Senior Vice President Jeffrey Apfel's Email to the University Community
December 11, 2006

Members of the Rutgers community:

In his annual address to the university community last September, President Richard L. McCormick challenged us to dream big. Despite the shortfall in state appropriations, he set forth bold plans, optimistic that working together we can find the resources to realize Rutgers' highest ambitions.

To accomplish that goal, the president created a new Committee on Efficiency and Entrepreneurship, which I chair. The committee was charged with optimizing our use of existing resources and cultivating new sources of revenue. We have already met several times, but clearly this far-reaching effort requires creative thought from those closest to the university's day-to-day operations.

If you have ideas for ways Rutgers could work more efficiently and effectively, we want to hear from you now. All suggestions are welcome. Your thoughts on better ways to organize business processes, purchase goods, save energy, promote sustainability, employ information technology, and so on will help us realize immediate savings to enhance Rutgers' programs.

We also need to foster an entrepreneurial spirit to increase funding for Rutgers' most important projects. Certainly, we will continue our aggressive pursuit of research dollars from federal, industry, and private sources. In addition, the upcoming capital campaign will present significant opportunities to involve faculty, staff, students, and alumni in fundraising efforts. But we must also unlock revenue potential and leverage existing assets in less traditional areas, such as continuous education, trademark licensing, and real estate development. While this is a long-term endeavor, your suggestions can get us started now.

Please submit your ideas through the online Suggestion Box or by regular mail to: Rutgers' Committee on Efficiency and Entrepreneurship, Old Queen's Building, Room 207, 83 Somerset Street, New Brunswick, NJ 08901.

We realize we are asking you to think in new ways about how Rutgers does business. In turn, we will ensure that the committee's processes are open and inclusive. Every suggestion will be given careful consideration. We will then set up subcommittees responsible for turning the best ideas into workable solutions. These subcommittees, which have not yet been formed, will be broadly representative, drawing on expertise across the university to address identified areas. If you are interested in serving on one of these groups, please let me know directly via email or through the Suggestion Box.

The Committee on Efficiency and Entrepreneurship eagerly awaits your ideas and looks forward to working with you to make Rutgers the very best it can be.

Jeffrey Apfel
Senior Vice President for Administration and Chief Financial Officer