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Many thanks, Heather, for your kind introduction. And thanks to all of you for taking the time to join me this afternoon.
Before I begin, I want to acknowledge the Pierson-Norton-Jones Trio, whose music enriched us this afternoon. Professors Katherine Borst Jones, Jeanne Norton, and Karen Pierson played selections by Jacques Ibert. We are truly fortunate to have at Ohio State one of this country's finest schools of music. Because the overarching purpose of my twice-yearly talks with faculty is to celebrate your efforts, I intend to feature some aspect of faculty work at each of these occasions.
Three weeks into fall quarter, we could all be forgiven for spending this hour or two catching up on e-mail or wading through our growing stacks of journals. The press of teaching, helping students, participating in committee work, and conducting scholarship is enormous. The press of the University's future is also substantial, and so I deeply appreciate your being here.
As I begin, I want to acknowledge the superb faculty leadership we have in Heather Allen, Dick Gunther, Tim Gerber, Chris Zacher, and their many colleagues throughout the University. The provost and I are incredibly fortunate to have their wisdom and advice on so many matters, and I thank them for that productive relationship.
Fall is the most exciting time to be part of a university community, a time of beginning and renewal in the rhythm of academic life. The great optimism of new students -- for whom life's possibilities extend beyond our line of sight Ð is infectious, even for someone who is three-and-a-half times their age! (Actually, the thought of that is nearly enough to quench my optimism.)
Truly, though, the revitalization is not limited to students. I trust that you have returned to the classroom recharged after summer activities.
As some of you may know, I spent much of the summer on the road, visiting Ohio's 88 counties. In all, the Odyssey that was my State Tour encompassed 4,100 miles.
Now, 4,100 miles can take you from Columbus to Anchorage, Alaska. Or it can take you from Columbus to Lisbon, Portugal.
But here are a few places that those 4,100 miles took me this summer:
My excursion also had me searching in vain for the road sign for Knockemstiff, Ohio, made famous by our own creative writing graduate student Donald Ray Pollock.
Along the way, somewhere between the first family farm in June to the last in August, I acquired the ability to milk a cow. As one of my staff members kindly suggested, I now have a skill to "fall back on!"
Those thousands of miles taught me a great deal. They taught me at least two things that I simply could not learn while sitting in Bricker Hall.
One thing I learned -- or was reminded of in the most powerful way Ð was the great esteem in which this University is held throughout Ohio.
At each stop, I was overwhelmed by people eager to tell me how much they love The Ohio State University. Some were alumni. Some were parents of students. And many had no academic or familial connection whatsoever. From Marietta to Toledo, Ohioans treasure this University. Without a doubt, we are Ohio's university.
Those powerful connections give us great strength; they also carry an incredible responsibility.
Which brings me to the second profound truth that my travels underscored: Now more than ever, the people of this state need us.
Ohio State is a catalytic force in each of Ohio's 88 counties. Our reach throughout Central Ohio is large and obvious, perhaps. But through our alumni, our engaged campuses, our extension offices, and our countless connections to business, Ohio State is the great agent of change and progress -- economically, socially, intellectually, and culturally.
But this buoyant moment of academic beginnings is tempered by the sober realities of the day.
Financial systems and economies Ð personal, national, and global Ð are troubled, at best. From half a world away, we watch continuing wars and conflicts. Food scarcity and security. Environmental degradation. Governmental incursions into sovereign nations. The question of what will fuel our activities when the price of extracted energy eclipses our ability to pay.
The prevailing mood of the day may well be that our public institutions are deteriorating. That our foundations are seriously flawed. That we lack leaders possessing a steady hand, a cool head, and a strong voice.
Around the corner are state and national elections, and with them comes the certainty of change. What is uncertain is the direction of our shared future.
Taking charge -- acting as the architects of our own future and of Ohio's -- requires both the grace and the gumption to lead.
