Chancellor John A. White delivered the following third annual State-of-the-University address at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday in Giffels Auditorium. The full text appears below.

 

STATE-OF-THE-UNIVERSITY ADDRESS

John A. White

September 4, 2002

Introduction

Members of the Board of Trustees, faculty and staff colleagues, students, alumni and friends: Thank you for attending today’s State-of-the-University address, which provides the opportunity to assess our progress and present an agenda for the year ahead. Hard to believe, but this is already the third year we have gathered in Giffels auditorium for this purpose.

In the past few years, I have had many occasions to recall Charles Dickens’ opening lines to A Tale of Two Cities, "It was the best of times; it was the worst of times." I think that observation describes the University’s current situation more extremely than ever—at least in terms of the financial means to our academic ends. It is the best of times because of the extraordinary $300 million gift from the Walton Family Charitable Support Foundation and the success of the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century. It is the worst of times because of the economic conditions in our nation and our state. The outlook for the upcoming legislative session is not encouraging. If we ever needed elected representatives who understand and support the University of Arkansas vision, it is now.

Except for short-term economic concerns, I am filled with optimism for the future of the University of Arkansas. She has never been stronger; her future never more promising; her academic quality and reputation continue to increase; she is making fast headway into the ranks of the nation’s best public research universities; publications that once ignored her are now counting her among the nation’s best research universities. Her appeal has resulted in an all-time record in student enrollment. What is more, the qualifications, achievements, and diversity of her students are more extensive than ever. Her research programs continue to grow in size, quality, and stature. Indeed, her total research expenditures are on track to exceed our goal well ahead of schedule. Her philanthropic achievements are the stuff of legend, especially in what is viewed as one of the nation’s poorest states.

Philanthropy

Many of you were in the Connections Lounge on April 11 for the announcement that the University of Arkansas would receive the largest gift ever made to an American public university. The $300 million gift made national and international headlines. It stunned the worldwide higher education community. If asked what public universities might be the expected recipients of such a gift, the conventional wisdom would have offered up Cal-Berkeley, Texas, Michigan, Penn State, Virginia, or perhaps a half dozen others. But the University of Arkansas? Few could have conceived of such a thing. The Walton Family generosity sent a signal around the world: Keep your eye on the University of Arkansas— America’s newest rising academic star.

Far more important than worldwide acclaim and envy from fellow members of the Academy is what the gift will do for the University of Arkansas in terms of academic quality. We will use $200 million to establish and endow what we envision as the finest undergraduate honors college in American public higher education. We will use the remaining $100 million to endow the University of Arkansas Graduate School. This infusion of funds will allow a considerable expansion in the size and quality of the Graduate School and fuel the growth of our research programs.

These are huge undertakings. They will transform our University. In fact, they are already doing so.

First, let’s consider the Honors College. In April, I appointed Provost Bob Smith as interim dean and Dr. Suzanne McCray, Post-Graduate Fellowships Director, as associate dean. They have been hard at work ever since. The results of their efforts are already evident.

In June, we announced the inaugural class of 60 Honors College Fellows and 74 Honors College Academy Scholars. With 10 new Sturgis Fellows, nine new Bodenhamer Fellows, one new Boyer Fellow, and about 250 new Chancellor’s Scholars, our entering freshman class in the Honors College numbers at least 400 students this fall. To welcome them, we converted previously unused space on the fourth floor of the Administration Building into two Honors College study areas. To house them, we converted Pomfret Hall into the Honors College Residence Hall. Of course, we will need to do much more over the coming months and years. We expect the Honors College, when fully operational, to enroll at least 2,000 high-ability students every year.

Great things are underway in our newly endowed Graduate School. We plan to increase the enrollment of advanced degree students from 2,936 last year to 5,500 by 2010. The Walton Family gift gives us the ability to support 60 Distinguished Doctoral Fellows annually at the baseline level of $20,000 per year—supplemented by funds from the sponsoring academic unit. This, of course, will enable us to recruit the most talented doctoral students in the nation. In addition, the gift will make possible a $40 million endowment to increase the stipends for hundreds of graduate assistantships—assistantships which have been far too low for far too long.

