As we approach the end of the year and my tenure as chancellor, I am reflecting on how far we’ve come over the last few years and on the bright future ahead for UMN Morris.
When I stepped into the chancellor’s role, confronted with the myriad of challenges facing higher education, my goals were to ensure that this university continues to thrive and provide students with the skills to be successful leaders now and into the future.
I’m happy to report that the campus has built on its past successes and has made significant progress as a national leader in collaborative and innovative 21st-century liberal arts education.
With a high level of engagement across curricular, co-curricular, and extracurricular activities, the personalized student experience at UMN Morris is distinctly different from other higher education options. As we know from experience, a student athlete might also be in the choir, have an on-campus job, work with faculty on a research project, be involved in multiple student organizations, and volunteer in the community. This level of involvement would be much more difficult at larger institutions. UMN Morris centers on close working relationships between faculty and students, in and outside of the classroom, and collaboration across disciplines. We also prioritize the development of larger perspectives and engage students in an authentic college learning community, which gives graduates of colleges like ours a genuine advantage over the course of their lives—and research provides persuasive evidence of this.
The campus enrollment branding research we did over the course of the last year captured feedback from different stakeholders and tested messaging to see what had the strongest favorable response. As our final brand positioning from that work describes, Morris is about the unexpected features and benefits of getting a University of Minnesota degree at a smaller, liberal arts-focused university. It leverages the rural setting of Morris as a positive differentiator, giving students space to breathe and grow. It also captures some of the unique characteristics that make Morris stand out—the well-rounded curriculum, personal connections to faculty and classmates, and hands-on experiences. MORE is Morris.
Students and their supporters are seeing that: this fall, we had the largest first-year class since 2021, and the campus’s overall enrollment rose over last year as well. Application numbers for next fall are indicating strong interest and signaling continued growth. Every time I drive by one of the new UMN Morris billboards, such as those along I-94, I’m so proud to be associated with this campus and this place, and I hope the billboards inspire loads of people to learn more about the excellent life preparation UMN Morris offers, with the lowest cost four-year degree in the state, on average after financial aid.
We are committed to continuing our efforts to raise the profile and awareness of the outstanding student opportunities and outcomes at the University of Minnesota Morris. This includes recent and upcoming Community of Scholars events, which bring over 200 students and their families from across the country to Morris to compete for our most prestigious scholarships.
To help with one of the most significant obstacles students face in getting a college degree—the cost—our “Degree in Three” program, launched in 2024, provides a path for students in every major to earn their bachelor’s degree in three years, especially if they’ve taken advantage of college course offerings in high school or AP exams. The idea is to minimize expenses and accelerate a student’s transition into the job market, all while providing the same life-changing experience UMN Morris has always been known for.
While lowering the overall cost of a college education is a worthwhile goal, the value and quality of that education must also be maintained. To that end, we have launched a new core curriculum that includes credit for high-impact experiences such as internships, undergraduate research, study abroad, and campus leadership roles. Generous donors allowed us to hire the campus’s first full-time internship coordinator and are helping us provide financial support to students to ensure that they can participate in these life-impacting experiences.
Throughout my term, my greatest joy has been watching our students, staff, and faculty tap into their imagination and their willingness to consider new ideas and actions. I’ve seen hesitant first-year students blossom into confident graduates and have witnessed seasoned professionals discover new passions as they engage with each new cohort of students.
The University of Minnesota Morris and our public liberal arts focus aren’t duplicated in Minnesota or, really, anywhere that I know of, especially with our exceptionally strong reputation in sustainability and opportunities for students to be involved in that work. What we offer, the ways we educate students, and who those students are, matter now more than ever before.
As I prepare to return to teaching—which I loved when I began at the University of Minnesota Morris more than 25 years ago and am excited to return to—I find myself thinking about the true meaning of leadership. It’s not about titles or accolades. It’s about nurturing the potential in others. I am proud of the work I have done with and for UMN Morris, I remain committed to the distinctive and important mission of UMN Morris, and I look forward to continuing to serve, to learn, and to grow with this community.