Herbst: Diversity and campus climate key issues to watch

Susan Herbst, president, University of Connecticut

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By Susan Herbst, President of the University of Connecticut

Diversity and campus climate

Colleges and universities are in a unique position to facilitate frank, productive dialogue right now on the important issues of diversity and inclusion facing our nation.

As I told guests at a recent UConn Board of Trustees meeting, it’s important for our institution and others to be open and progressive, with our actions and discussions based on respect.

We have made great strides in recent years with our undergraduate student population: about a third of our recent incoming freshmen classes have been minority students. We’ll build on that success, and push to increase diversity among our faculty and staff.

Last year we established the Task Force on Diversity, whose report was completed in August and whose recommendations have all been accepted.

When we talk about “diversity,” “inclusion,” and “non-discrimination” in higher education, we’re not rattling off buzzwords for public relations value. We’re talking about human beings and the lives they lead.

Knowing that, one of the best and most important things we can do at UConn – and higher education can do as a whole -- is to make sure our campuses reflect the diversity of the nation.

That doesn’t happen by accident; we have to bring it about. And we have an obligation to reach out to people who may not be reaching out to us. Because a diverse classroom, residence hall, or office is a richer, more vibrant, more rewarding place than one that is not.

Budgets and resources

Public research universities must be tremendous assets for the states they call home, conducting important research, working with the private sector to help generate economic growth, and graduating students who will be key contributors to the economic, social and cultural success of their state.

Being able to do this – and do it well – takes resources. Assembling those resources has never been easy – but it has been especially true in recent years as continued economic challenges have led to tighter state budgets.

That is true at UConn and many other schools – both large and small. Many university presidents would likely say that that the recent budget years are among the most difficult they’ve seen.

As our state continues through this hopefully temporary period of fiscal struggles, UConn is working hard to succeed with the resources it has in addition to its state appropriation including tuition and fees, philanthropic giving, and technology commercialization – all while reducing costs wherever possible without harming the academic enterprise.

Connecticut has made extraordinary investments in UConn and those investments have helped make us one of the best public universities in the nation thanks to the high-quality education we are able to offer at a competitive value – attracting thousands of outstanding students from around Connecticut and the world. Assembling the resources needed to maintain that academic quality is our greatest challenge.

Affordability

Higher education is one of the best investments anyone can make. Especially at public institutions, we must always work to provide a high-quality education at a competitive value for students and families.

One of the most critical ways that universities can keep students’ costs down is to provide enough faculty and classes to help ensure they graduate on time and avoid extra semesters’ worth of costs. UConn has invested deeply in this effort in recent years – financially and philosophically – and it’s paying off to help shorten students’ time to graduation.

Institutions must help ensure affordability by maximizing scholarships and grants, and providing work-study opportunities for its students.

At UConn, almost 80 percent of our students receive some form of aid, and almost half receive direct aid funded by UConn that doesn’t need to be paid back. That’s important for ensuring access for talented students, and is the kind of commitment that colleges and universities need to make.

In addition to prioritizing financial aid in our budgets, we must promote, pursue and recognize the importance of philanthropy. Alumni, corporations, and other supporters are quite literally changing lives by investing in our students’ futures through scholarships. They’re also supporting our faculty’s expertise through endowed professorships.

What major bioscience or STEM developments should we expect at UConn in 2016?

The year 2016 will be exciting for UConn, UConn Health, and Connecticut’s bioscience innovations.

UConn has just launched its HEAL Project (Hartford Engineering a Limb). This research challenge will begin its work toward regenerating a human knee within seven years, and an entire limb within 15 years to help fuel future therapies for patients living with musculoskeletal defects, limb injury or limb loss.

Leading the project is our Dr. Cato Laurencin, a leading surgeon-scientist in orthopedic surgery, engineering, and regenerative engineering. His research successes already include the growth of bone and knee ligaments. For the initiative, Laurencin will be teaming with experts at UConn, UConn Health, UC Irvine, Harvard, Columbia and Sastra University in India.

Next year we will be opening our new hospital tower at UConn Health, expanding patient access to state-of-the-art medical care and to meet our state’s future healthcare needs.

Also, UConn will continue to make strides for Bioscience Connecticut.

With thousands of construction jobs already created, we continue to recruit basic and clinical scientists and staff. Laboratory and incubator spaces are being renovated for increased research capacity and fostering of new bioscience business startups. Also, academic renovations are underway so we can increase our medical and dental school class sizes and prepare for an exciting new team-based learning medical school curriculum launching in August 2016.

In January, UConn Health and Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine will welcome our second joint faculty member Dr. J. Travis Hinson, a translational physician-scientist in cardiovascular medicine and genetics.

He specializes in clinical care and research of cardiomyopathies, heart muscle disease that can lead to heart failure. His research engineers and examines beating heart micro-tissues translating genetic mutation research findings into potential therapies for cardiac patients.

[See what others are saying on HBJ's Economic Forecast 2016 page]

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