Our Graduate School is poised for greatness. This past year, we reviewed the 28 doctoral programs that were in existence prior to 1997. The review was mandated by the Arkansas Higher Education Coordinating Board and the Arkansas Department of Higher Education. We viewed their mandate, however, as a timely opportunity for making our programs as strong as possible. With the assistance of the deans and department heads, we completed the extensive review on time and submitted the reports to ADHE yesterday, September 3.

The centerpiece of the doctoral program review was a study conducted by the Survey Research Center of the entire universe of 461 doctoral graduates between 1996 and 2001. The response rate was 46 percent. The results are impressive. Consider just a few of the findings:

• All but six of the respondents are gainfully employed. More than 60 percent are employed by educational institutions in tenure or non-tenure track positions, primarily in teaching and research. About 20 percent are employed in private industry or government. Eight percent have pursued additional education since their graduation.
• Eighty-eight percent of the graduates believe they were well or very well prepared by their doctoral program for the work in which they are currently employed or the work they ultimately seek.
• Eighty percent or more of the responding doctoral alumni classify the quality of instruction with their department or program, in other departments or programs, or in other academic colleges, as having been good or excellent.
• At least 84 percent consider the knowledge and availability of their dissertation director and committee members, and the quality of advising, to have been good or excellent.

Certainly we can, and will, do better. But these results are very encouraging. They constitute a strong foundation for the future of our Graduate School. Our graduate faculty are to be congratulated for doing the "heavy lifting" that generated these excellent results and produced so many satisfied doctoral graduates.

Growth of Faculty

Of course, we cannot build a leading Honors College or Graduate School without top-notch faculty. As I mentioned, many such faculty are here already. We are looking at ways of recognizing and rewarding those who teach in the Honors College, expand their research programs, and supervise doctoral students.

I do want to note how much I appreciate the talent and commitment of the nearly 900 University of Arkansas faculty members. There is a marvelous teaching culture in place at this institution—one that we will continue to cherish and nurture in the years to come. At the same time, there is a growing commitment on the part of our faculty to perform research, scholarship and creative activity. Indeed, the rising reputation of the University of Arkansas is due largely to the increased activity of our faculty in research and scholarship.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, when he was inaugurated as president of Columbia University, told a faculty group how pleased he was to meet them as employees of the University. "Mr. President," a faculty member admonished, "the faculty are not employees of the university; they are the university."

Now I would temper that observation. One cannot have a front-rank public research university without superb students and an excellent staff— the University of Arkansas is blessed to have both. But there is an elemental truth to what a Columbia faculty member told President Eisenhower. Stated in mathematical terms, exceptional faculty are a necessary condition for having a great university. Stated in metaphysical terms, exceptional faculty are the soul of the university. It is they who set the academic standards, educate the next generation of leaders, and advance knowledge. As the faculty go, so goes the destiny of the University.

While we need to retain and reward our many productive faculty members, we also need to recruit many more new scholar-teachers to our ranks. The endowment income from the Walton Family gift will infuse the academic enterprise with the means to support superb new faculty in endowed chairs and professorships. Of course, it will also enable us to retain and reward our current top performers as well.

Consider what the Walton Family gift will enable us to do.

In the Graduate School, $24 million will establish eight new graduate faculty endowed research chairs, each funded with a principal of $3 million. These research chairs will be used to recruit eight new faculty who have been elected to the National Academies of Science or Engineering or equivalent organizations worldwide. These faculty members will focus exclusively on developing or enhancing research programs in their areas of expertise and will work with graduate students and Honors College undergraduates.

In addition, in the new Honors College, $30 million will be used to establish 20 new endowed chairs for faculty. An additional $10 million is earmarked to establish 20 new endowed distinguished professorships. Of course, these new Honors College faculty also will hold academic appointments in the appropriate "home" college or school and academic department as well as on the graduate faculty.