These challenging times are admittedly a difficult backdrop for making bold moves. Yet, now is the time to turn away from the old ways of doing things and to turn instead to the needs that are most pertinent to the moment.
The old saw about "Ivory Towers" has always been false for public universities in this country. Land-grant institutions in particular were founded as part of the communities we serve.
Yet, today's needs are different Ð deeper and more urgent.
They require a heightened commitment.
A re-doubling of effort.
A return to first principles.
A recollection of President Lincoln's firm intent for us.
And a personal commitment to fulfill his expectations.
We are called upon today, as never before, to assume leadership in the State of Ohio and beyond its borders.
To be plain: Ohio State must help lead Ohio out of this decline in confidence, spirit, and economy. And you are my inspiration and my partners in that process.
To our great good fortune, we build on a position of strength.
I arrived here a year ago last October and was struck then, as I am still, by the University's quality. The institution has never been stronger.
We have remarkably prepared students, who demand and deserve every bit of energy and thought we can give them.
For the 14th consecutive year, Ohio State has enrolled its best-prepared freshman class. On campus, they join others of their Millennial generation, who are diverse, collaborative, fearless, globally oriented, and entrepreneurial. And, as you might have noticed, they do not always "color inside the lines."
For us as educators, that is surely a challenge. And it is also an opportunity.
These young people are starting companies in their residence hall rooms, succeeding (or failing), and starting again. They are initiating work in our communities that improves the lives of others. They are combining academic disciplines to study traditional fields in novel ways.
Our task is to understand and to guide their unique perspectives, nurture their finest instincts, and assure that they leave Ohio State fully equipped to assume leadership.
We have superb faculty. Excellent programs abound here.
From the fine and performing arts to translational research in medicine to expanded materials science work Ð your scholarship and research have never been more highly regarded.
Supporting and extending our work and that of our students is a cadre of talented, committed staff members. They are highly capable, and they are dedicated, and they deserve the respect of each of us.
This moment -- this transformative point in the life of the University and Ohio -- cannot slip through our fingers. I am determined to make the most of Ohio State's extraordinary power.
We must be aggressive in seeking out new partnerships with one another, with colleagues elsewhere, with business leaders, with community stakeholders -- with anyone and everyone possessing sound ideas and good intent. Now is not the time to isolate ourselves from potential solutions, wherever they originate.
In collaboration with countless faculty members, we made strong headway last year. We are making progress in building the academic structure so that it facilitates cross-discipline work and reduces competition among colleagues.
With the Arts and Sciences reorganization, we are forging what I fully expect will become the most powerful academic core in the country. Evidence of the Colleges' influence is everywhere Ð from Ann Hamilton's recent Heinz Award to the Physics Department's huge contingent working at the new Large Hadron Collider at CERN. Joan Leitzel's good judgment and strong leadership will help us to build on that exceptionally strong foundation.
Likewise, the faculty-led graduate program review, completed earlier this year, serves as an excellent blueprint for refining programmatic excellence at the doctoral level.
Both the Arts and Sciences reorganization and the graduate program review were the result of careful thought by scores of faculty members and others.
Likely you have heard about the potential conversion of our academic calendar from quarters to semesters. That is an enormously complicated proposition. The discussions are only now beginning, and they start, quite properly, with you.
You are the experts. You know best how to configure ourselves to maximize our effectiveness.
But to be maximally effective, we must turn our attention to a more pervasive -- I will even say "pernicious" -- issue. And that is the twin concern of talent and culture.
I will tease them apart as much as possible to explain myself and my purpose.
Talent.
One thing which was immediately apparent to me when I returned was that Ð as great as we are -- this institution was woefully under-invested in talent, across the board. I am talking about financial assets devoted to hiring, retaining, supporting, and rewarding gifted faculty and staff. Yet, even in spite of that under-investment, this University's growth in stature was staggering. The danger, it seemed to me, was both in losing our advantage and in not making the most of our momentum.
