Things All Academic, 2 (3) August 2001.
A Letter to The University of Arkansas Community
John A. White
August 15, 2001
Dear UA Alumni and Friends:
Nearly a year ago, our fall semester began in the worst way imaginable. A beloved faculty member, Dr. John Locke, was murdered in his Kimpel Hall office by a former doctoral student who then turned the gun on himself. The shock and the sadness were overwhelming.
At a University-wide forum the next day, I asked the campus community to reach down deep and make the extra effort to pull together in unity, sympathy, and support for each other. And we did, coming together as never before. A few days later, I voiced in a newspaper essay my pride in the way students, faculty, staff and alumni had conducted themselves throughout this traumatic event. This is a community, I learned, that is compassionate, proud, resilient, and ever willing to learn from our experience, however bitter. "Having endured the worst personal tragedy our institution has seen, all of us have been changed this week," I wrote. "But in the process, our University is gathering a new and lasting strength."
In this, my eighth semi-annual letter to you at the start of my fifth year as Chancellor, my message is simply this: The strength I have seen in the performance of our students, faculty and staff this past year is unparalleled. Even with that terrible beginning, it turned into our best year ever.
That may sound like exaggeration. But each year does seem to be going better than the year before. Last year at this same time, I wrote that it would be difficult, if not impossible, for our students, faculty, and staff to repeat the accomplishments of the 1999-2000 academic year. I was wrong, so very wrong.
Student Success
Consider, for example, the success our students had in winning nationally competitive scholarships and fellowships: --Twenty-eight universities had a Rhodes Scholar this past academic year (Anna Terry was our first since 1985 and eleventh in the history of the University); --Eight universities (Arizona State, Arkansas, Brown, Princeton, Texas, U.S. Military Academy, U.S. Naval Academy, and Wheaton College) had both a Rhodes Scholar and a British Marshall Scholar (Megan Ceronsky was our fifth one); --Five universities (Arizona State, Arkansas, Brown, Princeton, and Texas) had a Rhodes and Marshall Scholar, as well as at least two National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows (UA students Laura Fields and Elizabeth Dunn);
--Three universities (Arkansas, Brown, and Princeton) had Rhodes and Marshall Scholars, NSF Graduate Fellows, and at least three Barry Goldwater Scholars (UA students Ben Hood, Erin Scherer, and Matt Whitley); --Two universities (Arkansas and Brown) had the foregoing combination plus a Morris Udall Scholar (UA student David Norris); and --One university had a Rhodes Scholar, a Marshall Scholar, two National Science Foundation Graduate Fellows, three Barry Goldwater Scholars, a Morris Udall Scholar, and a James Madison Scholar (UA student Korienne Barnes)--the University of Arkansas!
In addition, three UA undergraduates were named Rotary International Scholars (Joy Black, Matthew Ragland, Patrice Smith), and 36 other national and state awards were received by our undergraduates.
Of the 48 undergraduates who received national and state awards this past spring, two are Bodenhamer Fellows, nine are Sturgis Fellows, 22 are Chancellor's Scholars, and eight are University Scholars.
The University of Arkansas has made significant progress in recruiting high-ability Arkansans. Recent studies found that in-state students are 10 times more likely to remain in their home state following graduation if they graduate from high school and college there. Hence, our success in recruiting and graduating students will translate into future success for Arkansas.
UA Role in Determining Arkansas' Future
For the past four years, we have argued that the future of the State is linked inextricably to the future of the University of Arkansas. If there were doubters, a recent study by the Milken Institute should have persuaded them of the need for the University of Arkansas to produce greater numbers of degrees (bachelor's, master's, advanced professional, and doctoral) and increase significantly its graduate research program.
The Milken Institute published its New Economy Index, which is a composite of rankings in a dozen measures reflecting preparedness for the new economy. Overall, Arkansas ranked last among the 50 states--significantly below the 49th state (West Virginia). Arkansas' relative rankings among the states and the District of Columbia on the individual measures were as follows. --50th in percent of population (25 years and older) with bachelor's or higher degree; --50th in percent of population (25 years and older) with advanced degree; --51st in percent of population (25 years and older) with doctorate in science or engineering; --44th in exports as percent of gross state product; --50th in federal research and development expenditures per capita; --46th in industrial research and development expenditures per capita; --48th in academic research and development expenditures per capita; --49th in number of Small Business Innovation Research awards per capita; --49th in number of patents issued per capita; --36th in number of new business start-ups per capita;
--43rd in venture capital invested as percent of gross state product; and --45th in initial public offering proceeds as a percent of gross state product.
