A THLETICS A DMINISTRATION a modest student fee. ROBERT “Big Ten college football has a proud history and we now have a chance to renew the best of its traditions at the University of Minnesota,” Bruininks said. “It has the power to connect our alum- ni and fans to our students and to our campus, and it will also provide a home for our great march- RUININKS ing band and all-campus events such as convocation and graduation.” B About President Bruininks University President Bruininks’s career has centered on child and adolescent development and policy research, and strate- gic improvement in the fields of pre-kindergarten to grade 12 and higher education. Initially joining the University’s faculty as an assistant professor of educational psychology, he has authored or coauthored Robert H. Bruininks was appointed the 15th president of the University of Minnesota on November 8, nearly 90 journal articles and more than 70 book chapters, as well as training materials and several 2002. He has served the University for nearly 39 years, formerly as professor, dean, and executive vice nationally standardized tests. president and provost. During his tenure at the University, Bruininks was instrumental in founding the National Center on Educational Outcomes, the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Living, GOPHERS Positioning for the future COACHES and the Institute on Community Integration. He has been honored with numerous awards, includ- For the past two years, Bruininks has overseen a major strategic positioning effort at the University that REVIEW ing the Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellowship. He is president emeritus of the has set high aspirations for the University’s academic profile, its service to students and the community, HISTORY American Association on Mental Retardation and has been elected a Fellow of the American and its use of resources. MEDIA Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. Nationally, he serves on the “The University is undertaking significant reforms in the context of an increasingly competitive global mar- J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and on the board of the National Association of ket for talent and ideas,” Bruininks said. “Our work is to improve lives through the advancement of knowledge. State Universities and Land Grant Colleges; in Minnesota he serves as a member of the Itasca And our goal is clear-cut: to become one of the top three public research universities in the world.” group and the Minnesota Business Partnership. Thanks to the intensive efforts of hundreds of people who served on strategic positioning task forces, Named Minnesotan of the Year by Minnesota Monthly in 2004, Bruininks regularly speaks on the University is already seeing progress in a number of key areas: behalf of the University of Minnesota in its important role as the state’s major research university. • Adopting an undergraduate writing initiative that will give all students a stronger voice in the world. After shepherding the University through a nearly 15 percent cut in state funding in 2003, he has • Enhancing academic advising throughout the University to help students achieve their ultimate goals. helped renew the partnership between the state and the University. In 2005 and 2006, with • Planning for an Institute on the Environment to help solve the planet’s most critical probems. Bruininks as its chief advocate, the University secured increased state funding for key academic • Creating three new combined colleges with world-class potential–the College of Design; the priorities and capital projects. College of Education and Human Development; and the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural In November 2005, Bruininks led a group of Minnesota educators to China as part of the gov- Sciences–out of six former colleges. ernor’s trade delegation. In May 2006, he headed a delegation of University leaders to Norway to renew student exchange agreements and deepen research ties with that country’s leading univer- Student Experience and Affordability sities. Innovations in the University’s student experience, such as new on-campus learning communities, and Bruininks and his wife, Dr. Susan Hagstrum, have three grown sons–two of whom played expanded undergraduate research and study abroad opportunities, have helped fuel high student satis- sports at the Division I level–and two grandsons. faction rates, increased numbers of applicants for admissions and enrollment, and significantly improved graduation rates. With more than 51,000 enrolled students, the University of Minnesota Twin Cities was the second largest campus in the nation in 2005-06. Affordability for students here and at the University’s three coordinate campuses remains a primary concern for the Bruininks administration, which kept undergraduate tuition increases for 2006-07 at the lowest rate in many years. This year an expanded program, the Founders Opportunity Award, is covering