We are very fortunate to have enlightened leadership in Ohio. I am deeply grateful to Governor Strickland, Speaker Husted, Senate President Harris, members of the General Assembly, and Chancellor Fingerhut for preserving our core funding. I am sure you all have faculty friends in Georgia, Maryland, Virginia, and California, among so many other states, where funding for higher education has not fared so well.
Yet, as fortunate as we are, the tipping point I see is a precarious one.
One thing never leaves my mind, and it is this: In today's trying economic times, my colleagues at private universities are poised to poach. They are very aggressively picking off the finest faculty at this country's best public universities. I know how these presidents think: I was one of them. Were I still at Vanderbilt right now, I assure you, your phone numbers would be on my speed-dial.
Indeed, in the face of financial pressures, many universities Ð particularly public ones Ð are retrenching. At first glance, that might seem the prudent approach. It is not.
Now is not the time to hunker down. It is the time to invest Ð as wisely and prudently and aggressively as possible. And that is what I have set out to do.
Without changing our course, without giving renewed attention to how we entice and reward faculty, Ohio State would suffer tremendously.
Now, I do not like to lose. So if the best defense is a good offense, then we must go on the offensive. And we must have the most robust playbook from which to draw.
As I have said before, the deans, the chairs, and I must re-recruit each of you every single day.
I, myself, am no less aggressive Ð some might say obnoxious Ð in my personal involvement in recruiting new faculty. Phone calls, e-mails, letters, personal visits Ð whatever it takes...just short of stalking.
And the reason is simple: Faculty are this institution's greatest asset. You are our strength and our future.
As some of you know, Associate Vice President for Human Resources Larry Lewellen has been focused on this issue for the past year. The faculty-led Talent Acquisition, Retention, and Engagement Committee Ð TARE -- is charged with making suggestions for attracting and retaining the nation's top professorial talent.
Strategies for supporting our faculty include providing ample professional development, networking, and mentoring opportunities; creating flexible career paths to prevent burnout and stagnation; changing our organizational design to promote partnerships and transinsitutional work; and developing new evaluation and reward structures.
Nurturing faculty innovation and excellence means that we must think in new ways about how we acknowledge and reward non-traditional faculty scholarship. We will never forsake recognition for publishing in the usual academic journals, but we must be brave and wise enough to appreciate other forms of scholarship as well.
Just as this remarkable University requires the very best faculty, it also requires the most capable administrative leaders.
Having the right administrative structure in place enables us to retain and attract the finest faculty. I can tell you with all certainty that gifted teachers and scholars will not make their careers at an institution which is poorly run, inefficient, and stagnant in its approach to leadership.
I want to take a moment to talk about my senior administrative hires that have been the source of some discussion in the newspapers recently.
Several of these hires have been made to compensate for a historic neglect that I believe has left money on the table. Experts tell me that we could have realized at least a billion dollars more during the past five years if better investment, fundraising, and management systems had been in place. That is simply unacceptable.
To remedy the problem of under-performing investments, I hired Jonathan Hook as our chief investment officer. Jonathan has a remarkable track record, and he will directly oversee the University's substantial investment pool, which includes our endowment. With his attention, we stand to realize a significantly greater return on our funds Ð both today and in the future.
While we are talking about adding billions of dollars, let me mention the $2.5 billion capital campaign. Although we have not yet developed line-items targets, I can tell you this: The campaign will largely be one to build our endowment. Private resources provide us with the margin of excellence in supporting faculty work, providing student scholarships, and fostering new discoveries in all academic disciplines. Our per-student endowment figure is far, far below that of our peers. We can and will improve it.
And you have become a huge force in generating revenue that not only supports your work and that of our students, but also stimulates Ohio's economy.
Higher education has very few quantitative measures of excellence, and research support is the best among them.
The facts: Ohio State ranks ninth among all American universities in competitive research funding. A decade ago, we ranked 20th.
