Letter from President Kelley

Dear Members of the University Community:

Welcome back to our students and all others who were able to get away over Spring Break!

I would like to take a moment to discuss the next steps in our University-wide conversation on strengthening connections and community.

First, I offer my sincere thanks to those who attended or viewed the Town Hall Meeting on Tuesday, March 9, and the many individual and group meetings that followed, especially on such short notice.  Your dedication to UND is heartening.   If you were not able to attend the meeting, you can view it online at www.future.und.edu starting Friday, March 26.

As I said in the Town Hall Meeting, I want this dialogue to engage as many of you as possible.  The consultants from STRATUS, Sal Rinella and Doug Graham, will be returning to campus April 6-8 for additional meetings with faculty, staff, and students.  There will also be two open forums in the Memorial Union Lecture Bowl:  Tuesday, April 6, 9 to 10 a.m., and Wednesday, April 7, 3:30 to 4:30 p.m.

I encourage you to attend one of these sessions to share your thoughts and ideas about the key questions posed at the Town Hall Meeting.

Before the end of the spring semester, the consultants will summarize the results of all of the conversations and will present a set of ideas to strengthen connections and enhance community.  Over the summer more details will be added to the ideas, such as their space implications, and the conversation will resume at the beginning of the Fall 2010 semester.

Again, thank you for your participation in this important process. —  Robert O. Kelley, President.