Another $15 million will create a matching fund for endowed faculty positions. This pool will be used to leverage gifts from other benefactors for the establishment of endowed faculty positions for the Honors College, whether as endowed professorships or endowed chairs. This fund alone could create as many as 20 additional endowed chairs or 60 endowed professorships, or some combination thereof.

Importantly, dollar-for-dollar matching is not limited to the $15 million endowment. By presenting a strong case regarding the impact of the investment on the Arkansas economy and quality of life, matching funds can be provided for any of the endowed faculty positions. If utilized fully in this way, the endowment available for matching will total $79 million. This could, for example, produce funding for as many as 50 chairs, 46 distinguished professorships, and 20 research chairs.

And crowning all of this is a $3 million endowment for the new dean of the Honors College. A national search for this key post will get under way this fall.

One more thing: we are creating guidelines and applications for these endowed positions and will soon be circulating them to the academic units. I fully expect all academic fields, as well as interdisciplinary fields, to express interest in receiving these funds and to think creatively as they make their applications. After the applications are completed, they must be approved by department heads and deans, and submitted to Provost Smith's office. The Honors College Board of Governors will review the materials, ask for additional information if warranted, and make approvals for the initial round of positions. We want to expedite things so that searches can get under way this coming winter.

More Philanthropic News

The Walton Family gift was the centerpiece of our philanthropic year, but there is more fundraising news to report to you.

First, let’s consider the Campaign for the Twenty-First Century, which records gifts actually received, as well as irrevocable pledges of gifts. The Walton Family gift on April 11 took our $500 million Campaign to 122 percent of its goal. This prompted the Campaign Steering Committee to raise the goal to $900 million and extend the life of the Campaign an additional year. What has now become a seven-year fund raising effort will end June 30, 2005.

Where are we now? For the year ended June 30, 2002, Campaign totals stood at $642.7 million. That means we need to raise an additional $257.3 million over the next three years to reach our $900 million goal. Put another way, we need to raise private gifts at the average rate of $7.1 million per month over the next 34 months.

There’s something else, too: a big something else. As a condition of receiving the Walton Family gift, we agreed to launch a campaign within the Campaign. We call this the $300 Million Challenge. Basically, it means we have to raise $300 million for academic and academic support purposes only, excluding men’s and women’s athletics. As of June 30, we had raised $32.1 million for the $300 Million Challenge, with $267.9 million remaining. So as you can see, despite our enormous success in fundraising this past year, we have upped the ante considerably. In many respects, we have opted to start all over again.

How much did we actually raise this past year? Excluding pledges, gifts actually received totaled $63.6 million, which constituted a two percent increase over the previous year. The 2002 fiscal year was our third best fund-raising year ever, which is no small accomplishment when considering the troubled economy and the depressed stock market. Especially encouraging was that, of the $63.6 million raised, $50.9 million was designated by donors for academic and academic support purposes. This was nearly $1 million over the goal we had set for academic fund raising. Of course, the Walton Family gift was not included in those totals because it is a pledge, which we will begin to receive during this fiscal year.

I want to acknowledge the superb work of the Campaign Steering Committee, and particularly the leadership of Tommy Boyer, who presided as Campaign co-chair the last two years. I am also delighted to have Jim Walton serving as the new presiding Campaign co-chair; we can expect great things to happen under Jim’s leadership this year. Finally, I want to praise the efforts of Dave Gearhart, vice chancellor for University advancement. Dave’s superb advancement team has created a climate for fundraising success that is the envy of the nation and will make all the difference for the University of Arkansas.

State Support

It is in the arena of state support that the University will see its most serious challenge this year. This challenge has two components. The first is how much less-than-originally-projected the University will receive from the state this fiscal year. The second is what our state appropriations will be in the new biennial budget that will be approved in early 2003 by the General Assembly and Governor Huckabee.