In the past year, we moved ahead of some not-terribly-shabby schools. The University of Pennsylvania and Stanford are now struggling to catch up to us.
That great strength -- that meteoric rise -- is tangible proof of your extraordinary stature and capabilities. And I am entirely shameless in bragging about it everywhere I go.
We are all fortunate that Caroline Whitacre will continue aggressively leading our ambitious research agenda, creating an environment that truly supports faculty aspirations. I am delighted that she has consented to remove the word "interim" from her title of vice president for research.
To be sure, Ohio State is an economic engine like no other. Some of that work is obvious, and some of it is not. The latter first.
By educating accountants, attorneys, nurses, chemists, writers, veterinarians, and entrepreneurs, among so many other young professionals, Ohio State is supplying a steady stream of highly educated citizens and community leaders Ð all of the people needed to move our economy forward.
Now to the University's more obvious contributions to economic development.
One example I especially like is Ohio State's work with the Third Frontier-funded Wright Center in Biomedical Imaging. One reason I like this example, by the way, is because it illustrates the power of a partnership among the State, the University, and private industry to transform our new discoveries into technological advances that create jobs for Ohio citizens.
Through the Wright Center in Biomedical Imaging, faculty from Ohio State and other universities work with Phillips Medical Systems and Cardinal Health to create new imaging systems that will enhance our ability to diagnose and treat some of today's major health problems.
This center has already attracted nearly $20 million in public and private funds to Ohio, generated more than $75 million in commercial revenue, launched three new start-up companies, and created more than 200 new jobs for Ohioans.
And as extraordinary a story as that is, it is just one of so many across the University and around the state.
On the non-financial side, we must do a better job of linking the immense assets of this institution to the needs of the people of Ohio. Bringing the skills and caring of Ohio State's faculty, staff, and students to bear on the needs of the community is one of the proudest parts of our land-grant mission. Think of our work in the schools, with outreach to the elderly, to the hungry, to those needing free health care. Its value is beyond calculation. But because we can always do more, I have hired a senior vice president for outreach and engagement.
One of the University's operating principles that will always remain constant is the need to use our existing resources wisely. Bill Shkurti is nothing less than evangelical about this, and we are much better for his attention and leadership.
Even as our academic programs have grown in distinction, we have held the line on non-instructional costs. Last year alone, we saved some $100 million through careful management of work transition and health benefit costs, as well as through strategic purchasing and energy conservation.
These ongoing cost savings should account for at least half a billion dollars during the next five years.
In addition, Bill is taking the lead on our effort to de-bureaucratize the institution. We have already made real progress, and we are soliciting additional ideas from everyone.
I assume that you and I share a low tolerance for standing in lines, filling out forms in triplicate, seeking multiple approvals for standard items, and on and on. We are one of the finest universities in the world. We should not have to endure a mind-numbing, blood-pressure-raising bureaucracy. Ohio State will not be known as the institutional archetype for surly and slow!
I am utterly impatient about this, and you are hereby invited to contact me with your suggestions.
While keeping one eye firmly fixed on our financial challenges, we are training the other on something even more nettlesome. And that is the how to shift the culture of this University so that it fully supports our work in the coming decades.
To thrive, to meet our profound public responsibility in the 21st century, we must welcome the notion of change as a constant. We must forevermore work collaboratively.
Already, we have excellent examples. Think of our tremendous Comprehensive Cancer Center, which draws faculty from no fewer than a dozen colleges and draws resources and ideas from an even greater number of external partners. Think of our highly ranked industrial design program, which combines classical principles of art with computer modeling, engineering, and other fields of study.
We must expand that kind of collaborative work, embrace and embody an innovative spirit -- in ourselves, our students, and the staff members who work alongside us.
Innovative cultures are supportive and risk-tolerant. They look outward for ideas and partnerships. Academic innovation is a social process, a team sport -- not a blood-sport.
