Launching her biggest initiative yet, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little brought together deans, professors, administrators and students yesterday to address how she would achieve the goals she outlined upon taking over the position of chancellor.

Gray-Little said she planned to address her goals of increasing retention and graduation rates, increasing the scholarly and research profile of the University and fundraising by starting three commissions that would address these issues. She spoke to the members of the three committees yesterday at the Adams Alumni Center before the groups met to start their work.

She said she wanted reports from the three committees by sometime in the spring of 2010. She said the task forces should focus on what specific policies the University should implement to work on the goals she has already established instead of finding new goals.

“I’m going to ask you to focus on strategies and tactics for achieving those goals,” Gray-Little said to the members of the three task forces Tuesday. “What are the specific achievable things we need to do on a day-by-day basis to move us forward.”

Gray-Little named Chris Haufler, professor and chair of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, as the chairman of the student retention and graduation rates committee. Marlesa Roney, vice provost for student success, will be the chairwoman of the admissions requirements committee and Steve Warren, vice provost for research and graduate studies, will act as chairman for the task force in charge of scholarly and research activities.

Gray-Little said it was important to start a retention committee to raise the University’s rankings in national polls. She said the University ranked 33rd out of 34 institutions in the Association of American Universities. The University graduates 60 percent of its students in six years and retains 80 percent of its students from freshman to sophomore year.

“I think there are too many students who start here that don’t make it to commencement,” Gray-Little said. “One in five first-year students never becomes a sophomore.”

Ruben Flores, associate professor of American studies who will serve on the committee, said he wanted to study the policies at the University of California-Berkley to draw ideas. He said he thought the school had done a good job implementing policies that fostered student retention and graduation while he was a graduate student there.

“I was so impressed with the outreach efforts of the university to bring into the university fold so many first-generation kids who otherwise would not have been there, and then went on and became successful graduates,” Flores said.

Deb Teeter, director of institutional research and planning, said Gray-Little was an expert on the topic of retention and graduation, and led groups at the University of North Carolina on the issue.

“She is extraordinarily knowledgeable,” Teeter said. “This was really interesting to talk to someone who was so informed.”

Gray-Little said all of the University’s academic units had a commitment to support research productivity at the University.

“I know that most of you involved are involved in departments, and you know a major factor in recruiting the graduate students that you want is the scholarly profile of the faculty,” Gray-Little said to the three committees.

Adam Duerfeldt, Urbandale, Iowa, graduate student, said he was asked to serve on the scholarly and research activities committee. He said he came to the school as a Madison and Lila Self fellowship student to study medicinal chemistry, so he understood the importance of research to the University.

“Being at a state school where research is a focus makes it pretty easy for students to get involved,” Durfelt said.

— Edited by Tim Burgess