Presidential perspectives
As we embark on an exciting new semester, I am thrilled to see the vibrancy restored across our five campuses, sparked by the arrival of so many new and returning students.
I am now more than halfway through my first year as president, and so I am personally grateful to begin a new semester having familiarity with the people, places and traditions that make the University of Minnesota truly exceptional.
A new semester provides an opportunity for us to come together, as friends and colleagues, and set ambitious personal and professional goals that may have otherwise seemed improbable. A new semester also provides an opportunity for us to step outside our comfort zones and embrace new challenges.
Together, we can capitalize on this moment by building on our tremendous momentum in Crookston, Duluth, Morris, Rochester, Minneapolis and St. Paul.
Enrollment across our five campuses surpassed 70,000 for the first time ever. Our graduation rates reached historic highs. And Times Higher Education recently ranked us No. 1 in interdisciplinary science among all U.S. public universities, which is quite remarkable considering the greatest challenges impacting our society can only be solved by working across traditional academic siloes.
We have plenty of great stories to tell, which is why I am so excited about the relaunch of Brief. For 55 years, Brief has served as the primary hub for news and events that impact our University System. The newly enhanced Brief will help us project the University’s excellence, and the incredible possibilities for our collective future, with loud and unapologetic confidence.
As part of the relaunch of Brief, I also am delighted to introduce a new presidential blog so that I can communicate more directly with our community about the many ways in which the University is building a brighter, healthier and more prosperous Minnesota. This University is indeed vast — with 29,000 employees, 70,000 students and thousands of close-knit microcommunities — so I plan to utilize this new platform to celebrate what truly distinguishes our strong system of campuses.
For example, we are embarking on systemwide strategic planning, where every member of our community will have an opportunity to shape the future of this great University. Over these next few months, the University will facilitate a series of engagement opportunities — from surveys to town halls — so that we can come together as a community to develop a clear, actionable plan that positions our institution for extraordinary success for generations to come.
This month, we also are convening three new presidential task forces that are designed to address important issues impacting how our University operates today, and well into the future.
- Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant concept — it is a reality that permeates nearly every aspect of our lives. That is why I charged an advisory task force to recommend how our University approaches the evaluation, use and development of emergent AI tools and services. Our ultimate goal is to equip students, faculty and staff with the knowledge and skills necessary to harness the power of AI responsibly and effectively.
- For more than a century, our St. Paul campus has served as both a rich educational environment and an agricultural experiment station, housing research fields, greenhouses and laboratories. We have a unique opportunity to chart its future course, so I charged a task force to consider opportunities for new collaborations, social hubs and catalyst projects that can effectively position our St. Paul campus as a destination for innovation.
- I arrived in the Twin Cities at a time when there is a renewed interest in how our University can be greater than the sum of its parts. And so I charged a task force to figure out ways in which we can operate more effectively as a system of campuses. How can we break down barriers and highlight our unique strengths so that every member of the University community can truly excel?
I am confident that 2025 will present plenty of opportunities for us to elevate our reputation as one of America’s leading public research universities, and so I appreciate your perseverance, your leadership and your collaboration as we move onward together.
Rebecca Cunningham
President