ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ President Beverly Warren delivered the State of the University address on Thursday, Oct. 13. Themed βLiving the ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ State Promise,β Warren outlined her vision of a reimagined public research university.
βThe ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ State Promise should be a comprehensive approach to student success and fulfillment,β Warren said. βWe aspire to bring the totality of the resources and reach of one of the nationβs largest research universities to higher educationβs most important outcome: more college graduates who have the skills, talent and desire to change the world β who understand that a life of meaning is just as important as a life of financial comfort.β
Some 300 ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ Campus and regional community members gathered in the ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ Student Center Kiva for the address. Regional locations hosted watch events, made possible through the services of ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ Stateβs TeleProductions.
Warren also outlined specific University-Level Initiatives that are underway in the Academic Year 2016-2017 as outlined in the universityβs strategic plan, , including launching the universityβs research initiative in Brain Health.
βOur proposed Research Centers of Distinction are merging our academic strengths into interdisciplinary teams to generate collective impact through translational research β that is, research that contributes to the life and vitality of real people and real communities β¦ exactly the kind of research that is highlighted by the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification,β she said.
Warren said the university aims to achieve the Carnegie Community Engagement Classification by the year 2020.
The address also outlined the universityβs initiative to increase retention and graduation rates by bridging the retention, persistence, and completion gaps between first-generation and underrepresented minority students and the general student population. Warren also shared details about the universityβs efficiency and affordability measures and plans to launch the largest comprehensive campaign in the history of the university.
Reflecting on the recent grand opening of the new Center for Architecture and Environmental Design, Warren suggested the university has the opportunity to make a distinctive contribution to higher education at the intersection of design and science.
βWe are called to dream about the ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ State Innovation Ecosystem that will establish this university as the place where design and science converge to invent the future,β she said.
The full text of the State of the University Address and a video of the program are available at http://www.kent.edu/president/state-university-address-2016.
The universityβs strategic plan, A Strategic Roadmap to a Distinctive ΜμΜμ³ΤΉΟ State, is available online at . In addition to providing downloadable PDFs of the plan, dashboard and priorities, the website shares stories and data snapshots that reflect the universityβs achievements in the 2015-2016 academic year.
