Good afternoon. It is a pleasure to welcome all of you to this presentation today. At the beginning of each year it is important that we gather to review the state of the University, to remember what we have set as goals, and to measure our progress toward those goals.

It is exciting to begin a new academic year at UNH--this is, as you know, my sophomore year. Last year was a particularly rewarding time for me, and I believe it was a very good year for the University. One of the refreshing things about a university is that each year we have an opportunity for a new beginning. We have new programs getting started, and we have new people joining the community. I would like to acknowledge especially our new students who have been enthusiastically introduced to UNH by the student orientation staff. Many have been to Freshman Camp and they bring to the campus the energy and eagerness to learn that make this an exciting place. We also have new faculty who are joining us. I have had an opportunity to meet them briefly, and I know that they bring the very finest reputations in teaching and research. We also have some new staff and senior administrators at the University. Please join me in welcoming all of these persons who are new to UNH.

When I describe UNH to people outside the University, I use words like these: a major public research university in the land-grant tradition. "Land-grant" refers to our service to the State of New Hampshire, our contributions to the economic growth of the state and the quality of life of its people.

Last May, a couple days after Commencement, I had the privilege of accompanying many of our first-year faculty members on a statewide tour to learn how the University works across New Hampshire. One thing we had in common was that none of us had lived in New Hampshire before accepting employment here. Over a three-day period we visited several sites of business and industry where University faculty, students, and programs are supporting the development of emerging industry in aquaculture, electronic communication, and paper production. We experienced areas of agriculture and natural resources where the Cooperative Extension Educators work with private enterprise. We were in schools that are using interactive science materials developed by University faculty and where physically handicapped children are mainstreamed under the guidance of our Institute on Disability. We experienced UNH's support of the tourism industry and UNH's contributions in hospitality management and environmental studies. We saw the successful integration of social service agencies into a single center in Plymouth following the design of UNH faculty, an agency that has in fact hired a UNH graduate to oversee the evaluation of the effectiveness of that center.

Everywhere that we went, we saw the University in partnership with the people and organizations of the state, working to educate citizens and to apply the research and scholarship of the University to the needs of New Hampshire. I had a tremendous sense of pride for the University's critical role in the state. Let it be known that UNH is proud to be public.

I must admit that I also have pride in that group of newly hired faculty who took the three-day tour. They are not only outstanding in their academic areas, but they have a deep commitment to UNH students. What's more, we have here a group of our own faculty who, I can now testify with certainty, know both verses of the University's alma mater.

The fact is, that whirlwind three-day bus tour would have taken literally weeks if we had visited every site where UNH has had an impact. Our faculty and students are working in New Hampshire communities every day -- in mentoring programs for middle-school girls, space programs for children around the state, soil testing for home gardeners, helping communities talk about issues facing public education, helping farmers harvest tomatoes earlier in New Hampshire's short growing season.

In addition to the University's contributions to the state in support of industrial development, in the experiencing of the arts, in the strengthening of communities and families, and in the general improvement of quality of life, the University as a business operation has a tremendous economic impact on New Hampshire. A recent study done by Dr. Robert Puth in our Economics Department shows that for each dollar the State of New Hampshire invests in UNH, the return is more than $3. In other words, last fiscal year, for a net cost of $37.4 million, New Hampshire citizens more than tripled their investment to $123 million in increased income, primarily thanks to the flow of out-of-state dollars brought into the Granite State by UNH. The University of New Hampshire is a very good investment for the State of New Hampshire.

I mentioned "new programs" in this new year. A true university remains contemporary by testing and developing its curricula and programs continuously, so that student learning can be advantaged by new discoveries. Some of our efforts in this regard have attracted national attention. I will cite only a few examples.

In July, UNH was selected as one of fifteen universities in the country--and the only one in New England--to participate in a program sponsored by the Pew Charitable Foundation to prepare doctoral students for careers as teaching professors in higher education. This distinction reflects the long tradition at UNH of tying teaching to the subject disciplines, and it builds on earlier FIPSE funding secured through our Teaching Excellence Program, to afford certificates and degrees in teaching to graduate students in all disciplines. I expect this University to lead the nation in preparing future faculty.

