President reveals his vision for the future of the university

President Mark Huddleston introduced his strategic plan, "The University of New Hampshire in 2020: Breaking Silos, Transforming Lives, Reimagining the University," to a packed Johnson Theater last Tuesday.
     President Huddleston opened his speech by describing the impact that UNH has on not only the towns that surround it, but also the world that influences it.
    "This is a broad vision, one that imagines strengthening and expanding partnerships that stretch far beyond the confines of our campuses in Durham and Manchester," Huddleston said.
      From there, Huddleston examined the tuition trends through a movie screen-sized chart behind him and his podium. According to the chart, in-state tuition cost $2,600 in 1978, which equaled about 40 percent of each family's after-tax income. Now, in 2010, in state tuition has risen to $13,700, which equals 60 percent of each family's after-tax income. In the midst of these seemingly staggering statistics, Huddleston was blunt in his message.
      "Let me repeat that: either we change the paradigm or we go out of business," he said.
      After clarifying the need for change, Huddleston went on to describe his vision of UNH in 2020. He said that he hoped the plan would solve some of the unsustainable patterns currently in place, splitting his plans for the future into three sections. The first section, labeled Five Requisites for Change, were abstract and idea-driven goals that involved "changes in culture and practice."
      According to Huddleston, Interdisciplinarity, Redefinition of Scholarly Practices and Scholarly Rewards, Spirit of Enterprise, Time and Space, and Realign Our Budget System, the five requisites, would become essential in changing the paradigm of UNH.
     "When you read the plan, I would urge you to ponder them carefully, and, in the months and years ahead to embrace them, because it is there that our real salvation lies," Huddleston said.
      The second section of Huddleston's plan, labeled "Programmatic Initiatives," focused on new academic and learning projects, including physical changes like the introduction of three new interdisciplinary "schools," and a sustainability "academy," but also behavioral changes as well, including increased support of independent research and scholarship, making UNH more inclusive, and commercializing UNH's intellectual capital.
     "We commit to fueling the fire of their [the students'] curiosity and enriching their learning, in class and out, providing new, enhanced and integrated academic, travel, research, engagement, and professional experiences," said Huddleston.
      One of the specific integrated academic experiences that Huddleston touched upon in his speech was the initiation of the Learning Portal (LeaP). LeaP would allow students to access theme-based lectures, assignments and digitized media through a high capacity cyber network that would allow the information to be accessed and adapted by anyone on campus.
     "Need some background on climate-change in New Hampshire for your English 401 presentation on New England history?" asked Huddleston. "Just LeaP before you look!"   
The third and final section of Huddleston's plan, labeled "Major Capital Investments," introduced Huddleston's plans for construction and renovation projects around campus. Some of these new projects would include renovations to Hamilton Smith Hall, Conant Hall, and Parsons Hall, as well as construction of the much anticipated and debated Business School, a new center for the arts, and a university club meant for faculty and staff to meet for conversation.
     "A university without bounds needn't be a university without place. Indeed, we are, if nothing else, a rooted university, planted firmly in the flinty soil and rich culture of northern New England," Huddleston said.
      In terms of funding, Huddleston stated that he planned to build a web of philanthropy with the 123,000 living alumni to help fundraise the money needed for his strategic plan. He assured the audience that many other colleges and universities within the New England area fundraise in this fashion, and regularly raise more money in that fashion than UNH.
      "Is that really possible, given UNH's rather modest record of fundraising in its first nearly century and a half of existence?" Huddleston asked. "Yes, it is."