Strategic Imperative 5
Secure our future as a world-class university by strategically investing in our talented workforce, operations and facilities
The University of Minnesota thrives when we have exceptional people, spaces, places and services to enhance mission delivery and enrich student and visitor experiences. We will invest in our talented workforce to support and empower all employees to do their best work. We will optimize the University of Minnesota’s physical footprint and operations and prioritize spaces that inspire and endure. We will weave sustainability into everything we do, including landcare and the use of buildings, as well as new funding strategies that deliver sustainable capital projects that contribute to a positive and memorable experience at every location.
Focus Areas:
Invest in the University of Minnesota’s workforce to recruit and retain talented faculty and staff and support them with cutting-edge technology and other tools that contribute to the university’s mission.
The University of Minnesota succeeds when our employees are engaged and aligned with our mission and when they’re equipped with the tools they need to perform their mission-critical work. We will prioritize investing in our workforce across campuses and employee groups to best support our strategic goals.
Key early actions:
Develop a plan and implement approved recommendations from the Workforce Reinvestment Resolution, covering compensation, benefits and faculty and staff success initiatives.
Identify, embrace and implement AI and other technologies and workplace efficiencies to strengthen our operations with a focus on infrastructure, workforce development and leadership.
Invest in modern and sustainable infrastructure to enhance research, discovery, teaching and learning.
We will invest in and transform our facilities and infrastructure across our five campuses to be vibrant places that fully support modern learning, research and living spaces for current and future students, faculty and staff.
Key early actions:
Create sustainable and ongoing funding models, including public-private partnerships, to address priority teaching, research and scholarship, and living spaces.
Develop and implement short-, medium- and long-term new build, renovation and decommission plans to focus on priority facility and infrastructure needs that advance our leading research and scholarship expertise.
Accelerate campus climate action and resilience plans to ensure our campuses are contributing to a sustainable environment and future.
Reimagine the St. Paul Campus.
The St. Paul campus anchors a significant portion of the University of Minnesota’s knowledge and expertise in agricultural sciences, as well as the critically important facilities necessary to carry out research and education. We were an early leader in developing advances in agronomy and aspects of production agriculture that help feed the world today. Academic departments representing six colleges; 18 centers, institutes and public engagement venues; and countless labs and outdoor classrooms and community space that make the St. Paul campus vital to our future.
We will launch the transformation of the St. Paul campus into a dynamic, future-facing environment that enriches student life, drives scholarly innovation and deepens community relationships. We will reenvision the area to play an even larger role in supporting our foodsystems, developing innovative design solutions, engaging the community and educating students who wish to be at a Research 1 university while living in a close-knit campus environment.
Key early actions:
Create a vibrant residential experience to attract and retain students from across Minnesota and beyond.
Develop an Interconnected Futures research and scholarship initiative advancing the shared health of humans, animals and the environment, inclusive of bio-innovation.
Create a welcoming and educational experience for campus visitors and neighbors, serving as a resource and center of learning and innovation.
Secure our future through strategic investment
In times of change, there is opportunity. By transforming the spaces in which we teach, learn, and research, and through investing in the development of our workforce and the technologies that they need to deliver what they do best, we will grow the foundations for our continued advancement as a world-class university that attracts unparalleled talent with ready access to the tools they need to succeed.