On another front, implementation of our new undergraduate writing requirement means that faculty in virtually every department are engaged in substantive curricular change. This requirement will affect new students entering next fall, but the changes being made in major as well as general education courses--involving extensive collaboration among faculty--have already begun to enrich the education of our students. For decades, UNH has been a national leader in the teaching of writing, and I expect that this effort will be influential on other universities of our kind.

Let me also describe an exciting new pilot project being organized across Academic Affairs and Student Affairs that will create a small college atmosphere in Christensen Hall--for those of you who know Christensen, you may think this is not possible, but it is. One-hundred-and-forty first-year students are living adjacent to each other in the residence hall this year, and they are all enrolled for the same two general education courses, Freshman Composition and Foods and People--(the latter, I am told is better known as Foods and Dudes.) Most of these young people are undeclared liberal arts students and the program is designed to ease the adjustment to college and create a supportive environment for learning. On opening day, more than 10 faculty and staff helped these freshmen move in. They lugged suitcases and boxes, talked with parents and students, helping them move in for one of the most important journeys of their lifetimes. If all goes as well, as I expect it to, this exciting project can be expanded next year.

We continue to affiliate ourselves with other institutions of higher education in this country and abroad, to extend the dominion of learning for our students. New agreements with Brazilian universities, for example, will lay the foundation for collaborative research and teaching in our College of Life Sciences and Agriculture, the Whittemore School of Business and Economics, and the Department of Education. There are other examples. We now offer two exchange programs in Budapest for students in engineering and in the social sciences. And, an exciting recent grant from FIPSE will fund as many as 30 international research projects for teams of undergraduates, each team supervised by a UNH faculty member and an international researcher. International activities are being bolstered at UNH, expanding opportunities for our students and faculty; at the same time, we expect to see greater numbers of international students and scholars on this campus as a result.

The University has had a notable year in areas of research, scholarship, creative activity and graduate studies. The external research funding increased by 7 percent last year over the previous year, bringing to UNH more than $46 million in support.

Several areas of research have had high visibility. NASA's Advisory Committee on Utilization of the Proposed Space Station was meeting at UNH last June when--as fate would have it-- the MIR space station collision occurred. It is hard to imagine how we could have been closer to the action without donning space suits. Also, in June we had 500 participants at an International Conference on Family Violence. Earlier this month, UNH hosted the New England Regional Conference on Climate Change, a conference that included political leadership from Washington as well as New England, leaders of commerce and industry, and leading scientists in this field.

Progress continues at UNH in the development of the entrepreneurial campus. We are particularly grateful to the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA) for the funding of our research programs and for an environmental technology building that will bring together students and faculty from the University with scientists from environmental industries of the state. NOAA and UNH have established a Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, and NOAA scientists will work alongside those from our campus and the private sector.

An impressive thing to me has been the extent to which our students are engaged in the research activity on campus. In many fields we have undergraduate students working beside graduate students and faculty to make new discoveries and press the boundaries of knowledge further.

For example, a month ago, senior student, Jonathan Villeneuve, watched a satellite he worked on at the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space lift off from the Kennedy Space Center launch pad. Jonathan worked with UNH space scientists to assemble the satellite's solar flare analyzer, which will help predict weather patterns. Thanks to that experience, he earned one of 23 summer fellowships to the NASA Space Academy at the Goddard Space Flight Center. And, he received the Academy's Goddard Award for the student who showed the most initiative and leadership in pursuit of research.

One of our May graduates, Darragh Gallant, is in Brazil this month, presenting a research paper, co-authored with her business professor Marc Herold, at an international development conference. The paper is a product of her honors project within a dual major in economics and international affairs with a minor a French.

Kristen Gresh, a French and art history major, has received a grant to research the life and work of French surrealist photographer Claude Cahun. She traveled to France this month to continue her work after being awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to teach English in a Paris high-school.

Tom Carr, a therapeutic recreation student, has worked extensively on projects that provide recreational opportunities for the physically disabled. His coursework in assistive technology has led to a variety of recreation adaptations, including the development of a transfer box for ice hockey players who transfer from their wheelchairs to the sled on the ice.

We have at UNH a true continuum of learners: senior faculty, junior faculty, postdocs, graduate students, undergraduates--the very best kind of learning environment for everyone.

