In a message to the campus community, Elaine Crider, chair of the board of trustees of the University of the District of Columbia, offers a broad perspective of what lies ahead for the only public university in the nation’s capital. Dr. Crider notes that the university faces a number of problems, including dwindling financial resources, aging facilities and technology infrastructure, and intense competition to attract a quality student body.
Dr. Crider states, “It is against the backdrop of these challenges that we have been presented with a unique opportunity — a chance to determine the direction of the University through a right-sizing initiative that will ultimately shape the University’s future and ensure its sustainability for another 160 years or more. The Board of Trustees recognizes that this is an opportunity to rethink who we are and how we go about providing academic instruction and service delivery for the populations that we serve.”
The board of trustees plans to present a plan for the “right-sizing” of the university to the mayor and city council by October 1.
