Members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff colleagues, students, alumni and friends: thank you for attending today’s State-of-the-University address. This event is intended to provide an opportunity for me to assess progress over the past year and present an agenda for the coming year.

Last year, our fall semester began in the worst way imaginable, with a tragedy that changed us all. But out of that experience, out of the healing process, our academic community gathered a new and lasting strength.

That strength was manifest in the performance of our students, faculty and staff over the past year. Simply put, it was unparalleled. Even with that terrible beginning, the University of Arkansas community put its shoulder to the wheel and forged our best year ever. Out of the worst of times came the best of times. Your achievements speak volumes about the strength of our community.

And so today, I come before you with confidence. During my four-year tenure as chancellor, I have seen the University rise to the challenge of emerging as a nationally competitive, student-centered research university. Each year surpasses the previous year, in achievement and recognition. I am confident the University of Arkansas can accomplish anything we want her to accomplish. I am confident the quality and strength of this institution compare favorably with any in the nation. I am confident the noble vision we have set for ourselves is the right vision for the University and for the State of Arkansas. I am confident that the University can be the catalyst needed to transform our State and can be an engine of progress for the world.

Make no mistake: There is much we need to accomplish, much we need to improve, much we need to change. We have no shortage of problems to deal with, no dearth of challenges ahead. But I stand firm in my confidence in this academic community—for I am confident it can do anything it sets out to do. I have confidence in the future of the University of Arkansas. You have given me this confidence through your abilities and accomplishments, your commitment to excellence, your encouragement, and your unflagging determination to "be the difference" for Arkansas.

In preparing these remarks, I recalled what I said in the spring of 1997 following the vote by the University of Arkansas Board of Trustees, naming me chancellor, "The leadership provided by Chancellor Ferritor has produced a solid foundation for us. He had a remarkable tenure as chancellor. The University of Arkansas is positioned well for the 21st Century. As the State’s flagship university, we have a responsibility to provide statewide leadership for higher education. In so doing, we must 'pick up the pace’ and dedicate ourselves to making the University of Arkansas the research university Arkansas needs and deserves."

The successes of the past few years bring to mind Sir Isaac Newton, who said, "We stand on the shoulders of giants." The foundation provided by Chancellor Ferritor resulted in spectacular successes much sooner than would have otherwise occurred.

Spectacular Success

Let me begin by recounting several examples of our success the past year. I hope we continue to celebrate these accomplishments in the new academic year, as well. We need successes to celebrate. As we continue to produce them, we will see appreciation for the University grow across the State. We’ll also see increased expectations for us to do even better. Just as we are the pride of the state in athletics—and are held to national standards of athletic performance—so must we be in academics. We must set our sights much higher—not for reasons of institutional vanity, but because of the substantial benefits that will redound to all Arkansans.

Student Success

That we can compete at the highest levels nationally was demonstrated unequivocally this past year through the success our students had in winning nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships:

. Twenty-eight universities had a Rhodes Scholar. Anna Terry was the tenth in our history and our first since 1985;

. Eight universities (Arizona State, Arkansas, Brown, Princeton, Texas, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and Wheaton College) had both a Rhodes Scholar and a British Marshall Scholar. Megan Ceronsky was our fifth Marshall Scholar;

. Five universities (Arizona State, Arkansas, Brown, Princeton, and Texas) also had at least two National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows. Our NSF Fellows were Laura Fields and Elizabeth Dunn;

. Three universities (Arkansas, Brown, and Princeton) also had at least three Barry Goldwater Scholars. Our Goldwater Scholars were Ben Hood, Erin Scherer, and Matt Whitley;

. Two universities (Arkansas and Brown) also had a Morris Udall Scholar. Our Udall Scholar was David Norris;

. However, thanks to Korienne Barnes, only one university had a Rhodes Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, two National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows, three Barry Goldwater Scholars, a Morris Udall Scholar, and a James Madison Scholar—the University of Arkansas!

