April 23, 2021

Dear Campus Community,

A year ago, just as the pandemic was emerging, I tasked a 23-member team to think deeply and critically about UM’s future. Despite the challenges of COVID-19, the University Design Team remained steadfast in developing an enduring framework for UM’s future.

This dedicated group of faculty, staff and students spent the better part of the year self-reflecting on UM’s best attributes, learning from experts about the directions we’re heading, workshopping big ideas with campus, gathering feedback, and examining national signals and new models in higher education. Perhaps the loudest signal they observed is that change and adaptation are critically required of us.

As the current stewards of UM, it is our responsibility to honor those who have come before us by focusing beyond the current moment. We have an obligation to look far into the future to ensure UM delivers the best of public education, innovative research, civic engagement and economic impacts – so that we can meet both emerging and lasting societal needs. I know many of you have spent the past year engaging in forward-thinking work in your own areas. Thank you.

This week, the UDT has published and delivered to me its final report. The document is inspiring. It broadly encompasses the entire institution and proposes brave and big changes for UM’s future while honoring those core values and strengths we must preserve. I invite you to dive into the report.

The work of the UDT forms a foundation for our transition to an annual strategic operating rhythm. Together, the vision and design principles create an enduring strategic lens through which we’ll assess our priorities each year. And the UDT’s strategic initiatives are a set of ideas that can potentially move us toward achieving that vision. The UDT will sunset later this year, but their work will inform and shape our actions for years to come. Several UDT members will assist with the transition.

You will hear more about how we will be incorporating the UDT’s thinking and recommendations as we transition to this new strategic operating rhythm.

We do many things expertly and well. Perhaps the greatest of all is our shared ability to rise to a challenge, self-reflect and adjust to best serve our students and community.

I am deeply grateful to the University Design Team for their time and efforts. I know the rest of our University community joins me in gratitude for their service.

Seth