As I noted earlier, the outlook is far from encouraging. Against the backdrop of the state appropriation we were expecting just 18 months ago for the fiscal year we have just begun, we could be faced with cutbacks in the months ahead as follows:

• If there is no growth in state revenue this year, we could face a cutback of $9 million.
• If there is a modest 2.8 percent growth in state revenue, our cutback will be reduced to $7.5 million.
• If there is an unexpected growth in state revenues of 4.8 percent, then our loss of state support will be "only" $5.8 million.

The impending cutback, depending on which budget scenario proves accurate, will come on top of the $2.9 million in budgeted revenue the University lost in the 2002 fiscal year.

In anticipation of these cuts, we have been combing through the University budget for 2002-03. We have reduced funding for many initiatives and have eliminated and postponed several others.

The downturn in the national and state economies has led to dramatic revenue shortfalls for state government in Arkansas. But the situation is far more complicated than mere revenue shortfalls, serious as they are.

For example, the pending Lake View School District case, which alleges inequities in public school funding across the state, will likely require Arkansas to spend an additional $500 million to $1 billion a year on K-12 education. That will have significant implications for higher education funding.

In addition, the November ballot issue, if approved by the voters, may result in the immediate repeal of the food tax. This will cost the State hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue and will negatively impact our budget.

Of course, all of this comes at a time when the State needs to be stepping up and making significant additional investments not only in the University of Arkansas, but also in Arkansas higher education generally— which already has suffered the elimination of statewide scholarship programs.

So we are deeply concerned. Over the last few years, many people have come to realize that Arkansas’ economic future is predicated on a stronger higher education system, especially among its public four-year universities. The state needs many more bachelor’s and advanced degree recipients in its workforce if it is to compete successfully and raise the standard of living for everyone. Arkansas also needs a stronger academic research base to attract new business and industry to the state while keeping existing companies competitive.

The University of Arkansas will be calling on both our 2010 Commission and Legislative Advocacy Network to help make the case with the state’s political leadership. The case is simple but compelling: For the state to move forward, Arkansas must do whatever it takes to improve its higher education system—particularly its flagship university, the University of Arkansas. This must occur even when times are tough; in fact, I would argue that it must occur especially when times are tough. I also want to point out that as tough as times are in Arkansas, they are worse elsewhere.

• In Massachusetts, the state has been through a donnybrook caused by the governor’s veto of $29.6 million in long-promised salary increases for public-college faculty members and administrators.
• In Virginia, the three major public research universities were asked to return about 15 percent of their state appropriations to the Commonwealth last year.
• In Nebraska, public colleges braced for a major reduction in state support as lawmakers convened in special session this summer to close the state’s projected $233 million budget gap. Some college officials predicted that their institutions would have to eliminate programs and faculty jobs.
• Similar horror stories abound across the nation. In most of the southern states, in fact, the economy is worse than it is in Arkansas.

As sobering as the situation is, I want to affirm that the University of Arkansas is committed to moving forward, not backward, in these perilous economic times. For example, when faced with 11th hour budget losses in June, it was proposed that we eliminate salary increases for our faculty and staff. That was an option I simply refused to consider. Few, if any, public colleges and universities in the state were able to increase salaries. However, I viewed our situation to be quite different from theirs. When I accepted the position as chancellor, I pledged to do all that I could to provide nationally competitive salaries for nationally competitive performances. The successes we have enumerated attest to the fact that our faculty and staff have been performing at a nationally competitive level. To my mind, making faculty and staff "pay the price" of a downturn in the state’s economy should be the last option, not the first considered. We will continue to do everything we can in the face of the current economic crisis to ensure that faculty and staff salaries move forward rather than backward.

Research

Speaking of moving forward, the University should be extremely proud of its accomplishments in research and scholarship. This past year, for the first time, the University of Arkansas broke into the top 100 U.S. universities in research and education funding provided by the National Science Foundation. For fiscal 2001, which ended last September 30, the University received nearly $8.6 million in NSF funds, ranking 92nd. The previous year, the University ranked 109th with $5.2 million. Breaking into the top 100 is a significant achievement for the University and our faculty as we realize our potential for emerging as a top-tier public research university.