. In addition, three UA undergraduates were named Rotary International Scholars—Joy Black, Matthew Ragland, and Patrice Smith.

Of the 12 students I have mentioned, 10 are from Arkansas.

We owe a very special vote of thanks to Dr. Suzanne McCray, director of the Office of Post-Graduate Fellowships. Her commitment to ensuring that University of Arkansas students are prepared to compete for these national honors has made a huge difference in their increasing success. Likewise, exceptional teaching and mentoring by our faculty helped prepare our students to be successful.

We also owe a vote of thanks to the private benefactors who have established scholarships that make it possible for these talented students to attend the University of Arkansas. Consider that, of the 48 undergraduates who received national and state awards this past spring, two are Bodenhamer Fellows, nine are Sturgis Fellows, 22 are Chancellor’s Scholars, and eight are University Scholars.

The University of Arkansas has made significant progress in recruiting high-ability Arkansans. Recent studies found that students who graduate from high school and college in their home state are 10 times more likely to live and work in their home state than someone who leaves the state to attend college elsewhere. It was also found that recruiting students from out-of-state pays dividends—they are 2.5 times more likely to remain in the state where the college is located than high school students who leave the state to attend college elsewhere. Our success in recruiting and graduating talented students from Arkansas high schools will translate into future prosperity for the entire state. Likewise, Arkansas will be the beneficiary as we recruit more high-ability students from other states.

Research Success

Our success in research funding is equally outstanding. For the year ending June 30, the University recorded a 21 percent increase in the monetary value of research awards from all sources. We set an all-time high of $59.2 million in attracting research funds. If you look back two years, the University generated a 43 percent increase in research awards, from $41.5 million to $59.2 million. That is an extraordinary accomplishment—one that has positive implications for the State’s economy.

As we saw in a study by two economists, Dr. Jeffery Collins and Dr. Craig Schulman, from the Sam M. Walton College of Business, every dollar invested in research at Arkansas colleges and universities produces an annual compounded return of 23.2 percent to the State’s economy. This dramatic increase in research capacity is good news not only for the University but also for the State of Arkansas.

The performance of our faculty and staff in winning high-profile research grants has been remarkable. Consider just four examples:

. From the National Science Foundation, a $1.6 million grant to establish the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Sciences, also supported by seven industrial partners. Our thanks to Dr. Derek Sears and his colleagues for their initiative in this exciting new venture for the University.

. From the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a $2.5 million grant for a consortium led by the University of Arkansas to study anti-oxidants in food crops. Our thanks to Dr. Luke Howard and his colleagues for spearheading this effort.

. From the National Science Foundation, a $4.5 million grant to establish the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures. Only three other universities received similar grants: Cal Tech, Penn State, and the University of Virginia. We are grateful to Dr. Greg Salamo and his colleagues for their work on this new front.

. From the National Institutes of Health, a $9.6 million grant to establish the Center for Protein Structure and Function. This center involves the University in the Human Genome Project in a big way. This is the largest competitive grant ever received at the University. We are grateful to Dr. Frank Millett and his colleagues for their outstanding work.

The success of the previous year bodes well for achieving our goal of generating $100 million annually in total research expenditures by 2010, with at least $50 million being federally sponsored. A major factor in the success last year was the appropriation of state funds for matching competitive research grants.

On a final note, I want to pay special tribute to two colleges. The Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food, and Life Sciences saw its external research awards increase 36 percent last year, from $13.8 million to $18.8 million. The J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences saw its external research awards increase 44 percent, from $16.3 million to $23.4 million. Those are spectacular achievements.

In case you wonder why I have devoted so much attention to one leg of our three-legged stool (teaching, research, and outreach) it is because, historically, we have been much stronger in teaching and outreach than in research. For that reason, we have been placing considerable emphasis on making the "research leg" of the stool the same height as the teaching and outreach legs. I am sure most of our faculty are here because of their love for teaching—that is what captured my heart! We will never diminish our emphasis on quality in teaching. And, as a land-grant university, we will never forget our outreach mission. However, because of the role research plays in the New Economy, we needed to "pick up the pace" in scholarly research—and we did!

