University of Iowa president challenges, cautions graduates

The more than 4,900 University of Iowa students graduating this week are entering the world and workforce at 'an unnerving moment,” UI President Bruce Harreld wrote in a graduation message to the campus Thursday.

'The lines that separate us, particularly politically and culturally, seem to be drawn thicker,” he wrote. 'There is a lot of fear in the world and anxiety about the future.”

Sending the message about a week after a black UI student reported being attacked in downtown Iowa City by men using racist slurs, Harreld said much of that political and culture anxiety 'has been felt on our campus.”

'Although the university attempts to create a space for fruitful study for its faculty and students, it can't escape reality,” he wrote. 'We have gone through a lot at the University of Iowa, particularly in the last year.”

Harreld, who on Thursday participated in the first of a string of graduation ceremonies planned across campus in the coming days, also mentioned in his message the pressure graduates face in finding work, 'even as the economy itself is picking up.”

'In the present moment, we can't in good faith view the future with rose-tinted glasses,” he wrote. 'The journey our soon-to-be graduates will be embarking on is a difficult one.”

The post-graduation job hunt is not new to college graduates, but Harreld highlighted factors making the current landscape unique. Not all of them are negative, he said, citing opportunities and conveniences afforded by technology.

'We can connect with loved ones across the globe with just the click of a button,” he wrote. 'Soon, thanks in part to the efforts of researchers here at our very own University of Iowa, we may have the luxury of having our cars pick us up and ferry us to our destination.”

But there also will be challenges, and Harreld promised, 'The journey our soon-to-be graduates will be embarking on is a difficult one.”

Still, he highlighted the efforts and agility of UI students and issued a request.

'We've prepared you the best we can,” he wrote. 'We've worked side-by-side with you. We've entrusted you with important research and tried our best to share our knowledge about our work and about this life. As you prepare to leave the University of Iowa, I ask you to do something with that knowledge: make a better world.”

In his message, Harreld thanked faculty and staff for their efforts over the past academic year – his first as UI president.

'I want to thank you for all the work you have done, for your research and for the hours you've spent working on curricula that you hope can reach students and light that spark that you know when you see it,” he wrote.

Harreld, a former IBM executive with no academic administrative experience, started on the job Nov. 2 – after a contentious presidential search that had many UI faculty, staff, and students crying foul and even demanding his resignation.

And his first year included notable bumps, starting with UI Faculty Senate and UI Student Government votes of no confidence in the Board of Regents for its hiring of Harreld. A group of campus constituents have continued to call for Harreld's resignation, even as many on campus have vowed to work with him to ensure future success for the institution.

Despite criticism and concern that Harreld might dismantle aspects of the academic enterprise, Harreld has been vocal about his intentions to improve faculty compensation, enable shared governance, create a safe and respectful environment, and focus on prioritized budgeting.

Over the summer, Harreld has said administrators will continue work on a new five-year strategic plan and on a 2017 budget through a new 'values-based budget process.” That process, announced in April, gives deans and vice presidents more decision-making power, according to Harreld.

Rather than inflationary increases to cover salary raises, deans and vice presidents this year will receive overall budgets. Those college and unit heads this month must outline spending decisions and priorities to administrators, who also will entertain requests for additional funding 'to ensure the university's highest priorities receive adequate funding.”

'As we look at how best to invest our limited resources, we have to direct more money to the areas we value most,” Harreld said in a statement. 'That's why identifying what we value as an institution is so important.”

l Comments: (319) 339-3158; vanessa.miller@thegazette.com