Letter from the Dean

November 2009

reDESIGN  alumni news

November - December 2009 is now online

Dear Alumni and Friends,

The economy has led to widespread rethinking in higher education of how we can educate more of our population more effectively, at a lower cost, and in ways that relate to the important problems of the world. It’s a tall order and one that the University of Minnesota and this college have seized upon as an opportunity and challenge.

As part of that effort, Provost, Tom Sullivan has asked every college to convene a “blue ribbon committee” to look at where we see higher education going and what we might do differently in order to get there. What demographic, economic, and technological changes will affect who we teach, how we teach, and what we focus on in our research?

The committee includes faculty, staff, students, as well as members of our student and alumni board and our college advisory board. At the same time, President Bruininks has charged University-level steering committees to look at the scope and mission of the institution, opportunities for cost efficiencies across all units, and ways that we can enhance and diversify our revenue.

I hope our college community can make constructive contributions to these conversations across the University. To do that, we need all the creative ideas we can get, and so I urge you, as our alumni and friends, to share your thoughts or your questions with me by e-mail, and I will pass them on to the committee.

Tom Fisher

Dean