Letter to the Community

April 14, 1998
TO: The University Community
FROM: Philip E. Austin

The onset of spring is a good time to reflect once again on the many changes taking place at the University. This has been an exceptionally active year, with the last few months marked by the attainment of important milestones and the initiation of major new projects.

Members of the UConn community are for the most part aware of recent achievements, but I want to use this message to summarize several major events and update the community on proposals before the General Assembly in which we have a special interest.

The UConn/Pfizer Center for Excellence

I have said frequently that it is essential to the University of Connecticut's continuing transformation that we expand our relationships with the major economic interests of the state. This is central to our mission as a land-grant institution and it is critical to the establishment of a strong resource base for the enhancement of teaching and research.

In recent years Pfizer, Inc., has been an important partner with the University on research projects at the Health Center and at the Storrs campus. Pfizer is one of Connecticut's major corporations and is an internationally recognized leader in pharmaceutical research. Our relationship has been of great value to many of our own faculty and students.

On March 5, we brought our Pfizer association to a new level of significance. In the presence of Governor Rowland we announced a new and innovative collaboration through which Pfizer will construct a $19 million state-of-the-art research facility on University land (near Horsebarn Hill Road) which will be leased to Pfizer for a 35-year term at the rate of $1 per year. The University will manage, for Pfizer, 80% of the facility which will be used by Pfizer researchers and we will lease (at $1 per year) the other 20% for University research and teaching.

Many University faculty and staff were key to bringing this project to fruition. I particularly want to express appreciation to Vice Provost and Dean of the Graduate School Robert Smith, Dean of Agriculture and Natural Resources Kirklyn Kerr, Professor and Pathobiology Department Head Herb Whiteley, Professor and Biotechnology Center Director Thomas Chen, Associate Professor of Pathobiology Steve Geary, Associate Vice President Tom Callahan, Vice Chancellor for Business and Administration Dale Dreyfuss, and Special Assistant to the Chancellor Lori Aronson. They and their colleagues in this effort performed an invaluable service to the University.

The prospect of acquiring about 13,000 square feet of first-rate laboratory space is itself reason enough to be excited about this opportunity. But just as important, the new Center of Excellence will create a range of opportunities for the University faculty and graduate students (and some advanced undergraduates) to work jointly with outstanding scientists on projects at the cutting edge of a key research field. The Pfizer collaboration offers a model for subsequent endeavors with other state firms and helps the University fulfill not only its appetite for academic excellence, but also its natural role as a major force in Connecticut's economic growth.

Storrs Campus Master Plan

The University's Strategic Plan, adopted by the Board of Trustees early in 1995, described our physical plant as "far below the level required (for) a truly outstanding institution." That was an understatement. The condition of facilities at Storrs and the regional campuses represented a major impediment to a university that in so many other respects was positioned to attain national distinction. To the lasting credit of its leaders at that time, the State of Connecticut responded with UConn 2000 and other initiatives, and the University set about building a statewide campus worthy of our faculty, students, and state. A walk around campus demonstrates the fact that our efforts continue with extraordinary speed and remarkable scope.

On March 3 we passed a critical milestone. Following more than a year of consultation with students, faculty, staff, and members of the wider community, we unveiled the Master Plan for the Storrs Campus. Most of you have seen designers' renderings in University publications, but it is important to emphasize the key elements. When complete, we will have a campus that is coherent but not monotonous, respectful of architectural tradition while technologically advanced, appropriate to the needs of all key University constituencies and inviting to visitors. It will be pedestrian-friendly, but not pedestrian.

Like all major construction projects, the rebuilding of the Storrs campus entails complications. The University is currently engaged in discussions with the State Department of Environmental Protection concerning nonhazardous waste material uncovered in construction of our new warehouse near South Eagleville Road. In the process of construction we discovered that the parking lot now on the site covered a landfill abandoned in the 1960's, and there are complications relating to disposal of ash and other materials on that site. We are working vigorously to solve this problem and are confident that we will be able to present a plan that meets environmental concerns and allows work to proceed without undue delay.

In the context of our overall effort, problems of this nature must be viewed not as obstacles but as challenges that will be overcome in pursuit of an overriding objective of which the Master Plan itself is just one important component. As I said at the unveiling ceremony, the Master Plan is significant less for its own sake than as a symbol of the University's overall movement to the front ranks of American higher education. The essence of a university is its faculty, students, and academic program, and facilities are significant to the extent that they provide a conducive environment for the promotion of excellence in teaching, research, and student life. I believe that we will in very short order have a campus that is a major asset to us as we pursue our more fundamental goals.

