Chancellor's Corner: Here’s to a summer of generative conversation | June 2021
At the Rochester campus of the University of Minnesota we are convinced that conversations are vital for learning and for educational innovation. Importantly, such conversations need to include people who have both similarities and differences.
First, the similarities: students at UMR have at least one thing in common — a passion to make a difference in the world through a career in health. UMR faculty and staff also have a shared purpose, fueled by their commitments to student success and educational research. These common bonds are essential, but when it comes to conversation that produces transformative learning, differences may be even more important, including diversity in roles, cultures, languages, religions, rural or urban backgrounds, academic disciplines, research agendas and more.
At UMR, small classes with a low faculty to student ratio and a diverse student body provide the ongoing opportunity for conversations that use both the similarities and the differences to enhance student learning. The same is true among faculty and staff, who leverage both their shared mission and their differing arenas of expertise to generate, implement and test innovative ideas. Such openness to learning in conversation requires being able to critically examine evidence, discern fact from opinion, voice one’s perspective while empathizing with others, and examine evidence and scientific knowledge. While in many other contexts this kind of rich dialogue is rare — at UMR, it happens every day.
As we move into the summer, a UMR faculty team will lead new discussions to shape a future-focused version of our health sciences degree. “NXT GEN MED” will call to learners of many perspectives who share a common drive to design solutions to global health challenges. So, here’s to a summer of generative conversation!
—Dr. Lori Carrell, Chancellor of University of Minnesota Rochester
