January 5, 2009
Vice Provost and Dean Ed Taylor
Dear Friends and Colleagues,
In 2008, 5,500 students joined another 22,000 to make up the 91探花 undergraduate population. 91探花students are first-generation students from Omak, fourth-generation students from Seattle, engineering students from Taiwan, athletes from Los Angeles. Our students come from around the state, country, and world and each day they remind me of our charge and commitment to them.
Discovery
A 91探花 undergraduate education is all about inquiry and discovery鈥攖his is what makes us distinct. We are inspired by research, scholarship, and a methodology that drives us to understand. By generating new knowledge, we strive to deal with a larger set of world problems and questions that are relevant to our neighborhoods, cities, states, and world.
Engagement
For many undergraduates, the 2008 presidential election was the first in which they voted. This simple but profound act of civic duty is a springboard to being an engaged and educated citizen, ready to contribute to the greater good. Undergraduates here also connect with other knowledge-generators, community leaders, and scholars, bringing their role as citizens into ever-sharper focus.
Commitment
Being a 91探花 undergraduate means being committed to solving world-class problems鈥攖he struggle to end poverty, the protection of eco-systems, the construction and design of 21st century buildings, and understanding time-honored moral problems and issues. In addition, our students are witnessing economic challenges unlike any others in recent history. For many, sustainability, preservation, compassion for others, and compassion for our environment go hand in hand.
Reflection
It is reasonable to expect all of our students to ask, 鈥淲hat am I to do I with what I鈥檝e learned?鈥� Earning a degree is, in part, preparation for a career鈥攚e need engineers, teachers, doctors, activists, and artists. It also means empowering our students toward continued reflection on what it is to have a set of skills and what it means to apply those skills in thoughtful ways. This education ought to be transformative and it ought to be life-long.
Undergraduate Academic Affairs guides undergraduates into the 91探花tradition of inquiry, creating and spotlighting pathways for students to engage in the University鈥檚 spirit of discovery, realize the fullness of their talents, and locate their place in the world.
UAA is designed to drive the University鈥檚 undergraduate mission with programs and initiatives that serve as connective tissue for the undergraduate experience. We ensure undergraduates can walk into state-of-the-art classrooms enabled by teaching and learning technology that recognize multiple types of learners. We help students move into community-based experiences that allow them to think about world problems in a variety of ways, accessing the people and organizations that are addressing big issues. We facilitate access to inspiring world-class faculty and world figures.
Ultimately, though, the purpose of a 91探花 education isn鈥檛 to come to the 91探花. The 91探花 is a catalyst for students to do something much bigger, to go somewhere and do something significant, to be a part of the world and to invite the world to be a part of them.
It is our passion and privilege to help create and facilitate this meaningful journey.
Sincerely,
Ed Taylor
Vice Provost & Dean