Dear Colleagues,

This week, nominees to the University of Oregon’s new Board of Trustees—the institutional governing board recently established by the Oregon Legislature—will visit our campus for an orientation workshop. It is one of many opportunities our new trustees will have to become broadly knowledgeable about the university and their role as board members before their authority becomes fully effective in July 2014.

In my first year as president, I embraced and advocated for this shift in governance structure as a path toward sustaining our public mission in a time of great change for higher education. This reform is bold, and it is essential to the university’s ability to effectively manage its resources and plan strategically for the future. It offers a unique opportunity for faculty, staff, trustees, and leadership—working together—to strengthen the UO’s academic standing and further its reputation as a top-tier research university.

We welcome our prospective trustees with great anticipation as well as considerable purpose. Our board nominees’ time on campus this week will include a high-level overview of the university, and opportunities to become familiar with many aspects of our organization.

As we begin to implement this new governance structure, we look to our own institutional heritage—when the university’s first board of regents, present at its founding, worked in partnership with faculty, students, members of the community, and the state. And we look toward a bright future, as we employ a strategy of focused excellence that will continue to strengthen our ability to compete for the best faculty, the best students, and the public and private financial resources to advance our mission.

This is an exciting time for the university. Your ongoing commitment to excellence is evident everywhere, from the quality of the educational experience our students receive in the classroom, to the creativity and innovation of the research that begins on our campus. I look forward to working together as we continue the positive momentum of this great institution, sustaining and elevating the University of Oregon’s position as one of the world’s premier public research universities.

Regards,

Michael Gottfredson
President