the full cost of tuition and required fees for many low- and moderate-income students. Once fully imple- mented, the award is expected to benefit 4,500 undergraduates across the University. (To qualify, new students must be Minnesota residents who meet the eligibility for federal Pell grants.) Bruininks has also made student scholarships his top fundraising priority. Already, 1,500 students are benefiting from a scholarship drive begun in 2004 that is close to reaching an initial goal of $150 million in gift pledges. Bringing Football Back to Campus: UNIVERSITY On May 24, 2006, beneath the preserved arch of Memorial Stadium in the McNamara Alumni Center, a bipartisan group of legislative leaders and Governor Tim Pawlenty gathered for a lively bill signing that authorized funding for a new on-campus Gopher football stadium. For President Bruininks, the University BOARD OF REGENTS community, and Gopher football fans, it was the joyful culmination of more than three years of fundrais- Chair ing, planning, and forceful advocacy for the return of Gopher football to campus. Anthony Baraga The new $248 million stadium, to be called TCF Bank Stadium, will be built across from Mariucci Arena on what are now surface parking lots. It is expected to be ready for kickoff in the fall of 2009. The Vice Chair Gopher stadium bill calls for the state to pay $10.25 million per year for 25 years–approximately 55 per- Patricia Simmons cent of the total stadium cost–with the University covering the rest of the cost through private funds and Board Clyde Allen Jr. Peter Bell Frank Berman Dallas Bohnsack John Frobenius Steven Hunter David Larson Cynthia Lesher David Metzen Lakeesha Ransom President Robert Bruininks Secretary Ann D. Cieslak Treasurer Richard Pfutzenreuter 202 U NIVERSITY OF M INNESOT A F OOTBALL 2006 A THLETICS A DMINISTRATION was opened and a new baseball field, McKie Field at Hayden Park, JOEL was dedicated. Maturi also made an impact on the campus and the community in Oxford, Ohio. He was a recipient of a Campus Impact ATURI Award, received an award from the M Butler County Board of Mental Athletics Director Retardation & Developmental Disabilities for his efforts to help those in need, the Miami Alumni Entering his fifth year as Director of Athletics at the University of Minnesota, Joel Maturi has trans- Association’s A.K. Morris Award for formed the Golden Gophers into a model NCAA Division I-A athletic department. A native of Chisholm, his service to the Association and Minn., Maturi’s leadership, vision and dedication has helped Minnesota achieve four major goals the Myrtis Powell Building thought almost unattainable prior to his arrival: a merged department, a balanced budget, broad- Community Award. In addition, he GOPHERS based athletic success and the dream of returning Golden Gopher football back to campus. chaired the Central Collegiate COACHES Hired on July 12, 2002, Maturi became the first athletic director of the merged men’s and Hockey Association (CCHA) execu- REVIEW women’s athletic departments. He inherited a department that was projected to be $31 million in debt tive council in 2001-02, and also HISTORY by 2006, planned to eliminate three sports and could only dream of Gopher football returning to cam- served as the chair of the NCAA MEDIA pus. Since then, Maturi has guided a department that has operated with a balanced budget, retained Postgraduate Scholarship the three sports and just recently had the Governor of Minnesota sign a stadium bill that will have Committee for Region 4 and was Gopher football playing in the on-campus TCF Bank Stadium in 2009. the liaison for the men’s basketball During the 2005-06 academic year, Maturi guided a department that produced 32 All-Americans, coaches in the MAC. four conference championships and 22 individual conference championships. Minnesota also pro- Prior to his time at Miami, duced 40 first-team All-Conference performers, five Academic All-Americans and 14 Academic All- Maturi served as the Director of District honorees. The Gopher wrestling and women’s hockey team each finished second in the Athletics at the University of Denver nation, while men’s golf (3rd), women’s cross country (9th), men’s gymnastics (9th) and men’s swim- from 1996-98. At Denver, Maturi led ming & diving (11th) added four more top-15 national finishes. Individually, Greg Eslinger earned the the school’s move from Division II to Division I and oversaw the search for Division I conference affil- Outland Trophy, given to college football’s best interior lineman, while three Gophers - Heather iation. Maturi also assisted in the planning and development of a $50 million Sports and Wellness Dorniden, Cole Konrad and Dustin Schlatter each captured individual national championships. Center and a $2.1 million tennis complex. Wrestling, women’s gymnastics, men’s hockey and women’s track & field each won Big Ten Maturi is no stranger to the Big Ten. From 1987-96, he worked at the University of Wisconsin.