Jim Williams, Theatre Department, presented two papers and chaired two panels at the Mid-America Theatre Conference.

• The Chester Fritz Library participates in a special international program, “American Centers and Corners Libraries in Russia.”

• Ridership on the campus shuttle system reached record highs last year, with a fourth route added to accommodate this service need.

• Officer Tom Brockling, UND Police Department, teaches a cultural diversity course at the Law Enforcement Academy for new officers.

Although we have raised tuition considerably over the past few years, the University’s tuition continues to be competitive, ranking below the average for public universities of our caliber in the United States. We continue to bring the taxpayers of North Dakota, and to students, a great return on the dollars they invest in education. The long-term financing plan set in place several years ago continues to show that the University operates at the level of about 57% of the level of dollars derived from tuition and state appropriation per student, received, on the average, by the set of peer institutions established for us by the State Board of Higher Education. A new study is under way now, supported by a Legislative Council mandate, with an external consultant reviewing and updating this long-term financing plan. The University of North Dakota, in terms of such rating agencies as the US News & World Report, ranks right along with institutions that have nearly twice as many dollars, per student, to spend.

Our new strategic plan will move the University up several notches in our effort to raise private funding. Each Dean has already been given the resources to establish a Development Officer within their respective colleges. We’ve offered training opportunities for both Deans and Department Chairs from throughout the University. We are now working with the University of North Dakota Foundation to set in motion a capital campaign in conjunction with the 125th Anniversary of the University in 2008. It is imperative that we do all that is possible to keep the cost of tuition down, since one of our main strategic interests is in providing access to high quality education.

We have reached a point in history where state appropriations to the University amount to little more than 20% of our total budget. While this appropriated money is now but a fraction of the total budget of the University – now in excess of $300 million a year – these dollars tend to be among the first in, and thus make possible what it takes the University to do to bring in other revenue. Much of the future we describe in our strategic plan is contingent on additional state support and private funding that will allow us to add faculty, who in turn bring in the sponsored program dollars, attract students, and develop additional needed academic programs.

There will, no doubt, be the usual eclectic array of challenges in the year ahead. Some will be “carry-over” challenges; others will be new.

PeopleSoft –

We will continue to struggle with full implementation of PeopleSoft this year. Those on the front-lines will continue to need the patience and support of all members of the campus community.

Sioux Nickname and Logo –

The University is dealing with the NCAA’s decision to label the use of the nickname, Fighting Sioux, hostile and abusive. A policy announced in the Fall of 2005 would penalize UND athletes by taking away their home field/court advantage in postseason play. This coupled with the State Board of Higher Education ruling in 2000 that UND shall use both the nickname and the logo leaves the University little choice but to contest the action. When our first-stage appeal was denied by the NCAA, the following statement was issued:

Obviously, we do not agree with the decision, and we will continue to press our case through all of the levels of review and beyond as necessary. Because of the harshness of the words “hostile” and “abusive” we have no choice but to pursue an appeal and prove, in a court of law if necessary, that this choice of words was inappropriate, and in no way describes what we do here at the University of North Dakota.

It is not at all obvious to us why the NCAA finds the nicknames “Chippewas,” “Seminoles,” and “Utes,” worthy of exceptions, but somehow “Sioux” is deemed hostile and abusive. We must press our case, because to let the charge of hostile and abusive stand would have a chilling effect to prospective faculty, staff, and most importantly, prospective American Indian students we are here to serve. Even those here opposed to the use of the nickname on campus recognize that UND offers perhaps the best opportunity for many American Indian students to get an education. I would also note, that the schools exempted thus far have been exempted on the basis of a “special relationship” with American Indian tribes, yet our proportionate number of American Indian students and the number of substantive programs in support of American Indian students exceeds that of all of the exempted schools combined.

Although the issue at hand, currently, has been framed (poorly, arbitrarily, and inconsistently) by – and is thus with – the NCAA, the University will also continue to work with the tribes and others who oppose the use of the nickname to find a resolution of the issue on the “local” level, where it belongs. I ask that the ongoing discourse be civil, thoughtful, and respectful of opposing points of view. It would be helpful if every utterance of the type begin with the acknowledgement that there are good, well-meaning and thoughtful people with ideas worth considering on their other side. I have been dismayed that the NCAA’s no doubt well-intentioned, action has provoked more heat than light and has brought more of an edge to the ongoing discourse.

