Good Afternoon. Welcome to all of you. It is especially gratifying to welcome the women and men of the Faculty who are being recognized this afternoon for their service and professional achievement. A warm welcome, too, to their families and friends.

 

Before I begin, please join me in a moment of silence in memory of our alumnus, Lt. Col. Michael Anderson, who tragically lost his life in the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster on Saturday. For Michael, for his crewmates, and for the families of the Columbia crew, let us pray.

 

The University announced earlier today the establishment of the Michael P. Anderson Scholarship. And should Michael's children choose to attend Creighton University, they will do so tuition-free.

 

This Founders' Day Finds Creighton University in its 124th year. As we enjoy the successes of the present and the expectations of the future, also share the challenges and burdens of the moment. It has been noted, "Let your positive actions talk for you. Anything else reduces the achievement." (Scott Tinley)

 

You and your predecessors have performed many "Positive Actions" that tell the Creighton story; you have achieved much across the twelve plus decades since this institution swung open its doors to some 120 students in the Omaha of 1878. Referenced by a local historian as "A raucous frontier town that possessed an ample number of drinking establishments and houses of prostitution but lacked paved streets and virtually every other amenity today associated with urban living."

 

This afternoon I want to present a state of the University that addresses our present environment and progress, and some of the challenges and opportunities before us.

 

Winston Churchill noted that "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."

 

There is no dearth of difficulties; hence there should be no dearth of opportunities open to us as members of the Creighton community. It is of this "tension between difficulty and opportunity" that I wish to speak. This is an invitation to come together, to "grow together", to prosper together; to reflect on where we are, what we do, and to look to the future confidently. This is an invitation to see the opportunities amidst the difficulties, an invitation to optimism!

 

"If this University wants to take charge of its future, it must develop the capacity to change in ways consistent with our mission, identity and purpose. What does it take for an institution to stand up and ride the waves of change rather than waiting in the surf, digging in one's heels, and hoping to remain upright as each successive wave crashes over head?"

 

Those waves of change crashing about us provide the context for all that follows. For we are conditioned by the events and circumstance in the external environment: The explosion of technology, the on-going war on terrorism, the collapse of Enron and subsequent corporate corruption, the economic meltdown, the scandals within the Catholic Church, state and federal fiscal deficits, shifting demographics, and war drums beating on two fronts. It is tempting to quote Dickens about the best and the worst of times!

 

As I begin, let me simply note that the State of the University is strong.

 

The comments that follow fall into three parts: (1) planning (2) accomplishments, and (3) opportunities. These comments are meant to be both informative and provocative.

This brings me to my second topic: Present signs of wellness/progress/recognition.

 

I hope many of you would agree that the University has never been poised for a more coordinated thrust into the future. The synergism between all levels of planning is energizing. This planning is complemented by our institution-wide branding initiative, uniform web site development and our coordinated marketing efforts. The time is right to "grow together." Given the present positive media coverage, this is an excellent time to tell the Creighton story with its rich shades of academic accomplishment, faith in service, and extra-mural successes.

 

As I look across the University, there are so many things to share. However, I can only touch upon selected highlights.

 

On the academic front it is safe to say Professor Christine Wiseman, Academic Vice President, has made her presence felt. Academic Affairs has made significant attempts to open its deliberative process by including the Deans in most administrative and budget decisions and widely consulting with faculty groups.

 

• Enrollment is stable. We are cautiously optimistic about the fall 2003 first year class. The most interesting trend at this time is the increased interest in transfer students and an increased interest in Nursing, Pharmacy and Law. The academic profile of this year's class was the highest in our history; the application pool for 2003 posts an even higher academic profile.
• Dental student performance on national boards part I and II continues to be of the highest quality.
• Creighton graduated the first Doctor of Occupational Therapy Class in the country and the first Web-based Doctor of Pharmacy class completed its first year.
• External funding for academic research and program support reached an all time high at $34.8 million compared to $29 million last year.

 

On the Technology front there is much activity:

 

• Bandwidth (data capacity) for Internet and internet2 was increased by 50% to more than 19 megabits per second.
• We have implemented an information security program to install firewalls and other protective devices to monitor and manage Jaynet. There is enhanced security to protect personal data and increased protection from malicious attacks on our servers, but I suspect no defense against the "Sapphire Worm."
• Media services updated the technology in twelve high tech classrooms as well as oversaw the equipping of the twelve new "smart" classrooms in the science building.
• And we have contacted with SCT for the installation of a CU Portal and the student information system.