To collectively transform our culture in the way I am describing requires us to ask some serious questions of ourselves. An accurate, honest accounting of who we are is prerequisite to any change for the better.
How do we truly interact with one another as colleagues Ð across departments and across seniority levels?
Results from last spring's faculty survey show several areas of strong satisfaction, and some key areas needing focused attention.
Not surprisingly, a faculty member's peers and department chair have the greatest impact on contentment and commitment. Here is the problem: Faculty across all ranks reported the lack of a collegial environment, high stress from departmental politics, and exclusion from informal networks.
That is a problem.
That is a huge problem, and we cannot let it stand!
We cannot perpetuate or tolerate a culture that is pugilistic.
Neither arrogance nor a sense of inferiority enables us to accomplish our best work. Freedom from conceit and insecurities liberates us to deliver what is needed to students, colleagues, and communities.
We must be diligent in fostering civil discourse here and in appropriately valuing our resourceful, dedicated staff.
This fall, we have begun work with a number of talented people who are experts in nurturing healthy, productive workplaces. They began with the President's Council, and I will tell you that I have seen improvements in the ways we work together and value one another. The idea is to cascade the process through departments and units, and additional workshops are scheduled.
Those efforts will help us to build sustainable changes at the University. And that is not a trivial thing to accomplish.
Just as we are re-shaping our culture, likewise we are re-conceptualizing our approach to capital planning, with cross-discipline academic collaborations as the priority.
So what does this mean, exactly?
It means the development of a comprehensive strategy for both existing and new facilities.
This fall, consultants from Sasaki Associates, an international architectural and urban planning firm, began studying the current uses of our buildings. Although we will not have a formal plan for some time, we do know this: What drives our capital-project decisions will be the University's strategic goals for programs, recruitment and enrollment targets, and cooperative initiatives.
We intend for those physical facilities to reach out to the edges of our campus, to build on the urban vitality that surrounds us. Developing a physical space that is compelling for the so-called "creative class" will help to strengthen our neighborhoods and our economy. The ties with a great university community are natural, and we must take advantage of them. Indeed, we intend on building a vibrant "knowledge city" that inspires and enables innovation and creativity of all sorts.
I have described many ways that we are reconfiguring ourselves for the future, but it is important to note that we are not alone in this work. During the past year and a half, our Board of Trustees has worked closely with Dr. Richard Chait, an expert on academic governance who teaches at Harvard University. The Board's leadership informs every direction we take, and it is tremendously reassuring to have trustees who are eager to realign themselves just as they are asking us to do. Without a doubt, our Board is among this country's finest.
I have mentioned several mile markers that I believe must be in place to direct our dash to distinction among America's pre-eminent universities. The full measure of ourselves and our institution must include all that Ohio State does so superbly.
Think back to the very troubling issues I mentioned at the beginning of my remarks Ð the undeniable challenges of this moment. Economic uncertainty, international conflict, a compromised environment, food scarcity, and so many other pressing concerns.
If good news is to be found there, it is this: Ohio State Ð this University Ð is a natural leader with existing expertise in exactly those areas. Our faculty are world-renowned in:
Special mention must also be made of the many efforts being launched under the auspices of environmental sustainability. We are approaching the issue as teachers, as scientists, as artists, and as practitioners.
Our Polar Studies work began as far back as 1960, long before the world's attention was focused on environmental issues. And we can see the obvious distinction in that program today.
This summer, our Olentangy River Wetlands Research Park was designated a wetland of international importance, one of only two dozen in this country.
As an institution, we are committed to practicing what we preach. Energy conservation is incorporated in our new construction. We are purchasing the maximum amount of green, renewable energy. And we are doing so much more.
For my own part, last spring I signed the American College and University Presidents Climate Commitment. In doing so, we are agreeing to reduce emissions, to integrate sustainability into our curriculum, and to share our plans and progress reports.
Further, I am forming a Sustainability Council, which will report through my office. The Council will help to coordinate Ohio State's many efforts on behalf of environmental sustainability.