I have been particularly pleased this year with the efforts across campus to build a governance structure that provides broad participation in University decision-making and brings our best minds to the hardest issues. The Faculty Senate is addressing substantive academic issues on behalf of the faculty. The leadership in the PAT, OS, and Extension Educator Councils provide a clear voice for those groups of employees. Student government continues to be an important and strong component in university governance. Student leadership was particularly strong last year in addressing alcohol abuse and has already taken hold on student conduct problems this year. The new Governance Communication Council, which I chair and which includes the heads of each constituency, meets regularly to share issues which involve more than one group and need dissemination across the campus. This group will play a central role in facilitating broader discussion of a campus-wide alcohol policy and the review of transportation proposals.

The University's financial situation has made it necessary to take significant program reductions across the campus. These reductions are evident in academic areas, athletic programs, and in the business operations of the University. Altogether, more than 70 positions were removed from the University last year. We are making impressive progress in the transition to business service centers across the campus. By July 1 next year, 18 business service centers will be up and running. Overall, the Administrative Services Redesign is projected to save the University $1.5 million per year. The Redesign will streamline services and professionalize the business operation. To date, the process has avoided layoffs. Nearly 40 of the 50 positions slated for elimination in the business area are identified--all done through attrition. More than that, there have been almost 60 promotions for our business and finance staff.

The Administrative Services Redesign affects everyone in the University and requires adjustments in most units. This is an important implementation year. Vice-President Corvey is scheduling forums throughout the year to be sure questions get answered and problems addressed.

ASR is one example of how the members of this community extend themselves to improve the University. When buildings were flooded last fall, including the library and Hood House, facilities services staff worked literally around the clock mopping up and drying things out. When a campus clean-up was announced last spring, the folks in Elizabeth Demeritt House became award winning landscape designers. They planted shrubs, installed window-boxes filled with flowers, cleared brush, raked, and pruned.

An initiative undertaken initially by our PAT and Operating Staff Councils, but soon a project of the whole university, has been the new scholarship fund in which each of us now has an opportunity to participate. The two staff councils got together last year to talk about ways in which the staff could visibly support students because so much of what they do for students is behind the scenes. They came up with the idea of a scholarship. You will hear more about that campaign in the next couple weeks, and the first recipient will be announced next April at the celebration of Ben Thompson's birthday.

And our students are deeply involved in volunteer activities that bring their classroom skills and their concern for others to sites of human need. The Alternative Break program is exceedingly popular at UNH, attracting students who travel across the country during spring break to help others in need. A recent example right in Durham involves our men's crew team. As I understand it, several years ago, one of the crew members watched as an elderly woman was carrying her groceries to her home here in Durham. He asked if he could help and she said yes. Since then, as one crew member has graduated, another has taken over. This year itšs history major, Jonathan Rice. The driveway gets shoveled, the lawn mowed, odd jobs done around the house; all quite invisible to the rest of the world.

These examples demonstrate the strength of this community. Our goal is a community that is caring, just, purposeful, inclusive, disciplined, celebrative. This year's Campus Conversations, sponsored by the Committee on Violence Against Women and the Graduate School, will look at two hard issues together: freedom of speech and a non-threatening environment. Such conversations provide a platform for strong community.

Last year in my inauguration speech I summarized several principles that I believe must guide our planning for the future of UNH. Let me repeat those briefly. There are four.

• UNH will continue to provide undergraduate education of the highest quality. Our undergraduate programs here will be second to none.
• We will increase the number of research and graduate programs that enjoy national and international reputation, building our strongest academic areas into areas of distinction.
• UNH will provide unique service to the state and the region through the applications of research, the extension of our instructional programs, and the sharing of creative activities. The outcome will be a state with greater economic opportunities and with an even finer quality of life.
• UNH will be an efficient business organization; it will also be a supportive and diverse community.

These principles will continue to guide the decisions that we make. I am pleased with our progress so far. Let me report on those specific areas that I told you would have the highest priority in my first year.

Settling the faculty contract was of critical importance. We reached an agreement that provides fair and competitive compensation for our faculty and enables the faculty to turn their attention now to the full range of University needs. I am hopeful that we will be able to resume negotiations for the next contract utilizing processes that are more efficient and more constructive than what have been used in the past.