In addition, the University reached new heights in total R&D expenditures in fiscal 2002, which ended June 30. We set a record of $84.9 million in R&D spending from all sources. That’s up five percent from $80.9 million last year and nearly 16 percent from the $73.3 million of two years ago. This progress moves us within shouting distance of our goal of $100 million in total R&D expenditures by 2010. We will of course be revisiting that goal, in view of such impressive gains and in anticipation of the pending reclassification of colleges and universities by the Carnegie Foundation in 2005. But for now, I want to express my gratitude to our deans, department heads, faculty, and administrative staff for their commitment to advancing our programs of research and scholarship. You are doing a terrific job!

Students

Our students continue to excel at the national level. This past year, we had 48 students staking their claim to the nation’s most prestigious scholarships and awards. These included a British Marshall Scholarship, a first team USA Today Academic All-American, two Barry Goldwater Scholarships, one Truman Scholarship, one Fulbright Scholarship, four National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships, a James Madison Scholarship, and a David L. Boren Scholarship. We also had five finalists for the Rhodes Scholarship this past year, a tremendous achievement by any standard.

Our success in producing national award winners has been noticed by the Harry S. Truman Scholarship Foundation in Washington, D.C. In fact, the University of Arkansas has been named with three other institutions as a Year 2002 Truman Foundation Honor Institution, in view of our sustained success in producing Truman Scholars.

We are in good company. Universities previously honored include Brown, Chicago, Cornell, Duke, Georgetown and Harvard, among others. On September 27, the executive secretary of the Truman Foundation, Louis Blair, will present the Truman Foundation Honor Award to the University. We hope you will be here, in this same place, for this very special occasion.

Speaking of student accomplishments, did you know that University of Arkansas student teams won both a national championship and a world championship this year?—in academic competition, that is.

Under the coaching of Professor Stephen Smith and Instructor Leah Acoach, the University of Arkansas Debate Team won the 2002 International Public Debate Association National Championship. This was a repeat of the team’s success in 2001, in which it also won the IPDA National Championship. In 2002, aside from being named the first place tournament team, the UA debaters won second place overall in the open division, third place overall in the novice division, and fourth place overall in the varsity division.

Under the guidance of Professors Kraig Olejnicak and Bob Reynolds, a team of UA engineering students created and piloted the solar-powered boat that won the Solar Splash 2002 World Championship in Buffalo, New York, this summer. They overcame numerous obstacles to win. The original driver was hospitalized the day before the event. That left only two engineering students qualified to drive. Because she weighed less, Silvany Phosavang was chosen over Matt Zwicker to drive in the endurance competition. But she had to learn to swim the day of the event to pass the required test. She filled in, drove, and won the race! What an incredible testament to fortitude and determination!

We have made impressive gains in the quality of our student body in recent years. We now need to make dramatic gains in the size and diversity of our student body, while continuing to keep quality moving ever higher. Last year, we set an all-time enrollment record—15,795 students, which is a seven percent increase over 1997. We have a long way to go, however, to meet our enrollment goal of 22,500 students by 2010. Basically, we will need to enroll about 840 more students every year to reach that goal.

External factors are presenting some serious challenges to our plans. Last winter, state budget shortfalls forced the elimination of the Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship for this fall’s freshman class. The University decided to pick up the slack by offering the $2,500 grants for one year to all who met our admissions criteria and ACS requirements. The Arkansas Academic Challenge Scholarship affects more than 11,000 students statewide and more than 1,800 students on this campus. It is essential to Arkansas’ future that this program be reinstated when the General Assembly convenes.

There’s another significant reality staring us in the face: The Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education projects a one percent decline in the number of seniors graduating from Arkansas high schools through the 2012 academic year.

