The University has a long and successful tradition of interdisciplinary and cross-college scholarship. We will build on that success and mobilize the University’s scholarly capacities to address major societal challenges of our time—areas of national or global need and significance that require the collaborative efforts of multiple disciplines.

 The university will continue to work to retain and attract outstanding faculty and staff who provide the leadership and capacities for advancing knowledge and applying it to improve society and the human condition; promote a culture in which every academic unit undertakes scholarship and/or creative work at the highest level in its field; and implement policies and practices that promote successful interdisciplinary research, scholarship, creative work, and engagement.  

Key Initiatives

Key initiatives in this area include:

• The centerpiece of the "Knowledge and Practice" priority area is the Cluster Hire Initiative, which will bring 100 new tenured and tenure-track faculty to campus to collaborate with existing faculty in multidisciplinary cluster areas focused on many of the “Grand Challenges” of the 21st century.