I would now like to turn to a consideration of our future and how we will go about building on the excellence that is the University of North Dakota. What follows here are a series of excerpts from our new Strategic Plan, “Building on Excellence.”

A. Prepare students to lead rich, full lives, to enjoy productive careers, and to make meaningful contributions to society by providing them with a high-quality educational experience solidly grounded in the liberal arts.

The University must increase the appreciation for and understanding of the value of a liberal arts education throughout the campus and region. Professional programs of study in all of our majors will be fully integrated with the general education program so that the common attributes of educated persons are reinforced throughout all curricula. As an integral part of the University curriculum, UND must provide all students with opportunities to apply the values and skills of their ongoing education. Faculty will monitor, modify, and perfect the curriculum to ensure that it is focused on essential knowledge and skills needed to prepare students to be educated professionals and engaged, productive citizens. At both the graduate and undergraduate levels, the University will continue to develop new programs and to refine existing programs to meet the needs of its students, the state, the region, and the nation. Professional programs in medicine, law, and other areas will continue to distinguish UND as a flagship university.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Strengthen UND’s general education program based on assessment data and best practices, and review number of credits required, implementing key recommendations of the general education longitudinal study.

• Effectively assess student learning outcomes in every department, and ask all departments to demonstrate the use of student learning outcome assessments in guiding continual program improvement.

• Increase international student enrollment to 5 percent of student population and increase study-abroad participation to 4 percent of student population.

• Continue to consider optimal NCAA classification positioning for UND through the establishment of a task force to explore (a) strategies for influencing the improvement of the NCAA classification system, e.g., extending the opportunity for schools to split Division I and Division II levels of different sports as is now done in hockey, and (b) the rationale, stakeholder interest, opportunity, and financial means of moving all UND athletic programs to the Division I level as currently organized.

We have identified the key quality indicators that will indicate that we have, in fact, successfully addressed this priority action area and all those to follow.

B. Expand and strengthen the University’s commitment to research and creative activity, both as a means of enriching the learning environment and as a driver for economic development.

The University of North Dakota serves the state, nation, and the world as an institution within the highest echelons of research. UND intends to expand research and creative activity by increasing its graduate program offerings and sponsored research base. The University will fully integrate its creative enterprises into its teaching and learning strategies so they become part of the process by which both undergraduate and graduate students learn. All faculty members will be involved in research and creative activity and will thus serve as models of lifelong learning for students. The University will pursue areas of applied research that enhance the economic growth and development of North Dakota and the Upper Midwest.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Identify three to five candidate Centers of Excellence for Economic Development and submit proposals to the new Commission, totaling $7 million to $10 million.

• Identify strategic areas for interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary collaboration as part of a general expansion of the University’s “Centers of Excellence.”

• Establish and support a Research Foundation dedicated to commercializing intellectual property derived from academic departments and assigned to the University.

C. Serve the people of North Dakota and the world more effectively through applied and basic research, cultural programs, and economic development programs as well as through a comprehensive array of educational offerings.

The University of North Dakota is built on a tradition of service to the public. UND’s objective is to address the educational, social, and economic needs of the citizens. There is clearly a need for educational offerings at all levels, graduate and undergraduate, at sites other than the main campus and at times other than prime time. The University must offer evening and weekend programs at the undergraduate level. Moreover, partnerships with other educational institutions and organizations are vital in bringing the intellectual resources of the University to bear on the economic, social, cultural, and other needs of the nation and the world.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Offer at least 20 undergraduate degree programs by 2007 in the evening or on weekends.

• Increase summer program activity over the next three to five years to a level equal to at least half of all school-year numbers served.

• Provide a central access point for public service inquiries, facilitating the brokering of connections between regional needs and University expertise.

• Develop a comprehensive plan to guide future development of American Indian programs based on an overall assessment of existing programs, a review of other benchmark institutions, and external input.

D. Sustain a positive campus climate for living and learning.

The University of North Dakota will be a place of which people are proud and where they are eager to come every day to work and to learn. UND must model the values it desires to instill in its students.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Review how academic advising is done at UND, considering alternatives to current practice.

• Continue to refine a wellness program for the campus community; complete construction of the Wellness Center by FY06.

• Continue to modernize and upgrade all campus signage to make the campus more user-friendly.

• Consider construction of one or more parking garages and otherwise continue to include the needs of campus visitors when expanding and modernizing UND parking.

• Recruit nationally recognized faculty by finding support for endowed chairs and endowed distinguished professorships, and celebrate more publicly the work and ideas of faculty.