In addition, through my service on the National Science Board and knowing the emphasis being placed on integrating teaching and research, I understand and appreciate that excellence in research is not the enemy of excellence in teaching; they are opposite sides of the same coin. As I have noted previously, research is to teaching what a spring is to a lake—research makes teaching come alive and prevents teaching from becoming stagnant. Provost Smith, the vice chancellors, deans, and I are of one mind and one accord regarding the need for the University of Arkansas to be nationally competitive in all three dimensions of our mission (teaching, research, and outreach).

Additional Success

In addition, I want to offer a number of other congratulations for nationally competitive achievements this past year:

. The College of Education and Health Professions received a first place award in the American Teacher Education Conference's 2001 Distinguished Program in Teaching Education competition for its Master of Arts in Teaching program.

. The Sam M. Walton College of Business moved from a tie for 48th place to a tie for 36th place among the nation's top public undergraduate business schools, according to U.S. News and World Report's 2001 college rankings.

. The School of Law moved into the second tier of the nation's law schools in U.S. News & World Report's 2001 rankings of graduate and professional schools.

. The Office of University Relations won the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's top prize-a silver medal-in the 2001 Circle of Excellence's "overall institutional relations" competition.

. An associate professor of landscape architecture in the School of Architecture was recently named a Fellow of the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA). What makes this particularly noteworthy is that Professor Judy Byrd Brittenum is only the second Arkansan to earn this prestigious national distinction.

. Among the numerous student successes this past year, I want to bring to your attention those of Ramone Washington, an extraordinary sophomore computer science and computer engineering major. Ramone received three awards from the National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) for academic achievement: NSBE Fellow; the Dupont Academic Excellence Award; and NSBE torchbearer. As a freshman, Ramone placed in the top eight long jumpers in the country and was named an All-American. Remember his name, you will be hearing it many times in the future.

There were numerous other student, staff, and faculty successes this past year meriting mention. However, time does not permit listing them all. From those cited, I am sure you will agree that the past year was filled with impressive performances across the board.

Vision and Goals

Most of you are familiar with our vision of emerging as a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world. That vision is being realized through the pursuit of five goals.

The first of these is to strengthen academic quality and reputation by developing and enhancing programs of excellence in teaching, research and service. You just heard what our students, staff, and faculty have done to advance the University’s quality and reputation in teaching and research. I am proud of the increased level of achievement our students and faculty are reaching every year. I am equally proud of our fine staff who day-in and day-out work hard to create the environment in which our students and faculty can thrive.

Our second goal is to increase the size and quality of our student body. The third goal is to improve the diversity of our faculty, staff, and students. The fourth goal is to generate increased private gift support. The fifth is to generate increased state and federal support.

In late June, the deans, the vice chancellors and I examined our progress and looked ahead in these five vital areas. I would like to touch on each area briefly, in retrospect and in prospect, incorporating the thinking that came out of that session.

GOAL #1: Strengthen Academic Quality and Reputation by Developing and Enhancing Programs of Excellence in Teaching, Research, and Service

Over the past few years, I have said that the quality of the University of Arkansas is one of the best-kept secrets in the nation but, even more so, across the State. Over the last year or two, however, I see increasing evidence this is changing. The University is achieving increased recognition nationally, internationally, and in Arkansas. Our visibility is growing. University researchers are featured frequently in the nation’s news media, and college guidebooks are paying more attention to us.

This past year, the venerable Fiske Guide to Colleges, the oldest and one of the most prestigious college guides, raised our academic quality rating from two to three stars on a five-star scale. Just the mere inclusion in this guide, along with 294 other colleges and universities, puts the University of Arkansas into the top eight percent of the nation’s 4,000 institutions of higher learning. A number of other very strong academic institutions have 3-star ratings. While it is good to see that Fiske has upgraded our academic quality rating, I think you would agree that we should strive to obtain a 4-star rating.