The Downtown Stamford Campus

The University's construction program also encompasses major building projects at the Avery Point and Stamford campuses. We expect to finish work at Avery Point in summer of the year 2000. Our new campus in downtown Stamford opened its doors to students on Tuesday, January 20, though work on the auditorium and library is still ongoing. That will be completed next month, and formal opening ceremonies will be held on April 16-18.

Each of our regional campuses plays a distinctive role. The new Stamford facility gives the University an imposing presence in a part of the state that is a center of tremendous economic activity and lies within the New York media market. Fairfield County has historically been less attuned to UConn than other parts of the state, and this must change. An attractive, technologically advanced and accessible campus in downtown Stamford will be an invaluable asset as we work to emphasize our identity as a critical asset for all of Connecticut.

The new campus builds on a strong foundation of program and personnel. We have long offered a range of programs at a relatively hard to get to facility on the outskirts of Stamford; in addition, we provided MBA and Executive MBA programs (and some other courses) at leased sites in the downtown area. In 1996, in cooperation with Connecticut businesses based in Fairfield County, the University established the Connecticut Information Technology Institute (CITI) to provide degree and non-degree programs to meet the economy's need for professional employees with advanced technological training. All those programs will come together, continue and grow in the new Stamford site.

Given the economic base of the region and the profile of the student market, we expect that Stamford will be among the places that serves a student population that is increasingly nontraditional. Many 18-22 year olds attend college at UConn in Stamford, but many others who attend classes there are older, work during the day, and are returning to school for specialized training or to prepare for a second career. We maintain rigorous standards at Stamford. But we also endeavor to be creative in meeting our students' special needs in scheduling and administrative services, and continue to explore alternative ways (e.g., distance learning) to offer classes to a population for whom the mechanics of university attendance can be daunting.

Regional Campus Issues

The Stamford project is significant not only for its own sake, but because it offers tangible evidence of the University's support for our regional campus system. Let there be no mistake. The University administration is firmly committed to the growth and development of all five regional campuses. I made this clear by my strong opposition to a Department of Higher Education advisory group's ill-advised recommendation that the state look at the idea of placing three of our regional campuses in either the Connecticut State University system or the Community-Technical College system.

We are, in fact, moving to strengthen all of the regional campuses. I am supportive of the Tri-Campus initiative that will administratively link the Torrington, Waterbury and West Hartford campuses and lead to the expansion of degree options there. I am also committed to establishment of University-wide tenure for faculty at the regional campuses, as recommended in our Strategic Plan and approved by the University Faculty Senate.

The Board of Trustees will deal both with the Tri-Campus initiative and University-wide tenure in the near future.

Hartford Collaborations

Connecticut's flagship public university plays a special role in the life of the state capital. The University of Connecticut Health Center and John Dempsey Hospital are major health services providers in the capital city region. UConn students, faculty and researchers participate in collaborative programs with the Hartford public schools that touch thousands of Hartford students and teachers; we are expanding our engagement with new initiatives to support teachers' professional development, with a specific focus on technology. The University's regional campus in West Hartford serves approximately 900 students and Hartford is the site of our Law School. We are, in short, a major presence in the community.

I am eager for the University to play this role effectively and prominently. I have been pleased to serve on the management committee of the MetroHartford Millenium Project, a public-private partnership that is developing a range of creative initiatives that will generate an economic rebirth in the Hartford downtown area and the greater region. This and other efforts are important to us not only because they have an indirect but strong impact on our own quality of institutional life ­ we are a major economic force in the region and what strengthens Hartford ultimately strengthens UConn ­ but because it is clear that a state that stakes its future on its role as an economic leader needs a capital city that is itself economically vibrant.

This January the University expanded its Hartford efforts. Following months of discussion, the University and The Travelers Insurance Company announced a collaborative program through which we will offer several credit-bearing courses and non-degree programs at The Travelers' Education Center at 200 Constitution Plaza in downtown Hartford. The courses are open to employees of all area firms and will focus primarily on areas of interest to people working in the mainstays of Hartford's economy--insurance, financial services, and managed care industries. This is good for the students involved, for the many Hartford firms whose survival in the city depends on a highly skilled workforce, and for the University itself.