• Ask each unit to enhance its own diversity plan and otherwise develop more inclusive and targeted recruitment processes to increase diversity in administration, staff, and faculty.

• Create new means of promoting interaction among faculty, staff and students beyond the work place and the classroom.

E. Optimize and stabilize enrollment to achieve the desired number and mix of students appropriate to the University’s mission.

The University must establish an optimal size and composition for its student body in order to find ways to serve nontraditional, place-bound and underrepresented students. To facilitate the success of this endeavor, UND has established appropriate recruitment, retention and completion goals. The University welcomes students from throughout the nation and the world as a means of globalizing the educational experience for all students.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Identify target states for recruiting based on criteria such as supply of students, potential for out-migration, tuition agreements, and historical enrollments (e.g., Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Illinois, Oregon, Washington and Nevada).

• Develop new, more proactive strategies to maximize prospective student referrals from alumni.

• Ensure that an integrated marketing communications approach is taken to maintain quality and consistency in marketing the University to prospective students and families and others who influence them.

• Review the entire scholarship program for effectiveness as an enrollment management tool.

F. Optimize the use of information technology to improve student learning, research, and the administration of the University.

The campus must have up-to-date equipment and resources in the area of information technology. Technology can enhance student learning by providing additional opportunities for interactive learning and greater access to higher education. Distance learning technology will serve to eliminate geographic boundaries. UND will play an ongoing leadership role in developing and applying the optimal use of technological applications in learning and research, and in operational efficiency.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Implement the third and fourth years of the campus network plan for on-campus gigabit networking and wireless implementation.

• Establish a process to review the roles and responsibilities of the Chief Information Officer in relation to central and distributed information technology staff.

G. Take resource development to a new level through an enhanced cooperative approach involving the President, Vice Presidents, Deans, and Chairs in concert with the UND Foundation and other foundations, while building greater public understanding and support of the University’s mission, distinctive qualities, and strategic agenda.

Historically, the UND Foundation has focused on alumni. Although this approach has been quite successful, the fact is that throughout all of higher education, alumni provide less than 40 percent of all private giving. This points to the need to move to additional, alternative avenues of private support. Underscoring the potential of doing so is the fact that some of the University’s largest gifts from individuals have come from non-alumni. To enhance the University’s revenue stream, the University must enable and empower Deans, Department Chairs, faculty, and others to become involved in seeking private support from individuals, private foundations, corporations, and corporate foundations.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Create a development advisory council made up of the Deans, the Provost, and representatives of the UND Alumni Association and Foundation by the end of FY05.

• Provide funding to enable each Dean to appoint a development officer and/or otherwise build a support structure for each college.

• Support the UND Alumni Association and Foundation in developing a strategic plan for the Foundation supportive of the University Strategic Plan.

• Reach a target of $13.5 million in annual giving and the mix of annual giving components, i.e., deferred giving, cash contributions, etc., in AY06 with future-year targets. To be set in conjunction with the UND Alumni Association and Foundation.

• Create a senior leadership position in the Office of the President to manage and coordinate communication and marketing on a campus-wide basis.

H. In support of all of the above, ensure that the University has a well-prepared, enthusiastic faculty and staff, first-rate physical facilities, an adequate financial resource base, and an appropriate, efficient organizational structure.

UND will continue to develop the asset that is most fundamental to the success of a great university: a committed and highly qualified faculty and staff. Ways of addressing this challenge will include making and keeping salaries competitive with similar institutions of higher learning, and enhancing UND in other ways to make it an attractive place to which quality faculty and staff can be recruited and retained. The University must also continue to improve the quality of its physical facilities, to organize into an ever more efficient administrative structure, and to develop new sources of financial support and revenue.

Here are some of the things we are going to do specifically in order to address this priority:

• Reach the peer median of the AAUP faculty salary scale by 2010.

• Maintain competitive staff salaries.

• Ascertain that the campus master plan integrates the space needs of university departments with the support requirements provided by operational units.

• Utilize the annual reporting process on an ongoing basis to determine immediate, near-term, and long-term budgetary needs.

We will continue to lay the foundation for an even-more superb institution, as an even brighter beacon on these Northern Plains.
At the heart of our commitment will be a focus on the distinctive mission of the public university, with specific attention to access, affordability, economic advancement, public education, research and scholarship in all its other forms, and citizenship education.

Thanks to all of you for your contribution to the successes we enjoyed this past year. I look forward to our work together in the year ahead.