You might wonder why I consider national rankings by national news media worth mentioning in a State-of-the-University address. Imperfect and flawed they may be, but they shape people’s views regarding us—they help establish our reputation with prospective students and their parents, plus research sponsors, benefactors, and prospective faculty and staff.

Our reputation is extremely important. In fact, I would argue that it is our most important asset. But we must always remember that reputation is an outgrowth of academic quality. Accordingly, we must evaluate continuously the quality of our programs and do what we must to improve them—to keep them nationally competitive. No matter how strong an academic program is, it can always be stronger.

This year, under the leadership of Provost Bob Smith, we will embark upon a review of all of the doctoral programs that were approved prior to 1997. Working with program or departmental faculty, the academic deans, and the dean of the Graduate School, Provost Smith aims to complete these reviews and submit our materials to ADHE by next summer. Currently, the University has 34 doctoral programs, 28 of which were operational before 1997.

Although the doctoral program review was mandated by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education, we will use this as an opportunity to identify ways to make our programs even stronger. (The review of doctoral programs comes in the context of a three-year statewide moratorium on new doctoral programs.)

In addition, the Board of Trustees has mandated an efficiency study of all academic and administrative units across the University. We began the process last year. Again, Provost Smith is leading the effort to assess the effectiveness and efficiency of our academic programs, considering such factors as degrees awarded per full-time equivalent faculty member, credit hours taught per full-time equivalent faculty member, cost per credit hour taught, external support per full-time equivalent faculty member, uniqueness in the State of each degree program, how central each degree program is to the dual mission of being the state’s comprehensive research university and being a land-grant university, and quality characteristics of each program.

GOAL #2: Increase the Size and Quality of Our Student Body

The University of Arkansas has made impressive strides in strengthening the quality of the student body. Between 1997 and 2000, freshmen ACT scores rose from 23.5 to 24.8. High school grade point averages went from 3.40 to 3.52. And the percentage of new freshmen graduating in the upper ten percent of their high school class increased from 28 percent to nearly 33 percent. As noted earlier, our best students are fully competitive with the nation’s best students.

But we have serious work to do in terms of growing our student body and, by extension, growing our university.

We have made incremental increases in the size of our student population. From 1997 to 2000, we grew 4.5 percent, from 14,740 to 15,396. But our goal is to increase to 22,500 by 2010. At the present rate of increase, about 1.5 percent per year, we will not achieve our goal.

Recruitment and retention of our students must be "Job One" for everyone at the University. Of all the areas the Board of Trustees is watching, the most important is enrollment. If we do not show significant growth, many of the things we want to do to strengthen the University will not be available to us.

The most obvious area for growth is the recruitment of new students, new freshmen, to the University—from Arkansas and outside Arkansas. A tough fact we must face is that, despite national rankings of Arkansas’ K-12 education system, there is an adequate supply of Arkansas students who are fully capable of graduating from the University of Arkansas. But, we are not recruiting near enough of them.

A less obvious but equally important area for enrollment growth is recruiting graduates of the State’s many community colleges—an increasing number of which are joining the University of Arkansas system. We have a built-in market that we must reach.

The third, and most important, dimension of enrollment growth is increased retention of our students. Again, we have made incremental progress over the last three years. Freshman-year retention has improved from 73.2 percent to 81.7 percent. Our six-year graduation rate has improved from a dismal 41.8 percent to a still-dismal 45.1 percent. But our goal for 2010 is a six-year graduation rate of 66 percent—more than 20 points better than where we are now. The 66 percent six-year graduation rate is not particularly ambitious. It would place us just above the median rate for the 54 public research universities we benchmark against—the set of universities within which we currently rank last in graduation rate. Of greater concern, the quality of our entering freshmen—as represented by average ACT scores, high school grade point averages, and fraction in the top 10 percent of their high school graduating classes—is already above the median of the 54 public research universities.

The University of Arkansas has directed considerable attention, statewide, on retention and graduation rates. As bad as our graduation rate is, it is still the best among the State’s public colleges and universities. So this is truly an issue of statewide concern.

