The starting point to growth is to recognize that we face significant obstacles to our success. Many of our competitors in other states are receiving double-digit percentage increases in state support. This will enable them to compete effectively for new talent, and provide their researchers with significant resources. We need more endowed chairs, but it is difficult to raise the funds and difficult to recruit the individuals we want as well. We have done well by the plus-up funding process, but this is under increasing political scrutiny, and while we will try to grow funding via this avenue, we have no assurance it won’t decline instead.

However, we must remember that many universities would love to trade places with us. We have a talented faculty, which is the heart of any university. We have a deservedly strong reputation, and can brag of many accomplished alumni. We have a low cost of living, in a clean, low-crime environment. And, we have relatively untapped opportunities. We can leverage the proximity of Ft. Leonard Wood and enhance America’s national security by increasing our participation in classified research. This also has the effect of providing improved cooperation with large corporations like Boeing, as well as with small businesses. We should pursue increased intellectual property revenues, and increase the range of funding sources we receive support from. We need to partner with regional players, who already respect our reputation. Increasingly, all of our operations will become a global enterprise, which is an arena where we are well-poised to compete. Fortune 500 corporations are increasingly establishing research centers overseas, and we can beat other universities to the punch by building relationships with these centers. Such relationships are likely to be complex, involving some combination of research, distance learning, and exchange programs, but we are skilled with all of these. Such activities will also create a virtuous cycle of increased visibility, funding, and reputation.

We also need to be aware that all organizations with large cash flows are under increased scrutiny in the post-Enron environment. We need to have financial controls that are second-to-none. Since financial professionals are in high demand, we need to ensure that we are treating our Sponsored Programs staff well, and make sure they know they are valued contributors to the university mission. Similarly, we need to remember that our faculty work very hard to create the superb reputation we now enjoy, and that any increase will come from their career growth. This growth increases their marketability. There is tremendous competition for their talent, and this competition will intensify as we progress towards our goals. Therefore, we need to modernize our compensation / recognition system in order to retain our best and brightest. Furthermore, we need to encourage diversity, because diversity is highly correlated with success in attracting and retaining creative talent – and because it is the right thing to do.

I am deeply grateful for being a finalist for this position. All three candidates have distinguished track records and prodigious accomplishments. I am sure that we have a bright future, if we make clear our unequivocal commitment to research excellence.

Vittal Rao, the William A. Rutledge-Emerson Electric Co. Distinguished Professor in Electrical and Computer Engineering at UMR
In order to enhance the research on UMR campus, we have to consider the following developments:

• Today’s research requires fresh ideas and creative people to compete in dynamic, complex, and national/ international environment. (The World is Flat)


• It requires collaborations amongst the multidisciplinary investigators across universities to solve global problems such as natural disasters, homeland security, search for alternative energy sources, and healthcare delivery systems. (Federal Agencies)


• Implementation of American Competitiveness Initiative (Innovation-enabling Research)


• Development of innovative research initiatives for economic development of the state of Missouri and the USA (US Economic competitiveness and UM research and Economic Development)


• Programs for the integration of Research, Education and Innovation (American Competitiveness Initiative)

Based on our campus strengths and the Federal agency requirements, we have to formulate a research program which can make UMR a noticeable Hill in ‘Today’s Flat World’ for its uniqueness in multidisciplinary research and education, transformational research; incubation of new ideas for spanning new industries; and integration of discovery, education, and innovation.

K. Krishnamurthy, professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering and associate dean of the UMR School of Engineering
I have been a faculty member at UMR for the last twenty years. During this time, I have seen numerous changes on campus and have witnessed the tremendous progress we have made on many fronts. Student enrollment has gone up from 4748 in FS 2000 to 5858 in FS 2006, and sponsored research expenditures have increased from $18M in FY 2000 to $36M in FY 2006 to highlight just a couple of our successes in the recent past. As we aspire to be one of the top five technological research universities in the United States by the year 2010, we face new challenges not only because we have set higher goals, but also because the operating parameters and boundary conditions are continuously changing.

Chancellor Carney has submitted a Draft Strategic Plan document that will help us define our agenda, and how and where to focus our time and energies. As one would expect, research is an important component of the strategic initiatives. Clearly, the Vice Provost for Research will play a crucial role in executing many of the actions items and accomplishing the state objectives.

In my humble opinion, the keys to success of our research enterprise are: i) recruiting and retaining capable people; ii) generating resources from sponsored research, state support, gifts and licensing income; and iii) having robust processes in place to bring people, ideas and resources together, and address and facilitate the diverse needs and interests of the faculty. The challenge is not only in sustaining current level of productivity, but also how to invest and explore new opportunities to build on our core capabilities.

I invite your thoughts and comments.