GOPHER HOCKEY ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society. Nationally, he serves on the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board and on the board of the National Association of State ROBERT BRUININKS Universities and Land Grant Colleges; in Minnesota he serves as a member of the Itasca group and the Minnesota Business Partnership. UNIVERSITY PRESIDENT Named Minnesotan of the Year by Minnesota Monthly in 2004, Bruininks regularly speaks on behalf of the University of Minnesota in its important role as the state’s major research university. After shepherding the University through a nearly 15 percent cut in state funding in 2003, he has helped renew the partnership between the state and the University. With Bruininks as its chief advocate, the University has secured increased state funding for key academ - ic priorities and capital projects each year since 2005. In November 2005, Bruininks led a group of Minnesota educators to China Robert H. Bruininks was appointed the 15th president of the University of Minnesota on November 8, 2002. He as part of the governor’s trade delegation. In May 2006, he headed a delega - has served the University for 39 years, formerly as a professor, dean, and executive vice president and provost. tion of University leaders to Norway to renew student exchange agreements and deepen research ties with that country’s leading universities, and in May Transforming the U 2006, he led a delegation to Iceland to renew an historic 25-year agreement For the past three years, Bruininks has overseen a transformative strategic positioning effort at the University that with the University of Iceland and expand it, particularly in the health sciences. has raised the bar considerably for the University’s academic profile, its service to students and the community, and Bruininks and his wife, Dr. Susan Hagstrum, have three grown sons—two its stewardship of resources. of whom were Division I student-athletes—and two grandsons. Already the results of this intensive effort are visible. In the past academic year alone, the University has under - taken initiatives including: • the adoption of aggressive new four-year graduation goals for each campus • the development of student learning and development outcomes that help clearly outline what all University stu - dents should know and be able to do at graduation, regardless of academic program • the implementation of tuition reforms enabling many students to save significantly on the total cost of education • the revision of the faculty tenure and promotion code to better recognize and reward outstanding scholarship in all its forms “The University has undertaken significant reform in the context of an increasingly competitive global market for resources, talent and ideas,” Bruininks said. “Our vision is to improve lives through the advancement of knowledge, and our strategic goal is aspirational, audacious, and, I believe, achievable: to become one of the top three public research universities in the world, with a deep and abiding cultural commitment to excellence in everything we do, across all our campuses, research and outreach centers, and offices statewide. Student Experience and Affordability Innovations in the University’s student experience, such as expanded undergraduate research and study abroad opportunities, a campuswide Honors Program for the Twin Cities campus, and increased emphasis on enhancing teaching and learning, have helped fuel high student satisfaction rates, increased numbers of applicants for admis - sions and enrollment, and significantly improved graduation rates. With more than 65,000 students, students enrolled systemwide—including more than 50,000 on the Twin Cities campus alone, the University of Minnesota is one of the nation’s largest. Affordability for students here and at the University’s three coordinate campuses remains a primary concern for the Bruininks administration. Launched in 2005, the Founders Free Tuition Program now covers full cost of tuition and required fees for low- and moderate-income students statewide. Once fully implemented, 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 made student scholarships his top fundraising priority. The Promise for Tomorrow scholarship drive UNIVERSITY reached its initial goal of $150 million in October 2006 and has now raised more than $170 million. Roughly 6,700 stu - dents received privately funded scholarships and fellowships last year; the University’s new goal is to help 10,000 stu - BOARD OF REGENTS dents with privately raised financial assistance. Chair Intercollegiate Athletics Patricia Simmons In 2007, Bruininks joined the NCAA Division I Board of Directors. “Intercollegiate athletics are certainly an impor - tant and beloved part of the college experience, and should complement the academic mission of the institution. I Vice Chair believe it is critical for presidents to show leadership and engagement on these issues, and I’m excited to serve in this Clyde