Academic Mission Goal
To anchor the University of Minnesota’s new, sustainable community on the UMore Park property in the University’s land grant mission of research, education and public engagement, imbuing it with the spirit of discovery, the rewards of knowledge for daily life and the opportunity to share commitments and talents in a place that meets the needs of tomorrow and the future.
Charge
To develop creative approaches that will ensure that education and life-long learning – from early childhood development through late-life learning – is incorporated into the core identity of the new UMore Park community to benefit the University; its faculty, staff and students; and citizens of the new community and the broader region. Education and life-long learning in the new community will intersect with health, energy, the environment, transportation and infrastructure, technology, arts and culture and civic life, among other interdisciplinary and disciplinary pursuits.
Consistent with the Regents’ principles that guide the development of UMore Park, the task force will:
- Vision. Create a compelling vision for education and life-long learning that anchors the new University-founded community of the 21st century and is enhanced across generations by the unique characteristics of the University’s academic mission.
- Mechanisms. Identify mechanisms, processes and infrastructure that will enable research and innovation in education and life-long learning to be conducted, applied and incorporated into the new community, ultimately offering distinction in the marketplace and a model for better living. Opportunities to incorporate cutting-edge research and innovation that continually refresh the community and engage faculty members should be highlighted.
- Collaborations. Develop strategies for engaging other public and private sector partners and the complementary expertise that will foster creative collaborations and help to ensure public benefits that are socially, economically and environmentally sustainable.
- Actions. Develop a rationale and action steps that will assist the UMore Park leadership team and its planners and developers in integrating education and life-long learning into the fabric of the new community at the very initial stages of concept master planning.
- Communications. Recommend strategies to better inform faculty members, in particular, across colleges and departments about the unique research, teaching and public engagement platform for education and life-long learning that UMore Park provides. Create broad awareness and interest in interdisciplinary pursuits and foster commitment to UMore Park as a long-term and unparalleled opportunity to leverage the University’s academic mission as it strives to become among the top three public research institutions in the world.
- Internal and external engagement. The task force processes and deliberations include the following activities:
- Inclusive discussions with public and private sector entities that will help to define potential partnerships and joint activities in education and life-long learning.
- Broad-based input to the task force via at least one inclusive public forum or “listening session” that encourages ideas and discussion among faculty, staff, students, local jurisdictions and regional interests, other special interest organizations, citizens groups, businesses and other public and private groups.
- Discussions that cut across the set of six task forces to identify interdisciplinary opportunities that best integrate academic mission into the fabric of the new community, with a focus on education and life-long learning.
The final Education Task Force report on will be completed by December 2007 and synthesized with reports from the other five task forces. The comprehensive academic mission report will be included in the UMore Park concept master planning report that will be submitted to the Board of Regents.
Education Task Force co-chairs: Barbara Brandt and Kent Pekel
UMore Park management team liaison: Carla Carlson
May 2007 | 