The Division of Student Affairs worked on retention this past year. It put in place the new Freshmen Year Experience, intended to bond new students more closely to the University. The Division also organized a statewide conference on retention. We will be interested in seeing how the inaugural year of the Freshman Year Experience impacted retention at the University.

The Relationship of Growth and Quality

At this point, it is worth saying that the University of Arkansas is not interested in growing for growth’s sake. Instead, enrollment growth must be viewed as the means to larger ends.

For example, achieving our enrollment goals will have a dramatic impact on our diversity goals. As we cast a wider net in recruitment and do a better job of retention, we will be looking to attract many more students of color to the University and graduating them. Again, we have made incremental increases in our minority student populations, which last fall stood at 1,907. But our goal by 2010 is more than double that number. We want at least 4,000 minority students enrolled at the University of Arkansas before 2010, if possible.

Enrollment growth also will generate more income for the University. The 2010 Commission measured the gap between us and several of our peer institutions. It concluded that $188.1 million must be added to our base budget from a combination of increased state support and tuition revenue. If we achieve our goal of 22,500 enrolled by 2010 and sustain modest five percent tuition increases annually, $88.1 million in new monies will result from the enrollment increases. The balance of $100 million needs to come from increases in state support; although that is a lot of money, it requires that the state sustain slightly larger percent increases than it provided over the 15-year period from FY 1985 through FY 2000.

Enrollment growth, in conjunction with growth in state appropriation, private gift support, and research, will provide the funds essential for the University to move into the upper ranks of the nation’s public research universities. The increased funding stream provided by enrollment growth will make possible the many qualitative gains we want to see in our academic programs, as well as the corollary increases in faculty and support staff.

But the major reason we need to grow our student population, at both the undergraduate and graduate level, is that we need to be doing a much better job of producing men and women with baccalaureate and advanced degrees. Our total degree production last year was 2,846. We need to award more than 5,000 degrees per year.

Why must we do so? To compete in the New Economy—an economy based on knowledge and advanced technology—Arkansas desperately needs more men and women with baccalaureate and advanced degrees. Earlier this year, the Milken Institute released a report that assessed each state’s preparedness for success in the New Economy. Among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Arkansas ranked:

. 50th in percent of population 25 years and older with bachelor’s or higher degree;

. 50th in percent of population 25 years and older with an advanced degree; and

. 51st in percent of population 25 years and older with a doctorate in science and engineering.

Also, the University of Arkansas needs to achieve greater efficiencies and economies of scale. For example, during the 1996-97 academic year, the University had 231 degree programs—this ranked us 1st among the 54 benchmark universities in the number of degree programs per 100 students with a ratio of 1.55. (Since that time, the number of degree programs has been reduced and our ratio is 1.25.) I have committed to the Board of Trustees to bring our ratio to a value of 1.05 by 2005 and 0.85 by 2010. When questioned by a Trustee as to how we would effect this improvement, I said we would grow enrollment. In answer to the follow-up question of what we would do if we did not grow, I indicated we would eliminate degree programs that were not producing an adequate number of graduates.

The University must either grow in enrollments to increase institutional efficiency or reduce the number of degree programs. The former is our preferred approach. The latter approach would negatively impact the University’s land-grant and state university missions.

Lest anyone wonder, we should be very clear about one point. We will not attempt to grow by lowering standards. To the contrary, placing a premium on quality in higher education is the best way to grow.

The point is this: size and quality are closely intertwined at the University of Arkansas. Enrollment growth will make possible the realization of other institutional goals. Increasing the size of the University and improving the quality of its academic programs are not mutually exclusive propositions; rather, they are complementary.

GOAL #3: Increase the Diversity of Our Faculty, Staff, and Students

Here, too, there has been progress. We continue to make key appointments of African Americans at the highest levels of our administrative and academic units. Indeed, 40 percent of the African American faculty at the University have been hired in the last three years. And freshman-year retention for our African American students improved dramatically—to 86 percent last year, which is four points higher than that of the freshman class as a whole.

