University President Bob Bruininks used his fifth annual State of the U address on April 5 to highlight some of the achievements made across the University system since the strategic positioning initiative was launched two years ago. That endeavor aims to transform the University into one of the top three public research universities in the world. “ ‘Top three’ is aspirational and audacious, but that’s not to say it can’t be achieved,” Bruininks said. He listed several new strategies for ensuring greater student success and higher graduation rates, as well as ongoing efforts designed to improve service and productivity system-wide. To hear the State of the U speech, visit www.umn.edu/pres.

In the most recent rankings of American public research universities, released in March, the University maintained its standing in the top tier in eight of nine measures. The U ranks lowest in undergraduate SAT/ACT scores, which used 2004 data. Other measures include endowment assets, research dollars, annual giving, faculty awards, doctorates granted, and national academy members. The 2006 report does not reflect the results of the U’s strategic positioning initiatives in the past two years.

Four new members of the University Board of Regents were appointed by the Minnesota legislature in March. Students Venora Hung (B.S. ’02) and Maureen Cisneros, psychologist Linda Cohen (M.A. ’85, Ph.D. ’86), and former state senator Dean Johnson began their six-year terms immediately. They succeed Frank Berman (B.S. ’62, J.D. ’65), Lakeesha Ransom (M.A. ’03), Peter Bell, and Cynthia Lesher.

The Bush Foundation awarded nearly $1 million to an initiative aimed at improving the quality of student writing and writing instruction on the Twin Cities campus. The Writing Enriched Curriculum Program will receive $996,645 over three years to launch the first phase of the program. When the program is fully implemented, students in all academic units will take first-year writing courses followed by a series of writing-enriched courses within their majors.

Jonathan Slack has been named director of the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute. Slack, who succeeds Catherine Verfaillie, is the former director of the Centre of Regenerative Medicine at the University of Bath, U.K. The University’s Stem Cell Institute, the first in the nation, was established in 1999 to explore and test the potential of stem cells to improve human and animal health. It has become a leading center of interdisciplinary research encompassing more than 500 researchers from 17 University of Minnesota schools and centers.

A researcher in the School of Nursing has received a $3 millionfederal grant to test strategies aimed at reducing teen pregnancy. Associate Professor Renee Sieving will lead a multidisciplinary team in an 18-month-long project that will involve 125 Twin Cities teens. The strategy aims to help participants build the skills, confidence, and support that will help them avoid risky behaviors.

The University of Minnesota ROTC has been ranked No. 1 in the nation by the Order of the Founders and Patriots of America, a century-old group that traces its ancestry to those who served in the American Revolution. The rankings considered 274 battalions in the country and are based on criteria that include military test scores and cadet grade point average.
—Cynthia Scott