 

Our friends and alumni are energized by what they see, hear, and read about the University.

 

• Nearly 250 young alumni have volunteered to become active in CAP - Creighton Alumni Partners - Program that assists undergrad admissions efforts. Alumni receptions across the country have been well attended.
• The Creighton Magazine continues to get rave reviews from alumni and national recognition for its quality and content.

 

In spite of the fragile economy, the Development Office is seeing some significant results:

 

• Gift income for the first six months is at an all time high of $12.4 million against $10.4 in the previous year.
• The annual fund phonathon set a new record with a 31% increase over last year; it more than doubled the number of new donors.
• More than $8.1 million in recent gifts/pledges were secured for the Integrated Science Building, bringing the total raised for that project to $26 million. In addition, major requests valued at $20 million are pending and more than 400 individuals will be solicited for support of this building/renovation project in the next six months.
• As many know, we secured a $2 million Lilly grant to support our initiative in "Theological Exploration of Vocation."
• Finally, we secured a planned gift that will ultimately provide over $900,000 to endow scholarships for Native American students.

 

On another front, one of the more important events was the organization effort among our engineers and custodial workers. While the issue was ultimately resolved, in favor of the University, the results will have a far-reaching effect on the quality of the work environment, renewed commitment to treat all employees justly, and on-site leadership training and educational opportunities. I personally viewed this action as a "Teaching moment" for all concerned. We will be a better employer, a better institution, because of October's events.

 

Institutional Relations, now in its second year, is responsible to oversee the breadth of Creighton's outreach into the Greater Omaha Community. Creighton's service and outreach flows from our educational mission and our century-old tradition of serving the needy of Omaha. As such, we have a significant presence in this community. A soon to be released 2nd edition of "CU in the Community" chronicles the breadth of our involvement. Quick sample indicates:

 

• Nearly 500,000 patients visit our clinics annually in eastern Nebraska and Western Iowa;
• Hundreds of you and your colleagues are engaged in volunteer service across the city, state and nation;
• Creighton provides 32 Catholic institutions technology support;

 

The list goes on, but you get the idea.

 

In the area of Mission and Identity, Collaborative Ministry continues to orient all new employees to the University and the clinics. Their online daily reflections and retreats are visited by a over a half a million users a month from across the world.

 

• ILAC, the Institute for Latin American Concern is thriving under lay, Dominican leadership. We are presently working on building a strong relationship with the center's original inspiring Dominican programs among the rural poor and Creighton's programs of service and service learning.

 

That brings us to Student Services.

 

• Living and learning is a hallmark of residence life. Freshman retention in the residence halls this past year was 87.8% -- 2nd highest figure in ten years. The current structure appears to improve academic performance by new students and provides us with an environment whereby challenging intentional programs can take place-i.e. LINKS, Freshman Leadership Program, The Center for Women and the soon to be formed Cortina Community.

 

Almost as an external validation of this success, the Creighton Residence Hall Council was awarded the most prestigious award of the Midwest Affiliation of University Residence Halls for 2002.

 

Our Multicultural Affairs department is actively engaged in many on-campus cultural programs - representing the diverse groups present on campus. As well as working with admissions in actively recruiting and retaining students from under represented groups to build a more inclusive campus community.

 

While the University's athletic programs have generated national attention -- especially women and men's soccer and basketball -- what often goes unheralded is the performance of our student athletes off the court. The grade point average for all student athletes in the fall was 3.21. Nearly 70% of our student athletes have a semester GPA of 3.0 or higher, thus mirroring the student body as a whole. In addition, through 'Operation Bluejay,' representatives of every sport visited local churches, schools, and community groups and spoke to over 15,000 young people about hard work, the importance of staying in school, and making positive life choices. I believe Creighton has a model program of academic integrity and athletic success due to quality coaches, active support staff and energetic student-athletes.

 

Finally, this past year has seen several alpha points: In June we retired the promissory note to the Health Futures Foundation We now own 26% of the hospital debt free.

 

• In that same month, we successfully launched "The Creighton University Medical Center" tag;
• The Integrated Science Education Building was occupied. The finishing touches inside/outside are on schedule.
• Plans for the renovation of Rigge Science and the Criss Towers are well underway.
• The Creighton University Medical Center Hospital was ranked in the top 100 hospitals in the country for quality care. The only Nebraska hospital ever so designated.

 

This list could go on. Like a proud parent I have many pictures of the family to share, but this cameo overview will suffice.

