University of New England

Colleges and universities mature in different ways. Some choose to become "niche institutions," striving for regional or national pre-eminence in focused academic disciplines such as business, art or engineering. Others seek to become "comprehensive institutions," offering a vast smorgasbord of educational opportunities. As we move to become a pre-eminent university in the fields we offer, the University of New England is taking the best from both models.
While we will continue to have flagship programs in osteopathic medicine, health sciences and marine science, we are also developing a host of other strong academic disciplines in the liberal arts and sciences, education and business. And, importantly, we are committed to enhancing our research capabilities.

This commitment to become a significant research institution is the theme of the stories in this issue of Nexus. It only makes sense for us to move in this direction: we have appropriate fields of study, many of which present wonderful opportunities for interdisciplinary research; we already have a handful of world-class researchers; we are ideally situated geographically for certain kinds of research, such as marine science; and we have a "hands-on" philosophy of education that lends itself to integrating learning with research.

The challenges for us now are to develop the necessary infrastructure, recruit more top-flight researcher/teachers and change the culture of the institution. All this without losing—in fact enhancing—the quality of the teaching and learning experiences here. These issues are raised and discussed in the stories I hope you will take the time to read.

As UNE grows, matures and gains prominence, so does the value of the degree you earned here. Over time, in the not-too-distant future, your degree's value will increase many fold.

Finally, I am pleased to tell you that we have met the Kresge Challenge. When the Foundation offered us its challenge in March of 2001, UNE had about $4.6 million left to raise in order to receive Kresge's $750,000 grant and reach our $9.5 million goal towards construction of the Marine Science Center and new construction and renovations on the Westbrook College Campus. These exceptional educational and research spaces have been central to our UNEqualed Vision Capital Campaign that began in 1998.

The Kresge Challenge was truly a "down-to-the-wire" effort. But thanks to many generous alumni, friends, faculty and staff, corporations and foundations, and the hard work of a dedicated fundraising staff, we made it, with change to spare.

I can't say this enough…we couldn't do what we do, or become what we aspire to be, without your ongoing support. Thank you so much for all that you do.

Sandra Featherman, Ph.D.
President