Leadership Maine
Jan. 25, 2007
Robert A. Kennedy, President, University of Maine
• We are delighted to have
you here with us today. I really appreciate the work of the Maine
Development Foundation, and Leadership Maine is an outstanding program.
• Like all of us at UMaine, I was delighted last September when MDF
recognized our own Jake Ward with its annual Kenneth M. Curtis
Leadership Award.
• Jake, as all of you know--or will know before the end of the day
today--is a tremendous spokesperson for this university and for the
critical importance of R&D to our future.
• We are fortunate to have Jake on our team, and I am certain that his
experiences with Leadership Maine helped to make him the kind of leader
he is today.
• I am also pleased to note that Meg Malmberg and Kathy Olmestead--two
members of the UMaine community--are in the current Leadership Maine
class.
• We are proud of UMaine's ongoing association with this program, and
with the Maine Development Foundation.
• R&D is on your agenda today, and we are pleased to have the
opportunity to demonstrate UMaine's unique statewide role in this
important arena.
• I suspect the so-called Brookings Report is a subject of great
interest to this group, and I imagine that it is something you have
discussed in detail. As you know, it points to strategic investment in
R&D as a way to help Maine find its way to a more prosperous future.
• This is something we have been saying at UMaine for more than a
decade--and we have the results to back our contention.
• Just a little historic background, if you will. In the mid-1990s, five
UMaine professors, forever to be known as the "Faculty Five," took it
upon themselves to mount a grassroots, statewide campaign to demonstrate
the value of investment in university research.
• Led by Prof. George Jacobson, this group was extremely successful in
jump-starting the Maine investment in research. Their efforts led to the
creation of the Maine Economic Improvement Fund, or MEIF, which involves
that kind of strategic investment in seven specific sectors.
• MEIF continues to be the lifeblood of UMaine's R&D program, allowing
UMaine to nearly triple its research activity since MEIF began--again,
with a strategic emphasis.
• A few numbers from FY06, just to illustrate the value of MEIF and
UMaine R&D:
- Total R&D expenditures were $65 million; $50 million in the seven MEIF
sectors;
- 626 jobs--good jobs--are supported with external funding and MEIF
funds;
- UMaine researchers filed 10 patent applications and three new patents
were issued;
- Because of UMaine's success in developing new companies from research,
Maine now ranks second in the country for spin-off businesses created
per dollar of state investment in research.
• It boils down to this: For every dollar Maine has invested in this
university through MEIF, our researchers have leveraged five dollars
from sources outside Maine. We have verifiable numbers that show that
our faculty out-produce their peers at similar institutions. That's year
in, year out, consistently. I truly believe that this is one of the best
investments our state makes.
• I should tell you that we are working with our advocates and others to
make the case that MEIF needs to grow. A larger MEIF investment--which
will result in more faculty researchers, better facilities, and more
opportunities for our students--will mean greater returns to our
economy. The return will always be strong, but the state investment has
reached a plateau.
• One of my primary goals is for UMaine to become one of the top 50
public universities in the U.S. We can reach that goal, and we can do it
quickly. We have initiatives in student services, in fundraising and in
communications that will help us get there. But nothing will help us
reach that goal, and bring the benefits that come with being in that
group, more quickly than increased research funding.
• R&D is important, to be sure. But I don't want to leave you with the
impression that this university is all about research.
• What we are as a university really helps us be a better research
institution. And vice-versa.
• At its core, UMaine is a place where people come to get a high-quality
college education, as part of a comprehensive university experience.
• UMaine is unique in Maine for many reasons--its size, as Maine's
largest university, the breadth of its programs, and its ability to
provide access to things like Division I sports, the arts, and a
tremendous array of activities for students.
• A UMaine education, by definition, is a broad-based education rooted
in the liberal arts. You may not think of it this way, with Bowdoin,
Bates and Colby being in Maine, but our College of Liberal arts and
Sciences is the largest liberal arts college in Maine.
• Every student is exposed to new ways to examining the world through
broad-based graduation requirements that touch a wide variety of
academic disciplines.
• This is, we believe, what a university should be. Graduates leave here
able to think for themselves, to communicate effectively, and to
consider issues in the kind of broad context that fosters creative,
effective thinking. In short, they are truly educated, ready to find
their place in the world, and to contribute to society in meaningful
ways.
• Research can also be an important part of the educational experience
for undergraduate students. In many areas--not just science and
engineering--students work with professors who are among the world's
leaders in their fields. They are the scholars who are developing the
new knowledge that is helping to advance society. And our students are
often involved, as real contributors, in that kind of scholarly work.
Some cases are rather striking--like undergraduate students (grad
students too, of course) who find themselves in places like Antarctica
on research expeditions!
• When I was a professor, I always felt that I was a better teacher
because I was also a researcher. Researchers are among those who are
involved in developing the current ways of thinking about subjects, so
they are in a position to pass that kind of information and knowledge
along to their students. I know that many people in academic life feel
the same way about that connection. UMaine is the one place in this
state where that dynamic is played out every day, across fields
including education, business, and liberal arts.
• Again, I do appreciate your willingness to participate in this
important program, and to spend time with us today. I think you will
enjoy what we have planned for you, and I encourage you to come back any
time.
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