Investing in our future and choosing our path

Good afternoon, 

As we honor and celebrate 175 years of our impact across all of Minnesota and our nation and the world, we find ourselves in a time of significant change and also great opportunity. 

Today I updated our University of Minnesota community on the state of our university — the excellence achieved this past year and throughout our proud 175 history, along with the challenges we face and the choice we have made to sustain and strengthen this great University for an even brighter future. Each day we hear about the challenges that we and other colleges and universities across the country face. Revenue is declining, costs are rising and the pace of change is accelerating. I know we can rise to these challenges and emerge even stronger — rooted in our mission and investing in our priorities and strengths.

Responding to change by drawing on our strengths

In the last year alone, we’ve seen proof that not only can we meet the challenges we face, we can continue to flourish, innovate and inspire. By launching the AI Hub and the National Security Research Institute, we’ve responded to change and challenges with leadership and innovation. We’ve strengthened our commitment to Minnesota’s health, finalizing a historic healthcare agreement with University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview that will allow the University to sustain our critical role in medical education, research discovery and clinical care. We improved students’ access to food and bolstered their mental health support to help them succeed.

All this while our faculty continue to demonstrate the research excellence that gives the University of Minnesota a legitimate claim to global leadership. Through a strong partnership with faculty governance, the Writing Hunker initiative gives more than 350 faculty members dedicated time and space for uninterrupted scholarly writing. And we have launched targeted programs designed to support career development and guide faculty toward their next promotion.

These accomplishments belong to all of you. They are possible because of your dedication, your innovation and your commitment to each other and our world.

Investing in our future and choosing our path

These are times that upend the status quo — think of the financial crisis of 2009. The universities that thrived were those that continued to invest while moving early to take control of their financial future.

We will do just that. As we focus and prioritize our work, we will also invest in world-class facilities and faculty that support world-changing research and learning, in strategic initiatives that help our students and communities thrive and in the activities that make us Minnesota’s workforce engine.

The commitments we’re making will translate Elevate Extraordinary 2030 into action. We will grow our partnership with employers to help us design the right programs for workforce needs and we’ll expand our portfolio of online offerings. We’ll accelerate our innovation in learning to transform how we teach and prepare students for a rapidly changing world. We’ll continue to lead in human-centered, responsible AI research and learning that prepares not just our students but our faculty and staff for the transformation ahead.

Our work will leave people, animals and our planet healthier. Overlooking a lake that holds one-fifth of the world’s fresh water, we will elevate our excellence in freshwater research. Drawing on deep faculty strengths, we will unite our expertise in infectious disease and agriculture to launch the One Health Exchange. On the St. Paul campus, we are pulling down aging infrastructure so we can build a new and vibrant hub in its place — one that supports a dynamic student experience and sustains our leadership in agriculture, food systems, environmental science and veterinary medicine.

Change is not easy. At times it is unsettling, even contentious. And at times our journey ahead will be exhausting. Just as the achievements of the past year took all of us, we’ll need your ideas and your innovation in the months ahead.

I am deeply grateful to our faculty and staff, whose dedication, creativity and resilience make this University what it is. You teach, discover, mentor, care and serve in ways that are often unseen but profoundly impactful.

Guided by our mission and values, all of us working together will make the University of Minnesota even better and even stronger than it is today. Better and stronger next year. Better and stronger in five years. Better and stronger for the next generation.

Rebecca Cunningham
President