We have moved ahead at UNH-Manchester to finalize a statement of mission and an action agenda that is already strengthening those programs. The Board of Trustees directed us to find a way to consolidate the Manchester programs into a single location. We are on our way toward that goal.

Three years ago the Academic Senate produced a major report entitled Building a New University Community which laid out goals for diversifying the faculty and the student body. I requested an audit of progress toward those goals. I did the same with respect to a report known as the Levy Report which in 1992 established goals with respect to gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered issues. From the reviews of these earlier reports, it was apparent that much has been accomplished in some areas, but we must better focus the issues and develop new strategies to achieve a richer diversity in our community. To help with this, I have formed the President's Commission on the Status of People of Color. That Commission will be co-chaired by Patsy Schweickart, Professor of English, and James Washington, Director of Admissions. The Commission, comprised of faculty, students, and staff, have their first meeting scheduled in early October.

We know that UNH has a special opportunity in the area of sustainability education. This strong movement at UNH grows out of the community's commitment to living responsibly in the natural environment. We are pleased to welcome Dr. Thomas Kelly as the first Director of Sustainability on our campus. Dr. Kelly comes from Tufts University, and has a vast knowledge of environmental policy and education. A generous gift from an alumnus has provided UNH's largest program endowment to support many activities, including curriculum development, visiting faculty, student internships, and workshops for teachers. Let me also mention that we have two new deans this semester. Dr. Raymond Coward, a noted gerontologist from the University of Florida, will head the School of Health and Human Services. Dr. Bruce Mallory, a professor of early childhood and special education, has assumed the position of Dean of the Graduate School.

A year ago I also outlined a need to make stronger efforts in the development of program and budget planning processes at the institutional level. We have made substantial progress under the leadership of Vice-President Candace Corvey. However, our goal is to develop processes which decentralize budget responsibility, encourage revenue production, and serve to constrain costs; and we still have a long way to go. Work in this area will continue to be a priority issue for us over the next couple years.

Another goal that I mentioned last year was stronger efforts to communicate UNH's quality across New Hampshire and nationally. In the New Hampshire press alone, more than 900 stories highlighting UNH's teaching, research and outreach appeared in newspapers across the state. In many areas the significant work that is being done at UNH is of national interest. Recently I have read about our Greenland ice-core drilling project in USA Today, about UNH historian, Professor Jeffrey Bolster's new book, Black Jacks, in the Washington Post and New York Times, as well as heard his interview on NPR. I have also heard on NPR about Professor Murray Strausšs longitudinal studies on the long-term effects of corporal punishment on children. We have read about Dr. Straus' work everywhere: in the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Washington Post, Time and Newsweek magazines, the New York Times, the Toronto Globe and Mail. And seen it on at least 77 television newscasts nationwide. Professor Eliga Gould appeared on MSNBC during the coverage of Princess Dianašs funeral. When Professor Dennis Meadows was named one of the 100 most influential futurists of all times, when Professor Berrien Moore assumed the Chair of one of the most prestigious international global environmental research bodies, when Professor Charles Simic was named finalist for the National Book Award, their names were prominent in the national media. Indeed, there was a feature on Charlie Simic, the teacher, yesterday morning on NPR's Morning Edition. There can be no doubt but that the people of the country will be hearing more and more about the work of faculty and students at UNH.

Those were last year's goals. Now it is time to set goals for this next year to keep us moving ahead in the highest priority areas.

