Building Bridges to Industry

New University of Minnesota President Eric Kaler aims to deploy the U’s research, insight, and innovation to the betterment of business.

Eric W. Kaler assumed the presidency of the University of Minnesota on July 1, 2011. He earned a B.S. degree, with honors, in chemical engineering from the California Institute of Technology in 1978 and a PhD in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota in 1982.

He joined the chemical engineering faculty at the University of Washington in 1982 and moved to the Department of Chemical Engineering at the University of Delaware as an associate professor in 1989. Kaler became a professor in 1991, department chairman in 1996, and was appointed the Elizabeth Inez Kelley Professor of Chemical Engineering in 1998. He was chosen dean of the College of Engineering in 2000.

In 2007 he became the provost and senior vice president for academic affairs at Stony Brook University in New York, and in 2008 assumed the duties of vice president for Brookhaven affairs. He also was a visiting professor at the Universität of Graz in 1995.

Kaler’s research interests are in the area of surfactant and colloid science, statistical mechanics, and thermodynamics. He received one of the first Presidential Young Investigator Awards from the National Science Foundation in 1984 and has received numerous other awards for his research, including the American Chemical Society (ACS) Award in Colloid or Surface Chemistry in 1998.

Kaler is a fellow of both the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the ACS. He has authored or co-authored more than 200 peer-reviewed papers and holds 10 U.S. patents. He has been a consultant to numerous companies and has served in a variety of positions in several professional societies, including serving as chair of the ACS Division of Colloid and Surface Chemistry in 2006.

Enterprise Minnesota President Bob Kill recently caught up with President Kaler for a wide-ranging discussion of his vision for how the University integrates its many assets into the culture of Minnesota’s manufacturers.

EM: You were the provost at Stony Brook University before you came to the University of Minnesota as president. Are there similarities between Stony Brook and the University of Minnesota?

Kaler: Like Minnesota, Long Island is very much concerned with its manufacturing base. Long Island was the eastern hub of the aircraft industry. Grumman had a huge manufacturing presence on Long Island. Thousands and thousands of manufacturing jobs. Those all went away.

There’s a real focus on economic development at Stony Brook and connecting to the manufacturing base that remains there. So I was actually very familiar with the relationship between the university and the Long Island manufacturing community. So, similarly, I’d like to see more connection with our College of Science and Engineering and all of our technology disciplines and Minnesota’s manufacturing sector. That would be ideal.

EM: Sometimes the University is considered to be not very friendly. There is a feeling that it is up to the private companies to reach out to the University. One of the industries in the state of Minnesota that is very large is the packaging industry—5,000 or 6,000 employees.

Recently, Dale Anderson, the president of Delkor in Shoreview, which is growing very rapidly, began looking to hire employees, some being engineers, which fits his industry. He’s looking for a packaging engineer, but he had to go to the University of Wisconsin because it wasn’t something he could find here. Is that an example of how we could try to connect the public and private a little bit better?

Kaler: Well, first of all, I don’t agree that the University of Minnesota isn’t friendly to business. Vice President for Research Tim Mulcahy’s work and that of others in our Office of Technology Commercialization is solid and fully engaged with the state’s business community. We’ve made great strides over the past three years or so in reaching out to the state’s business community.

Frankly, I think this unfriendly notion is old news. Secondly, as it pertains to your question, part of the challenge is that no matter how big we are, we’re not going to be able to cover all the niches that people might need. I will say that while I can imagine what Mr. Anderson is looking for, I don’t know exactly. I would think that one of our mechanical engineers would be very well qualified to move into that sort of position. But if it requires specific expertise that we don’t teach, then unfortunately he’s going to have to settle for Wisconsin. We have a great range of academic programs here at the University of Minnesota. What we do, we want to do well. Unfortunately, we can’t be all things to all people.

EM: A lot of Minnesota manufacturers tend to think that their best resources are the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities (MnSCU). Have you given much thought about how the University of Minnesota—with all its many diverse attributes—might connect better to the state colleges? The University offers resources that are underappreciated for mid-sized and smaller companies, so the connection could be very powerful.

Kaler: Let me give two answers to that question. One again is about Tim Mulcahy, our vice president for research. He is deeply focused on stepping up our game in the research arena and its connection to industries.

Our Office of Business Relations is the front door to the University for business and industry, big and small. Tim has been part of several statewide conversations regarding job creation and having business leverage all of the great resources we have at the U.

As for MnSCU, the new chancellor, Steven Rosenstone, and I have ongoing conversations about how to work together and increase our operational excellence. We certainly have opportunities with MnSCU to do things that are more cooperative. For instance, during a visit to St. Cloud recently I talked to President Earl Potter of St. Cloud State. We focused particularly on nanotechnology.

The University of Minnesota has a spectacular Physics and Nanotechnology Building under construction. I could imagine the U and St. Cloud State working together to provide opportunities for President Potter’s students here in our new facility and our students in mechanical engineering learning from St. Cloud’s manufacturing program. That’s just one of many examples. I welcome any suggestions for cooperation and efficiencies between the University system and MnSCU.

EM: Last January, in our State of Manufacturing poll, three issues were seen as most important: exporting, workforce, and health care. We’ve got the University of Minnesota hospitals, great hospitals, and great research. Any thoughts on how to take a different approach to addressing some of the health care issues?

Kaler: We are doing a variety of things. Health care affordability and wellness are two critical topics, and I’ve been able to see a lot of activities around them in our Medical School. But mostly, we have significant and groundbreaking research going on. We have an important investigation into diabetes, which is funded by the Schulze Family Foundation. We have a chance there to actually develop a cure for Type I diabetes. Not a treatment, but a cure.