 

This brings me to the last part of these comments: The opportunities before us.

"Growing together" is more than a platitude, my friends, because it can be measured from year-to-year. Growing together is an active concept, an engaging and inclusive concept. Growing together is about the future, it is about planning and plotting and dreaming that future. It is about forgetting and forgiving and implementing that future.

 

Many people, representing hundreds of hours, sharing numerous hopes and dreams, fears and cautions, have invested their good will and creativity in institutional planning at multiple levels. For those efforts the University is deeply grateful. I will address three such efforts: strategic planning, campus master planning, and financial planning.

 

(1) There are scores of definitions of strategic planning. For this discussion I view it as "A willed future." A process through which an institution studies its options and deliberately chooses what it wants to achieve.

 

• As such a strategic plan is future-oriented;
• It must be a coherent, unifying, and integrative pattern of decisions driven by our mission;
• This kind of planning is a response to internal strengths and weakness and to external opportunities and challenges as we seek a competitive advantage.
• And it is a means of establishing our purpose in terms of long-term objectives, action plans, and the allocation of resources.

 

I believe the strategic allocation of time, money and talent is the acid test of any strategic plan.

 

I judge this plan, the product of so much participation and consultation, to be a blueprint for the University growing together on many fronts for the next five-to-eight years.

 

The plan that follows is keyed to this vision statement: "Creighton University will be a national leader in preparing students in a faith based setting for responsible leadership, professional distinction, and committed citizenship."

 

The plan has five priorities, each of which is accompanied by strategic initiatives, tactics, time lines and points of accountability. The highlights:

 

Priority I: To enhance Creighton's national identity and focus its dedication to mission. (We are catholic and Jesuit or we diminish our usefulness.)

 

• To wit: To educate for solidarity with the human community by serving others, promoting justice and embracing change.

Priority II: To nurture Creighton's Academic excellence.

 

• To wit: To model teacher-scholars who engage students in innovative, integrated and values-centered learning, research and patient care.

 

Priority III: To create an environment that enhances diversity for students, faculty and staff at Creighton.

 

• To wit: To attract and embrace a diversity of people who can function in an interdependent globalized culture.

 

Priority IV: To provide a dynamic environment for Creighton students.

 

• To wit: Providing services, programs and environments that support student learning.

 

Priority V: To ensure overall financial stability for Creighton University and its constituent schools and colleges.

 

• To wit: Build sufficient resources to maintain quality academic programs, to grow the Creighton endowment and to grow the Creighton community.

 

Those five priorities contain the essence of this plan; they convey the foci, hallmarks and directions for the University, its educational mission and its role in the community.

 

The complete plan will be on the web site shortly.

 

(2) On another front, this draft campus master plan is the culmination of a nine-month process that has included extensive consultation.

 

This interactive process led to a visionary, yet pragmatic, approach to future campus development, providing the University strategic framework for future decision making. The project is about 60% complete, with this framework draft being the most important component. What remains are decisions concerning landscaping, space allocation, utilities placement and a deferred maintenance inventory.

 

It is my intention to have a realistic, yet future responsive, plan that can be implemented in three or four phases stretching ten to twelve years out. As such, each phase is both free standing or integrative into subsequent development. The timeframe could be adjusted if needs and resources dictated such action.

 

In developing this plan we anticipated future campus boundaries so as to assist us in making decisions related to property acquisition and to give the broader community an indication of our intentions. The boundaries implemented in this plan are from Cass (south) to Cuming (north); and from 17th (east) to 32nd Street (west).

 

This plan complements the dynamic development of downtown Omaha and maximizes Creighton's identification with those developments and enhances our connections with the convention center-arena, the new performing arts building, the riverfront and river walk and the Old Market. It also anticipates the development of a dynamic commercial and entertainment zone east and north of the extended campus.

 

Finally, all the assumptions guiding this process are found in the strategic plan, as such they provide elements of integration across both planning processes. The assumptions include:

 

• A gradual growth in undergraduate students, to an optimum of 4,000 undergrads by 2012;
• To address an immediate need for junior, senior and professional student housing on campus. (An enrollment/retention strategy);
• Anticipated need for expanded academic facilities to complement the new Science Education building;
• Need for expanded recreational space and green belts to make the campus more user friendly;
• Need for expanded parking on the west side of campus;
• Need for expanded health care facilities proximate to the hospital;
• Need to construct parking on the main campus;
• Need for a more pedestrian-oriented connection between the medical center and central campus and between Heider/Kenefick Halls and the central campus.

