A Message About Research From
STEADMAN UPHAM
Vice Provost for Research and Graduate Education
and
Dean of the Graduate School
Ingredients: intellectual curiosity, initiative, accumulated knowledge, dedication, and wisdom. If research universities carried product labeling, these characteristics would be listed among the primary ingredients.
To make: Mix with human capital, state-of-the-art facilities and equipment, and enthusiasm. Add library and computer center, sprinkle with economic awareness, social responsibility and moral courage.
Let ferment . . . .
Research universities are among the most revolutionary and least understood American institutions. As a faculty member and university administrator, I am frequently asked how students benefit from studying at a research university like the University of Oregon. The simple answer to this question is found in the stories that appear in this issue of Inquiry: students benefit by studying and collaborating with professors who create and apply new knowledge and technology.
It sounds simple, but think about it. Members of the faculty at research universities are expected not just to transmit knowledge to their students, but also to create new knowledge and show students where and how it fits into the real world. Every University of Oregon faculty member is evaluated based on this principle. As a result, every UO student benefits from exposure to new knowledge in the classroom, lab, studio, or field because our faculty members infuse their teaching with the results of their original research. This is a job for the intellectually curious, a trait we seek to cultivate in every UO student.
These points are fundamental to understanding the research university. Students who attend the University of Oregon truly have the opportunity to explore the frontiers of knowledge. I encourage you to learn more about this product. I think you'll like the way it's made.