Despite these gains, progress toward achieving our diversity goal has been disappointing. There are pockets of impressive progress across the University, particularly in the Sam M. Walton College of Business, but progress on the whole is uneven at best. It is in diversity that we really need to pick up the pace.

The Diversity Task Force under the leadership of Dr. Anne O’Leary-Kelly has been hard at work this past year, and I want to thank them for their commitment to this crucial effort. Later this year, the Task Force will present the results of its campus climate surveys as well as its report and recommendations for improving diversity across the campus.

At a conference this summer, I was privileged to hear Governor Mike Huckabee speak on the subject of diversity. He noted the rapid influx of Latinos and Hispanics to Arkansas. Referring to African Americans, Governor Huckabee said that there is no way to excuse what the South did. The seeds we sowed in the past—slavery and Jim Crow—have grown into the bitter harvest we are still dealing with as a society today. The Governor said that God is giving us a second chance with the new Hispanic migration, and that we dare not blow the opportunity to bring them into full and equal membership this time. While we need to rectify our past sins regarding African Americans, he added, we need to be especially careful that we not sow the seeds for another bitter harvest in the way we treat our new Latino and Hispanic neighbors.

I believe the Governor’s words are guideposts for the University of Arkansas. We must do a better job of attracting African Americans to their own state and land-grant university in proportion to their numbers across Arkansas. And being at the epicenter of the Hispanic migration here in Northwest Arkansas, we must look for ways to engage them with everything the University has to offer.

GOAL #4: Increase Private Support

If I had to pick the one area in which the University has been most successful, it would be private gift support. On June 30, we recorded our third best fund-raising year ever with $62.3 million in private gifts. I must add that this number excludes unpaid pledges and includes only those dollars that the University actually received last year.

Of this total, $44.3 million was for academic programs and academic support programs. In addition, $18 million was in support of men’s and women’s athletics.

This year followed on the heels of $98.1 million raised in fiscal year 1999 and $83.2 million raised in fiscal year 2000.

The outpouring of private gift support allows us to compete with the nation’s best universities. Private gifts provide the margin of excellence the University needs to move into the top tier of public research universities. Private gifts fund scholarships and fellowships for our undergraduate and graduate students, endowed chairs and professorships for our faculty, support for academic programs, new or improved facilities and equipment, support for our libraries, and many other purposes that make the University stronger.

Our future depends on private gift support. It was gratifying this past year to see $62.3 million materialize from more than 30,000 gifts, an increase of more than 1,000 gifts over the previous year. There were no mega-gifts this year, such as occurred in 1999 with the $50 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation and in 2000 with the $20 million gift for the stadium from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation. Also, the $62.3 million came in the face of a severe economic downturn. It was gratifying to see our alumni and friends rise to the occasion and contribute to a remarkable year.

But the best is yet to come. Next month, we will publicly launch the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century in a Campaign rally on the steps of Mullins Library. We have a most ambitious goal for the University of Arkansas. Blessed with the best volunteer leadership in the nation, however, I am confident we will reach and then surpass our goal. We hope all of you will join us at noon Friday, October 26, to help us launch this great fund-raising venture.

Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium

In just three days, you will see the results of true fund-raising prowess—or, more precisely, the fund-raising prowess of Frank Broyles. On Saturday night, September 8, we will dedicate what is arguably the finest college football stadium in the nation. Building on the lead gift of $20 million from the Donald W. Reynolds Foundation, the Razorback Foundation raised millions more and issued bonds to cover the remainder of this $105 million renovation and expansion project. The expanded and renovated stadium has increased its seating capacity from 50,000 to 72,000 while incorporating state-of-the-art amenities and technologies. Once you attend a game in Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium, you will realize the experience is far greater than simply attending a game—it truly is a "happening!"

More to the point, the Stadium will enable the Razorback football program to stay competitive well into the Twenty-First Century. Our men’s and women’s athletics programs are funded entirely by private dollars, and football (followed by men’s basketball) is the financial engine that makes everything else possible in men’s and women’s athletics.