 

There will be an opportunity to view and comment on this plan during a preview session later this month.

 

(3) The final planning issue concerns our financial wellness. For the first time ever, Creighton has developed a five-year budget forecast of revenue and expenses. While the numbers do not yet balance, this approach takes much of the "surprise" out of the budget process and allows us lead-time to address the financial challenges in any given year. This approach also assures a more disciplined response to our resource needs, and a more participatory approach that engages all of the Academic Deans in enrollment projections, identifying program needs, new initiatives, and redundancies. An incentives program for new program development and budget efficiencies will complement this new approach.

 

Dan Burkey presented an information session January 21st on the "Financial Enhancement Process" in which we are presently engaged. He discussed the efficiencies we implemented for this fiscal year to balance the budget and those needed to balance future budgets. Some genuine progress is being made in crafting a more disciplined and realistic budget. By addressing our needs early on, we hope to avoid any financial "crisis" in the years to come. The budget committee has been expanded and the process has been opened up to include direct participation by additional Academic Deans and Vice Presidents.

 

Having said that, it is also true that significant challenges remain: The accelerating cost of health care, and under performing endowment portfolio, the explosion in technology costs, unfunded federal mandates, shifting unemployment rates, and a flat enrollment - to mention the most significant challenges. Creighton will have to deal with these external factors, as will most other institutions. (Be thankful we are not dependent on state coffers for support.)

 

The present 02-03 budget is balanced. It is our intention to balance the 03-04 budget prior to the March Board meeting. In aggressively seeking savings in the present budget, delaying some capital projects, and holding the line on new hires and selected replacement hires, we will have a "brighter" but "tighter" next couple of years.

 

The new 03-04 budget protects your health care, protects your tuition remission, and provides for enhanced compensation. The budget will include a 4% merit pool, a continuation of the staff classification and compensation plan, now in its 5th year, as well as addressing some Employee Relations issues that have been identified.

 

In response to a compensation study done by the College of Arts and Sciences this year's budget also will contain the first phase of a compensation enhancement plan to address issues of salary compression for select faculty members as determined by the deans.

 

A year ago, I had the sad duty of telling you that, for a variety of reasons, we did not have the ability to give everyone a raise. I know that was a hardship for many of you. I want to express my personal gratitude to each of you for your generous commitment and service throughout this difficult year. Whatever success we had, whatever opportunities lay before us, could not be possible without your dedication and the gifts and talents you bring to Creighton every day.

 

This projected merit pool increase and its additive compensation enhancements is the beginning of an Institutional commitment to address the compensation needs of faculty and staff alike. It will not happen overnight. But it will happen!

All the above sets a context for the four opportunities I set before the university.

 

1) One of our more immediate opportunities is a growing institutional commitment to program review. It is my intent that program review should inform institutional decisions about where to effectively allocate or reallocate our educational resources. To that end, I view program review as an evaluative tool that measures a program's contribution to students, the faculty, the institution and the larger community, consistent with the mission of the university.

 

I look to the Deans and Vice Presidents to implement program review on a regular cycle whose time frame and structure will depend upon needs of the particular departments or colleges/schools. I also hope that we can measure the value of our programs against a common core of quality indicators that include:

 

1. Information on students' preparation and performance;
2. Faculty qualifications and productivity;
3. The currency of the curriculum in the particular program;
4. The level of instructional support; 5) Adequacies of facilities and,
5. Alumni/ae satisfaction. This necessarily demands accountability at the department, decanal and Vice Presidential levels.

 

Medicine, Pharmacy and Law have completed such reviews in preparation for accreditation visits or Strategic Planning Initiatives. However, in all other units the potential for genuine restructuring of curricula, department design, content of major, as well as staffing productivity and configuration remain open questions.

 

The challenge for you -- as Deans and Faculty -- is to seize this opportunity; to do it seriously, honestly and creatively.

 

2) A second opportunity is found in your response to the fiscal enhancement process. The recent presentation identified various economic, financial, demographic and other factors affecting higher education in general and Creighton specifically. The economic malaise and bear market have continued longer than most predicted and the fact that virtually everyone is facing similar challenges is of little consolation.