• We must find ways to communicate more effectively with decision-makers at the state level. Over the last eight years, UNH's enrollment has increased by more than 10 percent, its degree production has increased by almost 25 percent, its external research funding has increased by 109 percent . In the same period of time the number of employees has increased by less than 1 percent and the state funding per student, when adjusted for inflation, has decreased by 25 percent. As a consequence, tuition increases, most recently for in-state students, have been excessive. This situation is of great concern to the University and also to UNH's Alumni Association and Parents Association. These groups, together with our students, will be important in our efforts to communicate with the citizens of New Hampshire about the value and excellence of the University.
• The budget analysis that we did last spring across all units of the University indicated that we have several institutional areas of critical need. We have developed four of these for review with University System officials when we move into the next budget cycle. These areas are library acquisitions, instructional technology, student scholarship support, and applications of research to New Hampshire's economic growth. These are areas of critical need that we cannot address responsibly with current revenue levels.
• Even as we work with the State of New Hampshire for more adequate funding, we are beginning to design a major academic excellence fund-raising campaign. Last spring, the Board of Directors of the University Foundation undertook a feasibility study to measure how well the University is positioned for a major campaign. The results were very positive and support planning for a campaign at the $75 - $100 million level. I have asked to have copies of this study placed at the reserve desk of the Library. A campaign of this size will be a major undertaking for the University and the University Foundation. We are extremely fortunate to have attracted to the position of President of the University Foundation a highly experienced and successful leader in fund-raising, Young Dawkins, III. He comes to UNH after 10 years at Dartmouth as major gift officer and four years at Oberlin where he has been Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs. He will begin his work with us next Monday.
• Over the next twelve months, we will finish wiring the campus for full electronic support, including all academic buildings and residence halls. CIS is providing more equipment in computer clusters and expanding clusters to 24-hour facilities wherever possible. When completed, these efforts will position UNH for a new era in teaching and learning. An electronic campus will be a more closely knit campus. This will be important at UNH which is recognized for the close working relationships among students and faculty and which is more than eager for better access to the electronic world of learning.
• It is exciting to think that a year from now we will occupy the renovated and enlarged Dimond Library. Right now this construction project is requiring the accommodation of every person in the University community. We are grateful to University Librarian Claudia Morner and her staff for their careful planning and very hard work. When completed, we will have a library where patrons enter a three-story high atrium with two reading rooms, one on either side of the atrium, flooded with light from the windows and skylights. There will be comfortable chairs and tables, an information desk at the front entrance, consolidated reference and reserve areas, as well as space for conferences and for group study. Each table and study carrel will be wired for laptop computers, and sophisticated computer work stations will allow users to do a variety of tasks all on the same screen. This new, modern library will meet the needs of a 21st century teaching and research university, and it will also service New Hampshire businesses and the general public. The completion of the library will be an occasion for great celebration.
• Finally, over this next year we will continue to address our collective problems, to make decisions within the constraints of our resources, to find ways to accomplish our goals. One of the difficult problems has been transportation and parking. This is an example of a problem that is easier to ignore than to confront, but we must be sure that we are doing the best that is possible. I want to express my personal appreciation to the individuals who are serving on the Transportation Policy Committee. They have been willing to wrestle with very difficult problems and make recommendations to the campus that can be the beginning of broader discussion. It is easy for each of us to criticize current policies and other peoplešs proposals, but this group of people have been willing to put their very best ideas in front of the rest of us for consideration.

I want to take a minute to acknowledge the high level of support I have experienced in my first year as President of UNH. Across the campus I have had encouragement and substantial help in getting to know the traditions and backgrounds of this distinguished University. In the last year, the decisions of our Board of Trustees have been highly supportive of the University. Governor Shaheen and the political leadership in Concord continue to express strong commitments to the University and are very open to learning about our needs. We have terrific alumni, parents, and benefactors who give time and funds and recognition to the University. Business and industry have been very supportive.

What I observe is that we do have hard problems, but we have very good people. People comprise the most important resource because our business is learning, and we are succeeding at the highest level. There is a great deal of excitement in our common work, work that builds on what has been accomplished here over many generations. I want to close with a short video that captures the excitement of learning that takes place at the University of New Hampshire.

It is with a great sense of optimism and pride that I look to the year ahead and ask for your help in making this special University the very best it can be for future generations.

When I prepared this report for you, I did not realize we would need to deal with two very serious incidents of student misconduct early in the semester. But those have occurred, and I want to comment on them briefly before turning to my prepared remarks. I have said publicly, and I want to repeat again, that students responsible for disruptions of the type we dealt with last Friday night will receive the strongest sanctions permitted under the code of student conduct, including suspension and dismissal.

This community has high standards of conduct and is disgusted by individuals who cannot control their own behaviors and who are disrespectful of authority. We now have police reports on the recent offenders, and University disciplinary actions are proceeding. We have zero tolerance for persons who threaten the safety of others and create a tarnished image of the University. I hope that each of you will express your disgust over the behavior of the few individuals who have been disruptive this fall. Having said this, let me assure you that almost all UNH students are highly responsible, are serious about their studies, and know how to have fun in constructive ways.