Last year, at this same event, I emphasized that student recruitment and retention had to be Job #1 for the University—our top priority. Accordingly, I impaneled a University-wide Recruitment Task Force, chaired by Dr. Gary Standridge. The task force worked intensely and responded with dozens of recommendations for improving our recruitment programs. These ranged from television advertising to student recruitment jamborees to new computer database programs to greater alumni involvement. We are also going to be making a much stronger effort to recruit out-of-state students. We want to create a "brain gain" for Arkansas as we continue our work of stemming the "brain drain" of native students to out-of-state institutions.

Of course, enrollment growth depends not just on recruiting new students, but also on doing a better job of retaining and graduating the students we have. Our six-year graduation rates, while the best of any public university in the state, are embarrassingly low. In 1997, they were 41.8 percent. By 2001, they had improved slightly to 44.8 percent. Our goal is to achieve UA graduation rates of at least 66 percent by 2010.

There is some encouraging news in this regard. The improved quality of our freshman classes the past four years and our increased emphasis on retention have yielded promising results. The UA freshman retention rate has improved from 74 percent in 1997 to 82 percent in 2001. Based on a strong correlation between freshman retention rates and six-year graduation rates, the Office of Institutional Research has projected an increase in our six-year graduation rates by 2003 to 49 percent. By 2004, it should rise even farther to 55 percent. And by 2005, it should reach 64 percent. We must not take these projections for granted, however. We must continue working hard to ensure that the great majority of students who enter the University as freshman will graduate within a six-year timeframe. Arkansas cannot advance economically or culturally without a much higher proportion of adults holding at least a bachelor’s degree. As the state’s flagship institution, the University of Arkansas must lead the way in producing them.

Facilities

All of the growth I am talking about—in students, faculty, and staff— will require much more in the way of facilities and infrastructure. We are planning $642 million in new buildings and improvements over the remainder of the decade. As you look around our campus, you will see that some of this is under way. Let me mention just two facilities that will be of particular interest to students and faculty.

In the North Quadrant of campus, between Maple and Cleveland and Garland on the east, we will soon begin construction of a new 600-bed student residence hall complex. This $46 million project is scheduled to be completed by summer 2004.

The renovation of the Science and Engineering Building will be completed shortly, with a new façade that makes the structure aesthetically consistent with Ferritor Hall. Over the last two years, the S&E Building has been totally renovated, at a cost of $11 million. The academic departments that were displaced—mathematical science and biological sciences—will move back into, essentially, a new building. The physics department also will gain some much needed space for its teaching labs.

Time precludes mentioning more, but please be assured: We are at the front end of another major construction boom.

Diversity

Increasing the diversity of our faculty, staff, and student body is one of the five major goals of the University. We have made progress over the last five years, but not nearly at the pace we need to achieve our goals. As I noted in my address last year, I am especially concerned that we increase the representation of African-American faculty, staff, and students. Frankly, we must do better in attracting to the University qualified students, staff, and faculty of color. Also, we must reach out to embrace and welcome the rapidly growing Latino population in Northwest Arkansas.

In the very near future, we will be sharing with the University community the Diversity Task Force’s new plan—or more precisely, phase one of that plan. I am indebted to Dr. Anne O’Leary-Kelly, professor of management, for leading the task force since its inception. As a result of the hard work, careful analysis, and deliberation the Diversity Task Force has devoted to its plan over the last two and a half years, I am confident we will make progress much faster in the future.

Phase one deals with building the infrastructure for our diversity efforts and coordinating those efforts across the campus. It focuses on our major administrative divisions and the Graduate School. Next year, phase two of the plan will focus on building a similar infrastructure in the major academic areas.

As part of this initiative, the Diversity Task Force conducted extensive surveys on the climate for diversity at the U of A—among faculty, staff, and students. After they have been put in final form, survey results will be shared with the University community.

