UM News

CORAL GABLES, Fla. (June 9, 2016)—As scheduled, the eight working groups charged with laying the foundation for the “Roadmap to Our New Century” outlined by President Julio Frenk at his inauguration have completed their consultative proposals and each of them are now posted online for the University community to consider and shape.

Based on Frenk’s extensive listening exercise last fall, the eight initiatives are designed to propel the University toward its aspiration of being a hemispheric, excellent, relevant, and exemplary institution by its centennial in 2025. But, as Frenk noted in his recent letter to the UM community, the proposals will advance the roadmap “only if they are discussed, debated, and refined by the larger UM community.”

The proposals, which were crafted by working groups comprised of faculty, staff, and students, are interlocking and meant to complement and build upon each other. To develop the proposals, members of the working groups conducted research, examined best practices at other universities, collected data, and consulted with groups and individuals across UM as well as with leading external experts.

The eight areas of focus and the initial charges for each group were:

1. 100 Talents: to add 100 endowed chairs over the next ten years

2. Hemispheric Innovation Hub: to develop a vision for UM to be a catalyst for innovation and new ventures
3. Problem-based Interdisciplinary Collaboration: to propose projects that facilitate the translation of theories and evidence across disciplines, departments, and schools to workable world solutions
4. Hemispheric University Consortium: to propose the organizational structure needed to attract scholars and promote partnerships with other universities and research organizations
5. Culture of Belonging: to explore strategies for enhancing an environment of inclusion on campus, going beyond the metrics of diversity
6. Access with Excellence: to propose programs and resources to minimize or eliminate financial obstacles to student enrollment, learning, international study, research, and network opportunities
7. University-wide Platform for Educational Innovation: to propose projects that will enhance teaching and learning experiences for students and faculty
8. Investment in Basic and Applied Science and Engineering: to cultivate opportunities for multidisciplinary scientific research, teaching, and innovation to ensure UM’s capacity to address urgent issues and problems

Beginning in September, after the summer review and comment period concludes, Frenk will hold another series of town hall meetings to engage all UM constituencies in further conversations about these ideas.

To read and comment on each of them, visit the Roadmap Initiatives homepage.