The Travelers' Education Center is a superb site, and I want to express our deep appreciation to The Travelers for their generous cooperation in this venture. The facility offers a fully equipped learning center with excellent classroom space, audio-visual services, and exceptional computer facilities. The University's programs have exclusive use of the first floor each weekday evening, with access to computer labs and other rooms as needed. Our agreement with The Travelers has a three-year time span, during which we pay no fees for the facility.

I want to emphasize that this is a satellite venture for the University and does not supplant degree programs offered at the West Hartford regional campus. We do expect, however, that many students who take courses at The Travelers' Education Center will complete degrees at UConn; most will apply for programs at either West Hartford or Storrs.

The Health Center

The UConn Health Center's original Strategic Plan was developed in 1992-93. It is now coming to closure, with virtually all objectives met. The Health Center is currently preparing to update the Strategic Plan and chart its course into the 21^st century in all key areas--medical and dental education, research, and clinical care. This spring the first steps of the process will take place with an environmental assessment of markets, trends, and external developments; this will be accompanied by an internal analysis of strengths and weaknesses and will lead to a clear definition of opportunities and challenges.

Throughout the winter, construction of the Health Center's new 11-story Academic Research Building continued on schedule and we expect a formal ribbon-cutting this fall. The new facility, visible from I-84, will provide 196,000 square feet of research space dedicated to biomedical and life-science research. Its development has already bolstered the Health Center's efforts to recruit new scientists, and it will ultimately create about 465 new jobs. We expect that it will attract more than $700 million in federal and industry grants over the next two decades.

In programmatic terms, the University of Connecticut Health Center continues to rank high on virtually every national scale. Like its counterpart institutions across the country, the Health Center plays both a service and educational role, and the two functions are closely related. As a service provider--primarily through John Dempsey Hospital--the Health Center represents a major resource not only to the greater Hartford area but to the state as a whole. The hospital recently underwent a rigorous four-day inspection by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Health Care Organizations, the entity charged with evaluating and accrediting hospitals in the United States. We received a score of 97 out of a possible 100, which is one of the highest ratings accorded to any hospital in the nation and is a clear affirmation of the quality that prevails at the Health Center. The University is committed to maintaining that standard, preserving and enhancing the strength, breadth, and accessibility of our programs. In a highly competitive environment this means, among other things, pursuing new markets and engaging in creative partnerships with other providers. We are doing both of these, limited, as I have said repeatedly, only by our refusal to compromise the quality of patient care.

Our medical and dental training programs continue to represent a major source of pride for the Health Center itself and for the University as a whole. One measure of a health care program's academic success is the placement of its medical students in residencies. I was pleased to learn that last month 97% of UConn's students were matched to a residency program, and 85% were matched to one of their first three choices. Our match rates are significantly higher than the national averages. Other quantitative indicators of program effectiveness are also high, and we are making significant progress in one area that I regard as particularly important: the ethnic diversity of our applicant and entering class pools.

The 1998 Legislative Agenda

Connecticut adopts a state budget on a biennial basis in odd-numbered years. Thus the General Assembly will not adopt a new operating budget this year. This is, nevertheless, a potentially significant session for the University of Connecticut. The legislature is looking closely at the related issues of student cost of attendance and student financial support. A number of proposals are on the table.

The University of Connecticut is committed to access for all qualified students, and we are equally committed to the attainment of academic excellence. The University's policy, as adopted by the Board of Trustees, is to hold tuition and fee increases to no more than the rate of inflation. For the 1998-99 academic year the Board approved a tuition increase of 3% and a room and board increase of 1.5%. We have implemented intensive efforts to control costs, to generate grant and contract revenues, and to increase private support in order to reach our quality goals while we hold tuition and fees within our self-imposed limits. The amount of state support approved by the General Assembly last year represented, for the first time in many years, an increase sufficient to keep pace with inflation. It is essential to the success of our effort that state funding be further enhanced in the next several years to bring us, at a minimum, to the real-dollar level of state funding that prevailed before the 1990s.

The General Assembly has before it legislation to freeze tuition for 1998-99, rolling back the increases approved last summer for the upcoming year. We support this proposal as long as the state makes us whole by increasing the appropriation to our general operating budget by an amount equal to the tuition revenue that we will forego as a result of the freeze. Absent that appropriation increase, the tuition freeze basically provides a limited benefit to students that is more than washed away by the harm that it does to the institution as a whole. Access is an important principle, but access to an institution that lacks the resources to provide a top-quality education is a benefit of questionable value at best.