The surveys provided a complex pattern of results. In some areas where we anticipated finding negative experiences or responses, we found more positive results. Conversely, the surveys also suggested some problems and challenges we hadn’t anticipated. Overall, the surveys were important and have yielded valuable information for future decisions.

No matter what the particular findings may be, I take these surveys as a solid foundation for our diversity agenda. The Task Force conducted the surveys to ascertain patterns of experiences and perceptions across campus—to inform their thinking and guide their planning. Thus, the diversity plan is based on systematic fact-finding, which augurs well for its eventual success.

Summation

To summarize the State-of-the-University on September 4, 2002: We have made remarkable progress on several key fronts—in the quality and reputation of our academic programs; in the growth of our research programs; in the size and quality of our student body; and in the spectacular success of our fundraising program.

Because of the unprecedented $300 million gift from the Walton Family, we have an unprecedented opportunity before us—right here! right now! We have already started to build what will become one of the very best undergraduate honors colleges in America. But, the heavy lifting begins this year. The opportunities for our graduate programs are equally bright, and the foundation for building superb programs is already in place.

Let me say this: In the circles in which I move, people are taking note of the University of Arkansas. This has occurred in meetings I have had with leaders from federal and state governments, with presidents and chancellors of public and private colleges and universities, and with CEOs of small and large multinational corporations. College and university leaders around the nation know that the University of Arkansas is in the midst of a great transformation. We are regarded by many as a rising star in American higher education. The increasingly positive reviews we are seeing in college guidebooks is only one indication of the sea change that has occurred.

Yet, we do face many challenges. Our internal challenges continue to be enrollment growth, student retention, and campus diversity. Again, we have heavy lifting to do in these arenas, but there is cause for optimism as well.

The state and national economic downturns, the erosion of state revenues, the threats to our state appropriation are the very real threats to our progress, however. Each of us must resolve to do everything in our power to advocate for the University of Arkansas in the year ahead.

For far too long, there has been a paucity of good news in Arkansas, particularly in the education arena. As a result, some have difficulty accepting the fact that Arkansas is on the verge of having within its borders one of the nation’s premier public research universities. Taking pride in our accomplishments is justified. More importantly, it is essential that we communicate to others the long-term benefits that will redound to the State as a result of our extraordinary success.

Today’s address has taken on a special meaning for Mary Lib and me. We have been with you, now, for five years. We feel very fortunate to have been here during this amazing period for the University. We are also looking forward to seeing what the next five to ten years will be like. Given the remarkable progress of the past five years, it is hard to imagine what heights the University will reach by 2010.

However, let us not forget that there is still much to do. The University of Arkansas must be the cornerstone of a more prosperous and culturally vibrant century for all Arkansans. The eyes of our state, the South, and our nation are increasingly focused on the University of Arkansas. We are staking our claim as one of America’s very best public research universities. We are doing so because of our mutual commitment and love for this great teeming encampment of the human mind.

We must continue our rapid progress for another, larger reason. Of course, I am referring to the terrorist attacks on our nation 51 weeks ago and all that has transpired since then. Next week, the memorial services here at the University and across the nation will cause us to remember the dead from that day of infamy and reflect on the profound changes our nation and world have undergone since then.

It is for these reasons that our shared vision for the University of Arkansas must be realized sooner, rather than later. Make no mistake, our University is a source of solutions to a troubled world. It is our duty to educate the next generation of leaders—not only those American-born, but those born in other nations—for it is they who will forge a better, safer, more just, global community. It is our duty to generate research and scholarship that produces the new discoveries, inventions, products, processes, interpretations, and insights that make life better everywhere.

Remember, this is the University of J. William Fulbright—a university with a long legacy of international involvement. In a post 9/ll world, it is our duty to lift the University to undreamed of heights of excellence in everything we do. In the process, we will strengthen our capacity for improving the human condition.

Thank you for joining with me today. Thank you for all you have done and continue to do for the University of Arkansas. Let us affirm that we will work to create another spectacular year for our University. And, let us do so, not for ourselves, but for the state, nation, and world we serve.