We look forward to the new era in the great Razorback football tradition, beginning Saturday night. One thing I know, 72,000 fans calling the Hogs will be deafening.

Pending Board of Trustees approvals, we will soon have a new Center for Women’s Athletics named for Director of Women’s Athletics, Ms. Bev Lewis. A major gift from long-time Razorback supporters Bob and Marilyn Bogle allows the construction of the proposed 40,000-square foot Bev Lewis Center immediately south of Barnhill Arena. If approved by the Board of Trustees, the facility will house the new women’s gymnastic team’s training area, locker room and coaches’ offices, as well as a 7,000-square foot weight training area for all Lady Razorback teams, other coaches’ offices, and the Women’s Athletics Department administration. This is a wonderful and well-deserved tribute to Ms. Lewis, who since coming here as a coach in 1981 has done so much to make Lady Razorback programs a model of academic and athletic excellence at the highest levels nationally.

GOAL #5: Increase Public Support, Particularly State and Federal Support

Our biggest challenge is obtaining the level of state appropriation required for the University to lift Arkansas as only a world class research university can do. I am optimistic we can do so. However, how quickly this will occur depends on the State’s economy. In comparison with other southern states, Arkansas’ economy has fared quite well. What the near-term effects will be is still questionable. Further, there are other competing needs for state funding.

Given my concerns regarding the economic outlook for the State, why am I still optimistic we will receive greater State support?

My source of optimism is the 2010 Commission, which I mentioned briefly a few minutes ago. The 2010 Commission is a panel of 92 distinguished Arkansans—27 from the University and 65 from across the State—who made a difference over the last year in how the University is regarded. The Commission has a tremendous potential to influence public opinion, to recalibrate the thinking across the State about the role the University of Arkansas can play for Arkansas.

The 2010 Commission members were appointed in the summer of 2000. I asked Reynie Rutledge, chairman of First Security Bank in Searcy and the holder of two degrees (in engineering and in business) from the University, to chair the Commission. Reynie didn’t hesitate in accepting the invitation, and his leadership has been exceptional.

In the process of appointing the Commission, I realized that the University of Arkansas had turned the corner among the state’s leadership corps. Of the 66 distinguished members from outside the University who were invited to serve, only one declined; he did so because of a scheduling conflict, not lack of interest. This is an indication of the extent to which these political leaders, business leaders, educators and other opinion leaders view the importance of making the case for what the University of Arkansas can do to lift our State economically and culturally.

The "blue ribbon" commission was asked to prepare a report titled, quite literally, Making the Case: The Impact of the University of Arkansas on the Future of the State of Arkansas. This they did, in grand fashion. We unveiled the report in preliminary form last month. The final edition is now at the printer’s and will be circulated to all faculty and staff in the coming weeks.

I am delighted with the quality of the report. Despite what some have tried to portray, it is the Commission’s report, not mine. This was not a top-down process where the administration fashioned a few recommendations and asked the panel to rubber stamp them. The Commission members spent months discussing, refining, and crystallizing 25 recommendations. Twelve recommendations are directed to the Governor and the General Assembly. Seven are directed to the business community. And six are directed to the University of Arkansas community. The recommendations were the product, principally, of the 65 Commission members who are not employed by the University of Arkansas.

I will not attempt to go through the report today. Its essence is this: To strengthen higher education in general and the University of Arkansas in particular, the State must place increased emphasis on improving existing colleges and universities, as opposed to creating new ones. Further, the State must create a dedicated source of funding to improve their academic quality.

Also among the report’s major findings and recommendations: the State should devise funding formulas to match the different missions of its public colleges and universities. It should insist that its public universities produce more four-year college graduates and help them do so. The State also should invest heavily in its research universities, chiefly the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

Prior to releasing the report, I saw evidence of the political leaders on the Commission making a substantial difference for the University last spring, during the biennial budget deliberations.

