Though the University now stretches well beyond Jefferson's Lawn and
Ranges, the connections among our schools remain one of our most valuable
assets. The growing sophistication of human knowledge and the complex
questions that arise from complex learning now impel scholars to view
difficult problems from multiple disciplinary perspectives. The boundaries
that divide academic departments have become easier to cross, and
the proximity of our schools and programs to each other and to the
historic heart of the University fosters the intellectual ferment
that gives rise to new discoveries and new ways of thinking.
In recent planning efforts, in which we have envisioned futures built
on established and emerging strengths, the importance of cross-disciplinary
collaboration has become clearer than ever. We are a small institution
when compared with other public research universities. While our size
contributes to the exceptional power and intimacy of the learning
experience here, it prevents some departments, especially in the sciences
and engineering, from acquiring the breadth of faculty expertise necessary
to achieve the distinction of which they are capable. By encouraging
departments to join forces across disciplinary lines, we can assemble
a critical mass of scholars in key areas and build research and teaching
programs that are among the best in the world.
We are beginning to see the fruits of our commitment to working collaboratively.
A new institute devoted to the study of morphogenesis and regenerative
medicine, one of our Virginia 2020 initiatives, draws on the collective
capabilities of researchers in biology, cell biology, microbiology,
pediatrics, chemistry, biomedical engineering, and other departments.
In the area of nanotechnology, another Virginia 2020 priority, we
have professionally recognized faculty strengths in departments ranging
from materials science to chemistry to biomedical engineering. Similarly,
faculty members in chemistry and medicine are working together to
make groundbreaking advances in drug discovery and development. And
as we proceed with planning for the new Arts Grounds, one of our overarching
goals is to promote creative collaborations among our arts programs.
Our students, too, are discovering the power of collaboration. The
team that constructed the solar house for the Department of Energy's
Solar Decathlon on the National Mall included graduate and undergraduate
students in architecture, engineering, and other fields. Named first
among fourteen entries for the quality of its design and livability,
and winning second place overall, the house combined technical, aesthetic,
and environmentally sustainable innovations that grew out of multidisciplinary
thinking.
The University's collaborative ventures are international in scope
and impact. In southern Africa, a region where our faculty have long
conducted research on the environment, we have formalized a relationship
with four institutions that encompasses not only scientific inquiry
but also distance-learning programs and opportunities for our students
to study in the region. Capitalizing on eminent programs in literature,
history, politics, law, and other fields, as well as our extraordinary
library collections, both on paper and online, we have established
the International Center for American Studies. Through the center,
scholars in this country and abroad will draw on the University's
incomparable resources to gain a new understanding of the American
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Nowhere is the University's collaborative spirit
more evident than in the study of ethics. In philosophy, religious
studies, medicine, nursing, law, business, architecture and planning,
environmental sciences, and engineering, we have distinguished ethicists
who can help us wrestle with the vexing dilemmas that arise in our
time. The new Institute for Practical Ethics is bringing these strengths
together and has begun to offer courses in which undergraduates
explore ethical issues of global significance.
One very practical reason to pursue multi-disciplinary initiatives
is that they make efficient use of resources, an absolute necessity
in these uncertain and stringent times. The University is among
many public research institutions that are dealing with dramatic
cutbacks in state support. In 2002, the Virginia General Assembly
faced a structural budget crisis totaling some $3.8 billion over
three fiscal years. Every function of state government had to take
cuts in appropriations, and we lost more state dollars than any
other institution in the Commonwealth.
After removing $4.8 million in state funds from our revenues in
2001-2002, we budgeted for state cuts of $25 million in 2002-2003
and $33 million in 2003-2004. As the state's financial condition
further deteriorated over the summer, we imposed a hiring freeze
and curtailed discretionary spending until we could determine the
full extent of the shortfall. With the further cuts announced by
Governor Warner in October, the reductions total $42 million in
2002-2003 and $52 million in 2003-2004.
Though state appropriations will account for less than 9 percent
of our total funding next year, they remain the principal source
of support for most of our academic programs. This kind of financial
contraction can be damaging to student and faculty morale, but it
can also strengthen us. The challenge of maintaining institutional
excellence in the face of severe budget reductions pushes us to
determine what is essential to our mission, to use what we have
wisely, and to find alternative means to fund our core purposes.
Despite current difficulties, we can look to the future with optimism,
in large measure because our alumni and friends continue to demonstrate
their commitment to sustaining the academic enterprise. This past
year, the University and its affiliated foundations received more
than $255 million in gifts, an amount unprecedented in our history.
This figure includes two of the largest single contributions ever
made to the University, as well as nearly $34 million in annual
giving from more than 50,000 donors.
As the following report makes evident, we are working hard to deserve
such generous support. To stay on this path, we will continue to
seek partnerships-within our own community, with colleagues in other
universities, with friends in the public and private sectors, and
with alumni, our lifeblood. And we will emulate our founder, who
as a scholar was "bold in the pursuit of knowledge, never fearing
to follow truth and reason to whatever results they led, and bearding
every authority which stood in their way."
Sincerely,
John
T. Casteen III
President
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