Welcome back to the challenges of winter term. I hope you have enjoyed cherished times with loved ones and grown from the reflective opportunity that is our companion when the new calendar begins.

I struggled to find a quotable homily. While such sayings always are short of some immutable truth, they sometimes give perspective in a time of anxiety as well as hope. What I found above may start a train of thought...perhaps that is all.

The conventional wisdom on economic matters is an abject failure: "experts" have ignored warnings they should have heeded; charlatans have wreaked enormous damage; and impoverished families throughout the world struggle--many, of course, always have. But even more are suddenly faced with turbulent cycles they thought they finally had surmounted. Thoughtful voices tell us that we all share a human's vulnerability to greed and herd behavior but also have the capacity to right the excesses of those behaviors. Let us hope so.

We do, and must "anticipate." Planning would be a useless conceit if we did not try to navigate our own destiny. That is the purpose of the Academic Plan that Provost Bean and so many of you have worked thoughtfully to develop last term. In truth, more than an academic plan, this is a university plan that identifies who we are, what we serve, and how we will grow and improve. Copies of this plan will be made available shortly to colleges and departments and to candidates for my position. The plan will guide our next efforts. We are much stronger for the process and the intellectual engagement that developed this document.

In our "anticipation" of budget matters, we will share what we know when we know it with, I hope, greater preparation than just waiting for the next shoe to drop. Here is a capsule of what I think we "know." Universities, some far wealthier than we, have slashed budgets, imposed hiring freezes, frozen (or in some cases cut) salaries, furloughed employees, imposed staff layoffs, and canceled planned major capital construction projects. Some great names among endowment-dependent institutions have sold assets at significant losses and experienced their first retrenchments in decades.

Our endowment has been well-managed and has lost less than comparators; our capital construction projects rightly have been seen as part of a statewide counter-cyclical construction initiative and many are likely to be funded. Everyone concerned about the local economy is deeply grateful that construction is now beginning on our arena project. Our robust fall enrollment has enabled us to navigate this year's troubled waters in the short run. We deliberately implemented deserved salary increases on schedule to cushion university families against an uncertain future. And the Governor's proposed budget is designed to maintain stable investment in education as an explicit priority. That, as far as it goes (and in these times, that is very far) is the good news.

The uncertainty of our anticipation is that the Governor's budget is based on an economic forecast that likely will worsen. Oregon's unemployment rate in this income tax-dependent state is now worse than the national average. The projected worst-case cycle to full recovery has been extended for several years. The Legislative Assembly will determine which priorities are observed in final budget allocations. We do not know the degree to which "Rainy Day" and other sequestered funds will be used to balance budgets or hoarded against future forecast declines. You have my promise that we will advocate daily in Salem for our crucial mission.

Notwithstanding the uncertainties of these times, there is much to applaud. I just learned that University of Oregon employees actually increased their contributions to this area's Charitable Fund Drive, even in these tough times. You deserve the profound gratitude of the needy among our larger community who are so helped by your generosity. Our students continue to be engaged and pleased with their educations here, even in the vast new numbers that joined us last fall.

Let me speak some candid words of praise about our collective efforts. A recent newspaper column from one of our faculty impugned the academic quality of this institution and even suggested that the University of Oregon "may be asked to resign from the prestigious American Association of Universities (sic), the gold standard of top U.S. academic institutions." This crass statement is complete and irresponsible fiction. Everyone agrees that the Association of American Universities is the gold standard organization. I have been elected unanimously to the AAU governing board for two successive three-year terms. The University's competitive, peer-reviewed research grants, the single most important criterion for AAU membership, have risen dramatically in recent years even in times of flat federal research funding. This is all thanks to the significant efforts of our distinguished faculty who act in the pursuit of new knowledge. Vice President for Research Richard Linton is a national voice for research excellence and recently has participated officially in AAU's national effort to assist the Obama transition team in science and technology matters. I co-chaired the AAU election-year policy task force. Other evidence of our stature is even more compelling: promotion and tenure standards have never been higher or more demanding. The new hires whom Lynn and I greet at McMorran House each fall already are faculty of stunning achievement and continuing promise. We just announced twelve new distinguished faculty recipients of the philanthropically established Fund for Faculty Excellence. They join forty prize recipients from the last two years. Last fall's record enrollment of highly credentialed students is testament to the reputation of the University of Oregon's brand. Applications for next fall, even in a time of family economic hardship, are almost 30 percent ahead of last year's record pace. The inspiration that our faculty, staff and students provide has spurred truly phenomenal philanthropy from our many donors. Campaign Oregon closed its book officially just days ago. The campaign total will be announced shortly; it has exceeded even our most optimistic hopes. The Legislature and State Board of Higher Education keep statistical track of performance indicators for the University of Oregon. Students' satisfaction with their classroom experience here routinely is the highest in the state system and has increased markedly in the last decade. Our graduates overwhelmingly express enormous regard for the education they receive here. Student retention rates and graduation rates all show continued improvement.

The shortfalls in the indicators that we do experience--in salary gaps for instance--have nothing to do with deficits in philanthropic direction or the remotest distraction of intercollegiate athletics. They are directly and exclusively traceable to cutbacks in state funding, of which we are all painfully aware and which the world-class people here have labored so mightily to overcome. I have little patience with those who so carelessly attack the quality of our superb faculty and the high quality academic experience you so routinely provide. As you may know, three of our faculty from three separate academic units won their categories in the Oregon Book Awards. We regularly provide new members elected to the prestigious American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the national academies. This brief summary recounts only a fraction of the stellar academic achievements of the university faculty and students. Take a collective moment to congratulate yourselves. Recently I have reflected informally with faculty and staff about the vital place of universities in times of economic uncertainty. The importance of our role cannot be overstated. In times of economic downturn, students actually turn to us in higher numbers. Their economic struggles in doing so may be intense, but they see more starkly the importance of acquiring knowledge to give direction and sustenance to their lives. The nation and indeed President-elect Obama's new administration have turned to academic institutions and leaders time and again both for analysis and for appointees to high government office. Reflective columns in our print media and the voices of analysis in the broadcast arena from academic commentators help us to make sense out of the shifting currents of world affairs. But we offer also poets and artists, musical performers and geologists, spellbinding lectures and teachers of teachers. It would be a barren society that could not call upon these rich u! niversity resources of understanding. We are lucky to be a contributor to this great fountain of social renewal.

I sense we are part of another current. It is the broad current of transition, the growing sense that--however grim our economic circumstances may appear--this is a renewed public moment for public service. The advent of a new administration in Washington has helped kindle this awareness. This is a time when we as a part of a larger nation can say something as simple and important as, "We can do things because with collective effort we can help better to understand what needs to be done." This university has a proud tradition of such public service, and we will continue to play that role. That comforting knowledge is part of the great hope I share for this coming term and coming time.

As always, please feel free to contact me with your thoughts and concerns at pres@uoregon.edu.

Warmest wishes,

Dave Frohnmayer
President