These measures, plus others, are included in a recent publication of the Office of Technology Policy of the U.S. Department of Commerce that ranks states' capabilities in science and technology. Again, Arkansas ranked very low. The same occurred in a recent publication of the Southern Growth Policies Board. The message is clear: Arkansas must "pick up the pace" across the board to be competitive in the twenty-first century and the University of Arkansas plays a critical role in determining the future of Arkansas. (The University of Arkansas contributes directly to at least seven of the measures in the New Economy Index.)
Research Support Success
Given the challenges facing the University, we were particularly pleased with successes of our faculty and staff last year. Consider, for example, the following examples of the extraordinary accomplishments of our faculty and staff: --$2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture for a consortium led by the University of Arkansas to study anti-oxidants in food crops; --$1.6 million grant from the National Science Foundation to establish the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Space and Planetary Science, also supported by seven industrial partners;
--$9.6 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to establish the Center for Protein Structure and Function (the largest competitive grant ever received at the University); --$4.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation establish to the Arkansas-Oklahoma Center for Semiconductor Physics in Nanostructures (only three other universities received similar grants: Cal Tech, Penn State, and the University of Virginia); --$59.3 million in externally sponsored research and program awards from all sources (the largest amount ever received in one year by the University); that's an increase of 21 percent over the previous year ($49.1 million) and an increase of 43 percent over two years ago ($41.5 million).
The success of the previous year bodes well for achieving our goal of obtaining at least $100 million annually in externally sponsored research by 2010, with at least half being federally sponsored.
Other Significant Successes
There were other successes this past year that were noteworthy. --The University enjoyed another extraordinary year of private support. The past year was the third best in the history of the University. A total of $62.3 million in private support was received from alumni, friends, foundations, corporations, and other organizations. Of the total, $45.1 million was in support of academics, academic support programs, and women's athletics, and $17.2 million was in support of the Razorback Foundation, Inc., which supports men's athletics.
--The College of Education and Health Professions received a first place award in the American Teacher Education Conference's 2001 Distinguished Program in Teaching Education competition for its Master of Arts in Teaching program. --The Office of University Relations won the Council for Advancement and Support of Education's top prize--a silver medal--in the 2001 Circle of Excellence's "overall institutional relations" competition.
Support of Public Education
On the legislative front, we entered the biennial legislative session with a hope that we would not lose funding for the University. Given the state of the national economy and, particularly the Southern economy, we realized it was an uphill battle to increase state support. However, because the General Assembly and the governor gave the highest priorities to education, we did receive modest budget increases. In comparison with public universities in Alabama, South Carolina, Tennessee, and other states, we were most fortunate.
Nationally, many public universities received reductions in state support. As a result, students are facing double-digit increases in tuition at many public universities across the nation. The burden of supporting the costs of higher education is being shifted from states to students. While there is general agreement that higher education plays a more significant role than in the past in determining a state's future, there is little agreement as to who should pay for it.
As you may recall from previous newsletters, we have been working through the 2010 Commission to initiate a re-thinking of the manner in which the state
supports public higher education in general and the University of Arkansas in particular--toward the goal of harnessing the power of both to accelerate economic development and improve the quality of life for all Arkansans. I am pleased to note that the Commission has completed its first report, Making the Case: The Impact of the University of Arkansas on the Future of the State of Arkansas. We are in the process of releasing the Commission's report through the news media and other channels of communication. You will be hearing more about Making the Case in the weeks ahead. UA alumnus and Searcy, Ark., banking executive
Reynie Rutledge played a key role in chairing the 2010 Commission; we are indebted to the 92 distinguished business leaders, educators, and governmental leaders for their dedication to this effort over the past year. And since "no good deed goes unpunished," we already are making plans for a continuation of the work of the 2010 Commission.
The Coming Year
While I am particularly pleased with last year's accomplishments, I am already looking forward to what lies ahead for the University. Several significant events will occur in the next few months, including: --Dedication of the Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium. On September 8, arguably the finest college foot...