The General Assembly is also considering a variety of student assistance proposals, some of which are patterned after efforts successfully adopted in other states. The primary model comes from Georgia, whose HOPE Scholarship program provides free tuition and fees to Georgia students who did well in high school, attend Georgia universities and maintain a B average in their university coursework.

Connecticut needs to do more to increase state retention of our best high school graduates. Currently we hold the dubious distinction of ranking second in the nation (behind Alaska) in the proportion of our graduates who go to college out of state; last year about 53% did so. Many will not return home after graduating, but will instead pursue their careers close to where they go to college. This weakens the state's economic base by limiting the pool of talented professionals from which Connecticut's businesses can recruit employees. More important, it has an adverse effect on Connecticut's families.

The University has significantly expanded its own student support programs, devoting approximately 21% of tuition revenues to financial aid and targeting a portion of those funds to the state's most promising high school graduates. We have aggressively pursued private funding for a range of merit-based student support programs. Successful as these efforts have been, we recognize the need for a far more ambitious program if we are to make dramatic progress in enhancing the diversity of our student body and halting the exodus of strong students from the state.

We strongly support the concept behind the scholarship initiatives now under legislative consideration. A rational scholarship program for UConn must, however, meet four tests. First, it must provide supplementary funds for scholarships rather than divert existing University support; to divert funds now being devoted to program enhancement would weaken the institution at just the moment when we are enhancing our national stature and moving to become the university of choice for Connecticut's most promising and deserving students. Second, it must be carefully structured to avoid giving students a special incentive to attend non-public institutions. Third, it must protect high school and college students who take especially challenging subjects; we do not want to force good students to structure their programs in pursuit of high grades in less demanding classes. And fourth, the scholarship must be large enough to attract the attention ­ and shape the choices­ of students and their parents. I believe a program can be constructed that meets these tests.

There are other worthy measures before the General Assembly that address additional University concerns, including a proposal to support additional endowed chairs (which originated with a very creative recommendation from the AAUP) and to enhance public universities' capacity to promote statewide economic development and technological training. We are working hard to assure that our needs in these and other areas are addressed effectively.

It is important to note that decisions made in Washington also have a profound impact on the University. The members of Connecticut's Congressional delegation have been steadfast in their support for the University on legislative issues as well as in our pursuit of federal funding for critical projects. In the near future we anticipate major opportunities, as education and research move closer to the center of the national agenda and the central policy debate focuses on how best to use a budget surplus.

To enhance our capacity to work effectively at the federal level, the University is retaining Van Scoyoc Associates, Inc. Van Scoyoc has a long and proven track record representing higher education institutions and brings to the task an exceptionally strong bipartisan staff. We are working closely with the firm's principals to develop an ambitious and realistic agenda.

Administrative Assessment

The University of Connecticut Institution-Wide Administrative Assessment that commenced in December is coming to a close. As I indicated when we announced the project, I am concerned that, as we undertake so many new and exciting ventures, we continue to pay close attention to day to day operations, and assure that we are providing maximum service at the lowest possible cost. In a large, complex organization there are always going to be opportunities for administrative improvement.

The University contracted with Coopers & Lybrand, Inc., to conduct the study. The Coopers people brought to the task an international reputation in management consulting and a track record at more than 150 colleges and universities. They have been on campus for four months and worked closely with a great many University staff as they completed their study. I appreciate the cooperation given to the consultants.

The Coopers & Lybrand report and recommendations will be issued later this semester. Final implementation decisions will be made in accordance with standard University procedures.

The foregoing represents, of course, only a partial report. The University continues to make progress on multiple fronts and in multiple locations, and the occasional construction-imposed inconveniences or operational obstacles should not be allowed to obscure how far we have come in a short time.

This is a University active in the pursuit of excellence, and we need to convey that image not only to ourselves but to a wider audience. Our University communications staff are working to implement a strategy to attract the high level of attention appropriate to an institution of this university's quality and level of aspiration. UConn's athletic programs help significantly in that effort. But our emphasis, now and in the years ahead, should be to increase national appreciation of our exceptional academic programs and the extraordinary faculty.

In the final analysis, however, what matters is not image but substance. Here at UConn, in all areas that are important to a university--academic program, quality and dedication of faculty, facilities, research support--the substance is extraordinary and reflects the contribution of all segments of the community. I suspect that our greatest challenge, as we near the end of another academic year, is to avoid complacency as we keep this enormous transformation on track. I am confident that we are equal to that challenge.

cc: Board of Trustees