For our College of Arts and Sciences , the possibilities are endless . In the original college of the university , you begin to go up the ladder from the bachelor ' s level , up into masters , and then come across to make connections in other fields , through to the Public Policy Institute or Marine Science Research Institute . Our students here are global citizens and we ’ re proud of their versatility . If you want to come here to be a data scientist in the class of 2026 , you should be able to do that . And if you want to study Kierkegaard too , you should be able to do that .
WAVE : As you step into these emerging fields , what is the value of the market-driven partnerships you ’ ve been able to create ?
President Cost : Right now , I would say that one of our advantages is that we can be truly responsive to needs identified by our partners . The earlier the better . We have more , deeper partnerships with more relevant players in the global economy than ever before . We don ' t need to guess about the trajectory of most every major field we ' re pursuing — we can go to the experts who will have those conversations with us , because they ' ve seen those conversations turn into something beneficial to their business when they can hire our well-prepared graduates .
I believe work ethic matters . When everybody says , oh , you don ' t have to work harder , you have to work smarter , I say , “ right , do both .” We make a very concerted effort to dramatically widen the horizon of what we ' re offering and considering . We look at things the way a growthoriented institution looks at them . And that resonates with our partners because that ’ s unique for most universities . We place a high premium on listening to expertise outside , across a much wider range of potential opportunities . And then we spend a lot of time in-house discussing , debating , analyzing , iterating on everything . I believe the role of a university like this one is to be a well-connected microorganism in a larger ecosystem called student success , called a thriving economy , called a well-served community .
It ' s a celebration of a university ' s future to see it as a central contributor to the health and vitality of our region . Universities are held in such high regard because they ' re an important link in the long chain that starts when a young person goes to school at age five and ends up a well-educated , fully functioning economic entity , happily succeeding , well-prepared at age 25 or 30 . In the middle of that , the formative four , six or eight years that can completely heighten their ascent happens at this university . And we feel blessed for that and we celebrate it .
WAVE : What makes you most hopeful for the future ?
President Cost : The resilience of our students . Our faculty teach them well . They ’ re bright and tenacious , and they have high expectations of themselves and of their university . They ’ re in their third academic year that ’ s been impacted by COVID , and they ’ ve adapted brilliantly . Many have even run toward the danger to help and to serve our community . That keeps us all inspired . They embrace innovation , speed , agility , responsiveness . I think we have those things in spades and now we will make good on our potential for the benefit of their future . page 20