Yet, while we are focused so intently on solving these pressing problems Ð the environment, health care, and so many others Ð we cannot lose sight of our permanent calling to promote and sustain the arts.
In this building, just outside this door, is a treasury of post-modern American art that will not be seen anywhere else in this country. It is here precisely because of our great academic breadth, which fully encompasses the fine and performing arts.
Our School of Music Ð exemplified today by the beautiful work of the Pierson-Norton-Jones Trio Ð not only includes all levels of undergraduate and graduate study. It also reaches out to Central Ohio's young people, engaging elementary- and middle-school students in the beauty of sound and melody through so many instructional programs.
Great universities have always been the nucleus of artistic expression, the great cauldron of human creativity. The arts ennoble us and nourish our spirits. They help us to understand our personal and spiritual place in the world and in relation to one another.
And so, even as we celebrate our distinction in research and community work, we must also remember proudly that we are the University of Bebe Miller, James Thurber, George Bellows, Roy Lichtenstein, and so many other great artists.
Taken together, Ohio State's resources are unparalleled.
I cannot imagine a university anywhere that builds on a broader base of academic excellence.
Let me say that again. No university anywhere builds on a broader base of academic excellence than does Ohio State.
The future is uncertain. The chapter is yet to be written.
Our challenge at this moment is to act quickly and decisively, to coalesce the talent and energy devoted to areas of greatest promise, to build toward a common vision.
Now is the time to re-assert ourselves in fulfilling our sacred trust as Ohio's university. And to expand well beyond. By intensifying our work around the world, we will deepen our commitment to this great state and expand its global opportunities.
When I spoke with you last May, I talked about the concept of Ohio State as the land-grant university to the world. We have in this room the authorities to carry through on that expanded mission.
Look around you.
Gathered here today is one of the country's largest assemblies of experts who possess all of the skills needed to tackle and solve our most difficult global problems.
As scholars, scientists, and teachers, we must acknowledge that these problems are fierce. We must acknowledge that we all have a role to play in their resolution. And we must roll up our sleeves.
Status-quo work and routine problem-solving will not do.
We must come forward together in the very finest American tradition.
The unlimited power of the human spirit must fuse with forceful intellect and great character Ð the character that was forged out of unparalleled daring, self-reliance, and courage.
Americans are famously stubborn. And that is not necessarily a terrible thing.
That determination took us to the Moon and to Mars, and it will take us out of today's turbulent eddy of troubles.
We strive.
We struggle.
We persevere.
And, together, we triumph.
And in our triumph, this state will triumph Ð 11 million Ohioans will triumph.
That is our common experience Ð as educators and as leaders in every conceivable field of study. And it is our common obligation in fulfilling the public trust.
Ohio State cannot sit idle. It is not our nature. It is not who we are.
At this moment of truth, this University is where great human expertise answers great human need. Where today's problems are solved and tomorrow's citizens are educated for leadership.
I have been thinking a good bit about the chapter that is ours to write. The future that is ours for the making.
I see an Ohio State that...
...leads our nation's creativity and innovation
...remains the portal to the American Dream for
so many first-generation students
...promotes the peaceable remedies of justice around the globe
...teaches the rigor of rational thought, the wisdom of the ancients, and
the inspiration of the fine and performing arts, and
....restores public faith in institutions through the
education of ethical corporate leaders and public servants.
Ladies and gentlemen, I will close by saying that I am deeply honored to lead this remarkable University, particularly at this defining moment.
We have much to do. I approach each day with an urgency of purpose which comes from the belief that we have, right now, an act-or-lose opportunity.
What is required of us is the assumption of good faith, the understanding that zero-sum thinking always nets out to zero, and the will to work together to improve lives and to enrich communities throughout Ohio and well beyond.
Thank you for joining me today and for thinking through these issues with me.
Copyright 2010, The Ohio State University
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