 

We can, however, take consolation in the knowledge that we are not sitting idly by and wringing our hands. Yes, the challenges are serious and demand our attention and your cooperation. This is not a crisis. A crisis can only come from our inaction. This is our opportunity to lay the foundation for the Creighton of the next decades. Everyone can play a part: think creatively, work collaboratively, and look for ways to make new ideas succeed rather than reasons why they cannot. Challenging times represent more than a threat -- they are an opportunity to exercise discipline, vision and creativity. There is a role for every member of the Creighton community in this fiscal restructuring. I ask your cooperation and collaboration in this important undertaking. We all will have to live within our means.

 

3) The new Science Education Building and the renovations of the Rigge and Criss buildings, signal a new and enhanced approach to science education at Creighton. That nearly 45% of our undergraduates major in science is a compelling reason to take this opportunity to evaluate how and what we teach in the sciences. Some $52 million later we must see a change in the way we teach science here.

 

Some recent national reports have called for a transformation in undergraduate science education with an emphasis on interdisciplinary learning and new subjects, for example, Computational Biology. Undergraduate scientists clearly will continue to require solid preparation in Chemistry, Mathematics, Physics and Biology. Subjects we teach very well.

 

However, with the Integrated Science Complex bringing undergraduate science departments and the basic health science departments together in the "same - expanded -- building," there is the opportunity for new interdisciplinary approaches to education in undergraduate sciences, both in the classroom and through laboratory experiences. These might include Computational Biology, Computational Chemistry, Human Molecular Genetics, Neuroscience, Immunology and Bioinformatics.

 

These new educational opportunities, which do not come often to a school with our modest resources, could offer exciting new courses for faculty and undergraduates, and potentially generate new faculty research collaboration and additional trainees for research programs across colleges and departments.

 

To assist in this new research effort by undergraduate science faculty and students, I will ask the Health Futures Foundation for funding of select research projects undertaken by Arts and Sciences faculty. Science education at Creighton, which is already very good, could indeed become better and become a national template for undergraduate science education.

 

4) This fourth opportunity is a bit of a pep talk! It calls for a recommitment to Creighton as "student-centered" -- in and outside the classroom. Our mission reads: "Creighton exists for students and for learning." The student climate survey of 2000, the senior and alumni surveys all clearly indicate that students prosper here in part due to their interaction with faculty and staff. Students experience a growth in maturity, self-confidence and esteem when they are engaged in conversation, discussion or service with faculty and staff. This clearly suggests the value students place on their interaction with people beyond their peer community.

 

The literature suggests that students today select colleges because of programs, but they stay because of the way they are treated. We have very good retention, but could be better!

 

"Cura personalis," the personal care of the individual person is at the heart of the Jesuit approach to education. "Servicide" is its opposite, the breakdown/diminishment of responsive and attentive service. That is antithetical to our mission and has no place on a Jesuit campus.

 

I believe Creighton to be a student-centered campus. Yet I am increasingly becoming aware of concerns -- from across the university -- about unanswered e-mails, unreturned phone calls, shortened office hours, missed appointments, delayed or no response to service requests.

 

We are all busy people in our offices, classrooms, laboratories, residence halls, and support services sites. Some may feel overworked. Yet our focus must be on the students-those in your class, office or hall. Be attentive to their growth. Continue to make yourselves available for "good conversation." Students need your informal wisdom and life philosophies as well as the wisdom of your disciplines to help guide them as they shape their own life choices.

 

This opportunity occurs daily: Be focused on the total growth and development of the students. As mentioned, students increasingly choose a college because of a program, but they stay because of how they are treated. Let all of us recommit ourselves to treating students well as a Creighton hallmark.

As I draw these comments to a close I am aware that I have sounded an ambitious agenda in presenting our planning initiatives in such challenging times (perhaps it is prudent to circle the wagons rather then head off across the prairie, but I am a pioneer, not a settler). I nonetheless view the integration of strategic, fiscal and campus planning as a genuine invitation to institutional synergy, to growing together.

 

I have reviewed some accomplishments that but touch the surface of the positive activities and successes that constitute the Creighton story. The glass is most certainly half full and more that that! So tell the Creighton story with zest and zeal.

 

I have offered four opportunities, that while challenging, they are opportunities that can capture your imagination, creativity, energy and, most of all, your generosity.

 

Planning leads to accomplishments, accomplishments lead to success, and success yields new opportunities.

 

In closing I am reminded of another Churchill quote: "There is no worse mistake in (public) leadership than to hold out false hopes soon to be swept away."

 

It is not my intention to make that mistake. This will not be Creighton's fate!

 

Finally, may the God, common to us all, guide our efforts and bless each of you and yours.

 

Thank you.