We created an advising center for non-declared students. We started a program of freshman seminars and built a terrific honors program which has made for a more personalized, intimate educational experience for undergraduates. Addressing a graduating class at the end of his first year in Austin, Berdahl said that people are, in profound ways, a product of geography. Berdahl is a product of Sioux Falls, S.D., and Augustana College . He earned a masters degree at Illinois and a Ph.D. at Minnesota .
Faculty are the core.
Staff should feel that they are valued and important. Graduate students should be recognized for what they contribute. The undergraduate experience should be meaningful and important because we see it as such. It is one of the most widely respected and universally regarded universities in the world. But we're not in business simply to have the top-ranked university in the world.