We also have a very strong heart health intuitive led by Dr. Dan Garry, from the Medical School—they’re focused on prevention and management of heart issues. And he is optimistic that they have cures in sight. So, we have front-line research activities aimed at two of the most critical health issues in the world.

That’s really the space that a first-class medical school and Academic Health Center can operate in. It’s not so much the management of health care as it is truly driving the medical science that ultimately enables cures.

I don’t know what the number is that the United States spends on diabetes treatment, but it’s enormous. Heart disease is still the number-one killer and, of course, we have people working on cancer, among other critical medical issues. There is no great university in this country without a great medical school, and making sure our Academic Health Center is among the nation’s best is one of my priorities.

EM: In an earlier interview you were quoted as saying that you wanted to spend your first 100 days on the job listening and learning. We’re past that period now. Were there any surprises?

Kaler: I’ll give you a serious answer and a lighthearted answer. I anticipated that the University was a great place with lots of interesting things going on. But I have been surprised by the number of things we do, the talented and hardworking faculty and staff, and the impact we have statewide with all of our campuses. I also have been delighted by the energy and optimism of our students, who are spectacular, with our Twin Cities campus freshman class the best qualified and highest-scoring ever.

We are on the path to fantastic discoveries. We engage in innovative teaching. We have a huge impact on the Twin Cities region and Greater Minnesota. So, the scope and breadth and depth of the University of Minnesota system, all that we do, all the communities we engage with ... yes, that has surprised me a bit, and it should inform the public and decision makers on the importance of the U as an economic and cultural engine in the state.

And of course, the lighthearted answer is that I am surprised by the intensity and passion people have for Gopher athletics. I expected it, but people really do care about our sports teams.

EM: You and the Governor talk about the University’s role in driving prosperity. Can you elaborate on the U’s impact on the Minnesota economy?

Kaler: You know, Governor Dayton spoke at my inauguration in September, and he tossed out a remarkable fact. He said that the University of Minnesota’s annual economic impact on the state of Minnesota is equal to the combined impact of all eight research universities in the Boston metropolitan area, including some you may have heard of, such as Harvard and Boston University. I was sitting right next to him. I said, ‘Gee, Governor, that sounds great, but that cannot be true!’ It’s an incredible statistic.

So, we checked. According to a 2003 study done by a Boston consulting firm—a hometown team—the economic impact of all those schools was about $7 billion annually. Last year, our impact was estimated at $8.6 billion. That’s pretty impressive. Our one university matches the output of those famous eight.

Governor Dayton put that statistic into perspective by saying, ‘My father often told me: If you have all of your eggs in one basket, you better take mighty good care of that basket.’ In my view, we all need to take a little bit better care of our ‘basket,’ our University of Minnesota basket.

EM: In your inaugural speech you talked about outreach to communities, to re-imagine how the U operates, and to strengthen the business partnerships. Have any of those emerged as a higher priority than others?

Kaler: We have an important need to tell the story of the value of the University of Minnesota to the people of Minnesota. We are essential to the health and well-being of the state. We are the only research university in the state. As I said, we have $8.6 billion in economic impact. We employ 20,000 people, we’re the fifth-largest employer in the state. We produce all the veterinarians, we produce 85 percent of the physicians, we produce all the dentists and pharmacists. We produce great leaders.

I knew that spreading the word about the University’s value was going to be an important part of my job because we’re in a critical time right now. We need the state to invest in our future. We need to be able to moderate the rate of tuition increases so that we’re accessible to qualified students from Minnesota.

When I was a graduate student here, the state support for the U covered more than 40 percent of our budget. Today, it’s at 18 percent. Tuition now supplies more of our budget than does the state.

Balancing great value and a focus on excellent programs with accessibility for Minnesota’s most qualified students is really important. I’ve been taking that message across the state. I’ve met with business leaders, union leaders, government leaders, scientists, manufacturers, educators, students, faculty, and so called average citizens—you name it.

I believe our messages—that we want to be excellent and accessible, that we want to promote diversity, and that we need to operate more efficiently as an institution—are resonating among all of our stakeholders.

EM: Have I read that you established the Kaler Family Foundation?

Kaler: No, not exactly. What my wife, Karen, and I decided is to help fund four full scholarships at the University of Minnesota each year. I announced that at my inauguration. It’s a reflection of our commitment to access for middle-class students.

EM: Graduate, undergraduate?

Kaler: Undergraduate, we want to help middle-income families. Make sure their sons and daughters go to college and come out with as little debt as possible. I was the first person in my family to attend college, so I feel very strongly about access.

EM: What can organizations like ours—which are in the business of public/private connecting—do to further your message?

Kaler: As you work with your clients, when you relate to state legislators, when you are out in that community, remind people that the University of Minnesota is a tremendous resource, with great breadth and great depth. Ask anyone this: Do you know a U alum? Have you hired a U alum? Does your son or daughter, granddaughter or grandson attend the U? Has anyone you know been treated at one of our clinics? Has anyone you know attended a Gophers or UMD or Crookston or Morris sporting event?

The answer is that the University of Minnesota touches just about everyone in this state. Plus, we produce highly trained and well-rounded individuals who we think employers should hire. We can also be a source of answers to questions. Have your readers ask those questions and be open to engaging with us.

Our Extension is widespread and terrific. Our research is constantly translated into innovations that cure diseases or develop new crop varieties or produce new ways to engineer products. Our students are the best and brightest of the state’s emerging talent supply chain.

I would encourage you to have your colleagues understand and value the state’s only public research university and the home to the state’s most innovative discoveries. Please spread the word about just how great the University of Minnesota is. That’s how you can help.