Murphy News Service cover photo by Louis Fine.
By Chris Chesky and Todd Barin/Murphy News Service
University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler gave his annual “State of the University” address Thursday afternoon, covering a variety issues facing the school — from campus safety to diversity..
Kaler touched upon the tuition freeze for Minnesota-resident students in his hour-long address to about 100 people in the Coffman Memorial Union theater, and vowed to improve the human-subjects research program, which has come under considerable fire recently for its lack of oversight, selection and protection of test subjects.
Kaler, the U’s president since 2011, declared that the “insurmountable challenges” of campus climate are “essential to the health, integrity, operational excellence and reputation” of the university.
“If we have an opportunity to have an impact on an institution of this size and scale, we must take it,” Kaler said. “Well, I got that opportunity, I cherish it, and here we are, over four years later, with me more convinced than ever that we—together—can make a difference at our university.”
Kaler, prior to speaking about the university’s strategic plan, was clearly shaken when he spoke of the death of U student Jennifer Houle, whose body was identified early in the day after being found in the Mississippi River Wednesday night.
“I urge all of our students, faculty and staff to please take care of yourselves, and know we have many services and resources across our system for you in these stressful times,” Kaler said. “Please, let’s take care of each other.”
Kaler addressed the motivation behind the recent changes in the University Police Department’s crime alert policies. He said the school’s decision to more closely whether to use a suspect’s race in alerts was at the suggestion of two U graduate students who he said presented him with a report that determined inclusion of race in suspect descriptions was too vague to be of value.
“Students of color do not experience the university in the same ways as their white peers,” Kaler said. “We also found that students, in general, want more of a voice on this and other university issues. Students have made it clear to me that they do not see enough diversity in the classroom—among fellow students or faculty.”
Kaler also announced a gift of more than $4 million from U alum Dr. Roger Anderson that will pay for numerous U endeavors. Anderson was a 1952 University of Minnesota Medical School graduate. He died in 2012 of thyroid cancer at age 86. His gift will provide needed dollars for a variety of projects, Kaler said, including:
- A $2.8 million renovation of Northrup and the restoration of the 6,975 pipes of Northrup’s historic pipe organ
- A new home for the Bell Museum
- Giving the Weisman Art Museum’s Target Studio funding to hire a director of creative collaboration.
“These are wonderful gifts that honor not only a visionary alum, but also our university’s cultural history and our commitment to reciprocal engagement, be it partnering with schools or history and arts lovers statewide,” Kaler said.
Kaler is scheduled to visit the University of Minnesota-Duluth and University of Minnesota-Morris campuses in the coming months for similar addresses.
Reporters Chris Chesky and Todd Barin are studying journalism at the University of Minnesota.