Each fall, we come together at Convocation to celebrate the beginning of a new academic year and reflect on both our progress and challenges.

Many of you know that each August, campus leaders gather in St. Michaels, on Maryland's Eastern Shore, for an annual retreat and lively discussion about the state of the University and its future. Our retreat this year focused on planning.

First, we affirmed UMBC's vision--"to become the best public research university of our size by combining the traditions of the liberal arts academy, the creative intensity of the research university, and the social responsibility of the public university."

We then laid the groundwork for a new planning process led by Provost Art Johnson, including three new task forces which already are hard at work. By May, they will produce recommendations in three areas vital to our future: (1) UMBC's development as an Honors University (chaired by Professor Angela Moorjani); (2) our research culture & environment (chaired by Professor Marsha Goldfarb); and (3) student life (chaired by Professor Jim Bembry).

The retreat's focus on planning is especially timely in the light of recent legislation on Maryland higher education. In fact, UMBC is identified along with Maryland's two other public research universities as one of the top funding priorities. In addition, the newly proposed funding guidelines, which will determine each campus's State appropriation, also are very favorable to us.

The important point is that if we had not been clear about our mission a year ago, we would not have been as successful, and our future would not be nearly so bright.

In this positive light, and building on our system of shared governance, we will be creating even greater coherence between budgeting and planning--beginning with the work of the three new task forces and last year's task forces on enrollment management, continuing education, and advisement. Our intent is to ensure that budget decisions are closely linked to our mission, vision, and priorities.

In keeping with our Convocation tradition of reflecting on UMBC's progress and challenges, it's important to take stock of major developments. All around us, we see evidence of the University's physical metamorphosis -- from the new Physics Building, Fieldhouse addition, and residence hall--for which we are deeply grateful to John and Nancy Erickson and which we are naming in their honor--to the Biology Building renovations in progress. Also on the horizon are several new capital projects, including renovating the Chemistry Building, constructing the first tenant-building in the Research Park, and building an additional facility for Engineering & Information Technology. We also will be lobbying for funding for a new Public Policy Building.

Our new University Commons, now under construction, is especially noteworthy because it symbolizes how UMBC is being transformed. The Commons, actually being built on the existing foundation of our original gymnasium, will dramatically change our landscape, enhance the quality of life on-campus, strengthen our sense of community, and present an attractive, forward-looking image--both elevating the University's visibility and increasing our connections with the larger community.

Rising up from the foundation of the original gym, the new Commons also symbolizes the need as we grow for valuing our roots. We know that growth is not only exciting, but also difficult, uncomfortable, even painful at times because it involves change, attention to details, and, inevitably, mistakes. What's important is that we are learning from these experiences and planning even more carefully for the next period of growth. At the same time, and equally important, we are building a climate that is open, participatory, and encourages people not to blame, but rather support one another--a climate that applauds high achievement and rewards honest and productive discussion about solutions to problems.

As we think of building our future on the foundation of our past, we are deeply grateful to the many talented people who have contributed so much to the University. And I cannot think of two leaders who have given more to UMBC than our first Deans Emeriti, Homer Schamp and Dick Neville. They, and we, can be proud knowing that the high standards and expectations they set over 30 years ago are being met today by our faculty, staff, and students.

The freshman class, with over 1,400 new students, is our largest since 1987 and among our best prepared ever. It also is among the most diverse nationally and includes hundreds of valedictorians and 4.0 students, and our first group of Public Affairs Scholars. And this year's typical freshman was a member of the national honor society. This group of freshmen (as well as future UMBC students) will surely benefit from the work of the new task forces focusing on student life and on UMBC's development as an Honors University. And while these groups are working, we will continue meeting with focus groups of students to make sure we are doing all we can to be responsive and to educate the whole person.

New graduate students also are impressive and come from Maryland's workforce and leading national universities. We have been especially successful in recruiting Ph.D. students across disciplines who will bolster our research infrastructure and provide new insights into a myriad of scientific and societal problems. Our challenge at the graduate level, however, is to be educating far more master's students in applied programs, given the growing needs of businesses, school systems, and other employers.