We entered the legislative session last winter with the hope that we would not lose funding for the University. Given the condition of the national economy and particularly the Southern economy, we realized it was an uphill battle to increase state support. Because the General Assembly and the Governor gave the highest priorities to education, the University did receive a modest appropriation increase, as well as some research matching funds. In comparison with public universities in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and other states, we were most fortunate. One of the reasons the Governor and the General Assembly kept their focus on higher education was that 2010 Commission members in the General Assembly were able to use the facts and figures they collected through their work in making the case for increasing, not cutting, support to higher education.

The other good news is that Commission members have agreed to keep the group intact over the decade. Certainly members will be rotated on and off as interest and circumstances dictate, but they are committed to making the case for the University of Arkansas. They believe that this University can make a substantial difference in the future of our state. They will be producing reports every other year—assisting us as we continue our progress, realize our vision, and transform Arkansas.

Though I do not want to walk through all 25 recommendations, I would like to close this address by detailing the six recommendations the Commission set forth for the University of Arkansas community. Here they are:

1. Realize the vision of becoming a nationally competitive, student-centered research university serving Arkansas and the world. Attain the five overarching goals of a) improving the quality and reputation of the teaching, research and service programs; b) increasing the quality and size of the student body; c) increasing the diversity of the faculty, staff, and student body; d) increasing private support; and e) increasing state and federal support.

2. Focus on being counted among the best in the nation, both as a university and as individual academic and administrative units. Strive to be ranked among the nation’s top 50 public universities. Continue to identify the competition to be other national research universities and their appropriate units.

3. Achieve the specific enrollment, retention, graduation, research, and funding goals of the University.

4. Provide leadership for the education systems in the state, public and private. Strive to increase research capacity in the State by working with other colleges and universities to insure that they become stronger research partners.

5. Encourage students and parents to realize that higher education is an investment, not an expense.

6. Communicate that the University of Arkansas is the best hope for the State to have a nationally competitive research university, and that success in the New Economy depends on having such an institution and the value it will bring to the State. Communicate regularly with business, education, government, and media leaders throughout the State regarding progress being made.

Those are the 2010 Commission’s recommendations for us.

The State of the University

In closing, I believe I can report quite accurately that the state of the University of Arkansas has never been better. We made dramatic progress this past year. Our students, staff, and faculty stepped up, over and over, and demonstrated to all just how nationally competitive this institution is. What they did this past year is only a glimpse of things to come.

As noted at the outset, I come before you with considerable confidence regarding the University of Arkansas. My love for this institution, my faith in what it can accomplish for our state and our world, have never been greater. That love and faith have only been strengthened by your achievements on our University’s behalf this past year.

As I told the Trustees of the University of Arkansas on April 24, 1997, "Thirty-six years ago I was a student at the University of Arkansas. Now, I have an opportunity to lead it into the next millennium. Very few are afforded that opportunity—what an awesome responsibility it is! After visiting the campus and talking to its administrators, faculty, staff, and, most importantly, its students, I realized I had to pursue the opportunity to serve as Chancellor of the University of Arkansas and do all that I could to 'make a difference’ for the State of Arkansas. I realized that all of my life has been spent preparing me for this job.

"Mary Lib and I look forward to working with everyone in the State to ensure that the University of Arkansas is, indeed, Arkansas’ university; to make it the state’s 'economic engine’; to make it the preferred university for the state’s 'best and brightest’ graduates; to make it the model land-grant university of the 21st Century; to make its stakeholders proud of all of its programs—its teaching, research, outreach, intercollegiate athletic, and extracurricular programs."

We do have serious challenges ahead of us. As noted previously, student recruitment and retention must be "Job One" for all of us. But I know we can and will surmount all of our challenges. I wish you the best for the new academic year as all of us do our part to build the nationally competitive, student-centered research University that will lift our State and better our world.

Thank you very much for being here today. More importantly, thank you for being here every day and for all that you do for Arkansas and the University of Arkansas. Best wishes to us all for another spectacular year!