Allen capacity,” he said. Board Bruininks has also been instrumental in bringing Big Ten football back to the Twin Cities campus with the con - Anthony Baraga struction of TCF Bank Stadium, slated to open in Fall 2009. In addition to hosting home football games, the new sta - Dallas Bohnsack dium will provide a permanent home for the marching band, an important new venue for University and community Maureen Cisneros events, and a prominent public gateway to the University’s broader mission of education, research and public engage - Linda Cohen ment. John Frobenius “Big Ten college football has a proud history, and we now have a chance to renew the best of its traditions at the Venora Hung University of Minnesota,” Bruininks said. “It has the power to connect our alumni and fans to our students and to our Steven Hunter campus, and we are pleased with the timeline and progress of fundraising and construction.” Dean Johnson David Larson Leadership and Experience David Metzen Bruininks’s career has centered on child and adolescent development and policy research, and strategic improve - ment in the fields of pre-kindergarten to grade 12 and higher education. Initially joining the University’s faculty as an President assistant professor of educational psychology, he has authored or coauthored nearly 90 journal articles and more than Robert Bruininks 70 book chapters, as well as training materials and several nationally standardized tests. Secretary During his tenure at the University, Bruininks was instrumental in founding the National Center on Educational Ann D. Cieslak Outcomes, the Rehabilitation Research and Training Center on Community Living, and the Institute on Community Integration. He has been honored with numerous awards, including the Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Treasurer Fellowship. He is president emeritus of the American Association on Mental Retardation and has been elected a Richard Pfutzenreuter 196 MINNESOTA HOCKEY 2007-08 GOPHER HOCKEY ADMINISTRATION ADMINISTRATION in 2003-04 and two conference postseason titles. In Maturi’s first year as athletic director, Minnesota won five regular season titles while the men’s hockey team won the WCHA Final Five and continued the momentum into the NCAA Tournament JOEL MATURI where it won its second straight national championship. Academically, the Gophers had 222 student-athletes earn Big Ten All-Academic ATHLETICS DIRECTOR status during the 2006-07 academic year, the third most in the conference. During the past four seasons, the Gophers have placed 865 student-athletes on the confer - ence’s all-academic team, the highest four-year total in school history. Over 50 per - cent of Gopher student-athletes maintain a grade point average of 3.0 or higher and 27 student-athletes have earned Academic All-American status during Maturi’s tenure. During 2006-07, over 400 student-athletes maintained a cumulative GPA of 3.0 or better, a record for the athletic department. During the 2004-05 academic year, Maturi was instrumental in adding credibil - Entering his sixth year as Director of Athletics at the University of Minnesota, Joel Maturi has transformed the Golden ity to the Gopher stadium campaign by negotiating a $35 million corporate sponsor - Gophers into a model NCAA Division I-A athletic department. A native of Chisholm, Minn., Maturi’s leadership, vision and ded - ship with TCF Bank for naming rights, the largest corporate sponsorship of its kind ication has helped Minnesota achieve four major goals thought almost unattainable prior to his arrival: a merged department, involving college football. Maturi’s efforts were even more legitimized in May 2006 a balanced budget, broad-based athletic success and the dream of returning Golden Gopher football back to campus. when the Minnesota State Legislature approved overwhelmingly to support the Hired on July 12, 2002, Maturi became the first athletic director of the merged men’s and women’s athletic departments. He Gopher football return to campus. The bipartisan vote will allocate $137 million to the inherited a department that was projected to be $31 million in debt by 20086, planned to eliminate three sports and could only $288.5 million project. dream of Gopher football returning to campus. Since then, Maturi has guided a department that has operated with a balanced In addition to TCF Bank Stadium, Maturi has been involved in numerous facili - budget, retained the three sports and in 2009, Gopher football will be playing in the on-campus TCF Bank Stadium. ty improvements the past few years, including upgrades during the 2005-06 aca - Maturi’s tenure has been marked by continual athletic and academic success by his 25-sport department. His programs demic year to the men’s and women’s basketball locker room and team arenas in have accumulated four national championships, 20 Big Ten or WCHA regular season titles and five conference postseason Williams Arena and the football training and equipment rooms in the Gibson- crowns.