In general, however, we see success University-wide: from research, teaching, and mentoring initiatives across the campus, to our national success in a variety of student intellectual competitions; to the growing number of major employers we're attracting to campus through the Career Development and Shriver Centers; to our Physical Plant staff, who beautify and maintain the campus in the midst of all the construction; to our student-athletes, who finished their first year in the Northeast Athletic Conference winning the coveted Commissioner's Cup--all of whom demonstrate that UMBC is "A University that Knows How to Win."

As we reflect on the state of the University, it's always healthy and useful to see how others view us. We're viewed as a university on the move, having a major influence on the region, particularly in terms of our growing public and private partnerships in science and engineering, education, healthcare policy, the arts, and community service. And our growing presence is measurable in many ways--from our growth in research-and-training awards (surpassing $50 million this year); to the growing technology-commercialization activities of our faculty and tenants in the Technology Center; to the development of our Research Park; to the fact that we continue to produce a major share of Maryland's information-technology graduates.

As a result, companies, agencies, and individuals are investing significantly more in the University, including our endowment, now valued at almost $13 million. To put our progress in perspective, consider that UMBC's endowment just 10 years ago barely exceeded $100,000, and our annual giving was even less. The Campaign for UMBC has already raised nearly $40 million toward our five-year, $50-million goal, including major gifts for the arts & humanities, public affairs, science and engineering, and community service. We are especially grateful to faculty and staff who also have contributed to the Campaign at unprecedented levels, as have alumni and parents. In fact, for the past several years, we have raised $10 million annually.

It's significant that our achievements are not only raising the level of investment in the campus, but also heightening UMBC's national visibility--from Newsweek's calling us "a powerhouse in Baltimore" and Yahoo! Internet magazine's ranking us among "America's 100 most wired colleges," to the Chess Team's coverage on Good Morning America and the front page of the Washington Post.

But we mustn't forget that greater investment and heightened attention also have raised people's expectations of us. And herein lie our primary challenges--to remember that success is never final; to make sure the larger community's view of us is based on substantive progress; and to ensure that we are both responsive and accountable to our constituents. In fact, we have launched new academic programs this year in Economic Policy Analysis, Women's Studies, Acting, and Biochemical Regulatory Engineering.

As we continue to expand, we must maintain stability, balancing the new with the old--whether we're enrolling more high-achieving students, hiring new faculty and staff, building new facilities, entering into new research and training initiatives, implementing new administrative systems, or asking new donors to invest in our future.

Clearly, the legislative audit now in progress; upcoming visits by accreditation teams in Engineering, Computer Science, and Athletics; our five-year Periodic Review for Middle States; and budget hearings in Annapolis early next year will help us in the short-term to focus on issues of both quality and accountability.

Equally important, for the long-term, we must effectively integrate our planning and budgeting in order to link our resources and priorities more closely. By doing so, not only will we build on--and thereby honor--the foundation of our past, but we also will solidify the new foundation on which we are building an Honors University.

In this connection, let me conclude by briefly sharing some anecdotes highlighting the passion and commitment of our colleagues.

At a meeting last week with the Executive Committee of the Classified Staff Senate, Vice Provost Craig Weidemann mentioned that on a recent Saturday morning he called his office in Continuing Education to leave a phonemail message; when his Administrative Assistant, Mary Hilton, answered, Craig was surprised and jokingly said, "It must be Friday!" Needless to say, we were all taken by Mary's dedication and commitment to maintaining the University's high quality of service.

Also last week, as I was returning to my office at about 8:00 p.m. Friday night, I ran into two faculty members. First was Lou Cantori, walking on crutches, leaving his office deep in thought as he met me. I had no doubt that Lou was thinking about the members of the Crew Team as much as he was his political science students and research.

Moments later, I spotted Angela Moorjani, rushing down the main corridor headed in my direction, arms filled with books, and beaming with a smile even after a long day. We talked briefly about a recent Humanities Forum in which she responded to a question I had asked by saying that, "The very essence of the humanities is that they challenge us, and our students, to ask and ponder the hard questions of life."

Passing both, I thought to myself--it doesn't get any better than this.

Finally, I recalled a comment made by Chemistry Chair, Ralph Pollack, during a recent meeting with representatives from NIH. He said to our guests very matter-of-factly, "There are no better students than our best."

I've reflected often on that comment, and would simply add.....nor any better faculty or staff.

In short, all of you inspire me to want to continue to give my best to this University.

More than ever, it is an honor for all of us to be a part of UMBC.

Thank you.