Chancellor Steinmetz Outlines Vision for University's Future

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Chancellor Joe Steinmetz speaks about the State of the University with faculty, staff and students at the Faulkner Performing Arts Center.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Chancellor Joe Steinmetz capped his annual State of the University address by articulating how he sees the university's vision statement — in the form of 10 actionable steps he wants the university to focus on and move forward in the coming years.

"Not too long ago, we updated our university vision statement to articulate as simply as possible what kind of a university we should be," Chancellor Steinmetz said. "It reads: 'The University of Arkansas represents the best of public higher education, advancing Arkansas while building a better world.' I have been thinking a lot over the last year or so what this general statement means to me in more concrete, actionable terms."

The following is a summarized version of the actionable terms the chancellor outlined.

Chancellor Steinmetz's Vision in 10 Actionable Terms

1. Exceed expected retention and graduation rates
   "We should not be satisfied with simply reaching our expected student retention and graduation rates. We should exceed those rates by at least 5%. This can be accomplished through our continued efforts in enhancing student success — we are on the right course."

2. Innovative academic programs
   "We should be the premier resource in the state for delivering timely and relevant education and skills needed by industry and the workforce in public and private sectors in the state of Arkansas, through the creation of innovative academic programs for our students."

3. Graduate school of choice
   "We should be the graduate school of choice for students seeking to diversify and amplify their educational outcomes by providing graduate students with a background and opportunities to pursue a variety of career paths in addition to traditional academic careers."

4. Increased federal and industry support
   "We should strive to be a top-caliber research institution, among the very best, one that attracts increased funding from federal and private industry sources."

5. Commercialization success
   "We need to generate more success for students and faculty in commercializing their research when that is desired and possible. To do this we must create a campus environment where opportunities are abundant, encouraged, and known, and this activity is recognized and rewarded."

6. Entrepreneurism catalyst
   "We should be a catalyst and significant resource for driving entrepreneurism in the region and in the state through our faculty and our programs by aggressively forging stronger partnerships with the private sector whenever and wherever we can."

7. Faculty experience
   "We should diversify our faculty along every dimension, including previous experience that could benefit our students and our research profile."

8. Inclusion and diversity leadership
   "We should develop leaders and leadership that amplify and promote inclusion and diversity in our campus community, in the region, and in the state — thus making the U of A the premier resource on inclusion and diversity for the public and private sectors."

9. Attract and retain New Arkansans
   "We should stimulate the development of what I want to call New Arkansans. We can do this by attracting and retaining students from outside of the state who then, in partnership with the private sector and along with their Arkansas peers, live, work and play here in Arkansas after they complete their U of A degrees."

10. Nimble and agile university
    "We simply must be a more flexible, nimble, quicker and agile university to be competitive with our peer institutions. We can accomplish this by refining a variety of university processes to become more nimble and responsive to the needs of our campus community and of the world around us."

Chancellor Steinmetz added that the 10 points reflect and encompass the university's Guiding Priorities.

"We should always strive to be better and there is much more we can do to distinguish ourselves as a great university in a country full of outstanding universities," Steinmetz said.

He also mentioned that the lack of adequate research space is "holding us back as an institution."

"The need for new research space is pressing and it's limiting our ability to recruit faculty, secure external funding, conduct pure and applied research, and move discovery to market," Steinmetz said. "So this year, we will begin planning for the construction of a dedicated research building."

The chancellor opened his address by reaffirming that he feels "great about where we currently stand and where we're headed as a university, largely thanks to the efforts of our outstanding faculty and staff."

Samples of the University's Success in the Past Year

• Six-year graduation rate exceeded 66% for the first time
• First-year retention rate exceeded 84% for the first time
• Emergency grant fund established to help students encountering acute financial difficulties due to unforeseen circumstances in their lives
• Additional $5 million committed to increase need-based scholarships to support students from Arkansas, creating more than 1,100 new scholarship awards
• Arkansas Transfer Achievement Scholarship created, enabling students who graduate from UA System two-year colleges with an associate's degree to transfer to our campus and continue to pay the same tuition they paid at their two-year school
• Chancellor's Fund for the Humanities and the Performing Arts created, with $1 million allocated so far
• For the third year, $1 million awarded for new projects from the Chancellor's Collaboration and Innovation Fund
• Progress in building up infrastructure for research and commercialization thanks to the Research and Commercialization grant from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation
  • Created Chancellor's Commercialization Fund, which awarded nearly $500,000 to 14 projects
  • Created Gap Fund, which awared more than $100,000 to four awardees
  • Key positions filled including Vice Chancellor for Economic Development, Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation, Technology Ventures associate director as well as specialists in grant development, research development support, industry relations, budget, and technology
• Three general signature research areas identified:
  • Advancing the Data Revolution
  • Improving Human Health and Community Vibrancy
  • Innovating for a Resilient and Sustainable Future
• University inventions were licensed by three different startups, two of which were faculty-led
• 130 invention disclosures (licensing and patents) is an all-time high
• 47% of invention disclosures included at least one woman on the team, placing Arkansas in the top 20 states for women inventors
• $7.5 million award from the U.S. Department of Defense
• 14 NSF Early Career awards over the past two years (10 from the College of Engineering)
• 29 tenured and tenure track faculty positions added since 2015, bringing the total to 804
• 26 non-tenure track positions added, bringing the total to 388
• Progress on bringing average faculty salaries to that of benchmark institutions, full professor salaries now at 99% of our benchmark median salary; while associate and assistant professor salaries now exceed the benchmark median
• Academic colleges and schools added four new master's and bachelor's degree programs and six new graduate certificate programs last year
• Jumped six spots among public universities in the U.S. News and World Report "Best Colleges 2020" rankings

The State of the University address highlights One University Week, which continues through Oct. 4 and also features an academic update from the provost and other key university news including the introduction of the university's core values, developed through a year-long campus effort, and an update on planning for the university's sesquicentennial. The university will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding in 2021.

About the University of Arkansas: The University of Arkansas provides an internationally competitive education for undergraduate and graduate students in more than 200 academic programs. The university contributes new knowledge, economic development, basic and applied research, and creative activity while also providing service to academic and professional disciplines. The Carnegie Foundation classifies the University of Arkansas among fewer than 3 percent of colleges and universities in America that have the highest level of research activity. U.S. News & World Report ranks the University of Arkansas among its top American public research universities. Founded in 1871, the University of Arkansas comprises 10 colleges and schools and maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio that promotes personal attention and close mentoring.