When I listened to Barack Obama’s inaugural speech in January, I was struck by the encouragement his words offered for the University and the College of Biological Sciences:
“The state of our economy calls for action: bold and swift. And we will act not only to create new jobs, but to lay a new foundation for growth. We will restore science to its rightful place, and wield technology’s wonders to raise health care’s quality and lower its cost. We will harness the sun and the winds and the soil to fuel our cars and run our factories. And we will transform our schools and colleges and universities to meet the demands of a new age. All this we can do. And all this we will do.”
There were more encouraging words from Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. When asked about the priorities in the federal economic stimulus package, Pelosi responded: “There are four words—science, science, science and science.”
The new era we are entering is fraught with paradoxes. Our country is in the throes of economic uncertainty and we have visionary new leadership at the helm. The University is facing serious challenges created by the economic downturn and demand for CBS educational programs is skyrocketing. We are modeling reductions to the CBS budget and Congress has approved massive increases to the budgets of the National Institutes of Health, the National Science Foundation and the Department of Energy.
One thing is certain. We need to seize opportunities for growth while recognizing opportunities to pull back. By doing so, we can maintain our momentum along the trajectory of excellence we have enjoyed for the past decade and keep our vision within sight.
Together, we can continue to thrive—in good times and in bad.
Robert Elde, Dean
College of Biological Sciences
elde@umn.edu
