Chancellor Harvey Perlman delivered his 15th State of the University address Oct. 2, touting UNL’s progress and growth and announcing a new initiative to increase the number of tenure-track faculty in key parts of the university.
Change, growth and diversity were frequent themes in the address, which Perlman has given annually since 2000 at the Lied Center for Performing Arts.
UNL has emphasized building a vibrant undergraduate education program as well as an aggressive and competitive research agenda – a focus that has attracted young talent and helped create a resilient, innovative economy in Nebraska. It’s a focus that has served UNL well, the chancellor said.
“It has allowed us to set ambitious goals for enrollment growth because we know we are offering an affordable and engaging undergraduate experience,” Perlman said. “It has allowed us to set an ambitious goal for annual research expenditures because we have witnessed the flowering of the talent in our faculty.”
Touching on the Oct. 1 announcement about the new Voluntary Separation Incentive Program that will be offered to some tenured faculty, Perlman said the university would set in motion plans to begin adding new tenure-track faculty positions in priority areas.
Using a variety of sources, including Programs of Excellence funding from the NU system, the university would hire 17 faculty in the College of Engineering. All told, with internal funds and reallocations, UNL aims to hire a total of 50 new tenure-track positions across the university. Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs Ellen Weissinger will lead a process to identify the targets for this reinvestment over the course of this year.
“(The post-VSIP process) will provide an opportunity for every department to focus on how it can best help us enhance the university,” the chancellor said. “… We have great respect for our senior colleagues (and) we welcome those who want to continue their work on behalf of the university. We hope the program will ease the transition for those who are ready to move to a different phase in their careers so that we may reinvest these positions to advance our priorities.”
The Institute of Agriculture and Natural Resources, through reallocation and careful central management of its resources, has undertaken a major hiring initiative with the expectation of adding more than 60 new tenure track faculty, the chancellor said.
“We have strong expectations that this will further accelerate the research agenda in water use, food processing, and all of the related disciplines that make up the cutting edge science of modern agriculture and food production,” he said.
Academic priorities
In Omaha, UNL must continue to identify and exploit the unique opportunities the College of Engineering possesses because of its relationship with the Peter Kiewit Institute and the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Perlman said.
“To build our research agenda, supply the human talent needed to make Nebraska competitive state-wide and compete with our Big Ten colleagues, Nebraska’s flagship campus must have a first tier College of Engineering ,” he said. “… This has to be a top priority for the entire campus.”
Beyond engineering, there are areas in the physical and social sciences, humanities, arts and the professions that can contribute to UNL’s goals, he said.
Student success, research and global engagement
It is a central priority, Perlman said, to support students’ transition from high school to college and to facilitate their progress toward graduation in four years. He touted several programs, including the newly created Office of First-Year Experience and Transition Programs, which were highly used in their first years of existence, as well as the expansion of first-year learning communities, career exploration and development and the recalibration of several facilities on campus to support the effort.
He said Union Bank and Trust of Lincoln was recently chosen among several bidders to provide banking services on campus. From the revenue the new banking contract provides, the university will be able to expand UCARE, the Undergraduate Creative Activity and Research program, by 40 percent.
“Undergraduate research is the bridge between our two priorities, a central initiative to prepare students for the innovation economy,” Perlman said.
The chancellor said he also intends to use part of the revenue to provide scholarships for students wish to study abroad.
Tolerance and diversity
Looking back on campus discussions on racial and ethnic sensitivity and tolerance that followed a number of incidents in the previous academic year, Perlman said UNL administration is restructuring to address diversity issues and will create a diversity council to assure campus offices are coordinated and accountable on diversity matters.
Andre Fortune has been named assistant to the vice chancellor of student affairs for diversity. Fortune, the director of the Jackie Gaughan Multicultural Center, will work to assure a more inclusive and welcoming environment for students.
Joy Castro, professor of English and director of the Institute for Ethnic Studies, also will join the Office of the Senior Vice Chancellor of Academic Affairs in 2015 and will investigate best practices at other universities for advancing diversity and academic excellence. She will then provide a set of recommendations that will for the basis for a new associate vice chancellor position to enhance and broaden the diversity of UNL faculty and embrace the ways in which diversity is reflected in research and analyzed in curriculum.
Weissinger to return to faculty
Perlman announced that Weissinger, who has served as the university’s Senior Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs for the past five years, would step down and return to the faculty at the end of the academic year.
One of her legacies, the chancellor said, will be the talent she has been able to attract to the deanships of UNL’s colleges and the support she has given them to make them successful.
“When the history of this time at the university is written, (Weissinger) will surely deserve a significant share of the credit for our success,” he said.
A national search will be conducted shortly for Weissinger’s replacement.
Faculty and staff who were honored for service milestones were recognized during the annual employee service award recognition program prior to the address. The All-University Picnic followed the address at the Van Brunt Visitors Center. See a list of honored faculty and staff by clicking here (PDF format).
The prepared text of Chancellor Perlman’s State of the University address, as well as his 14 previous State of the University addresses, are available at http://go.unl.edu/stateoftheu.
