Land Tenure Center Newsletter
Number 83, Spring 2002, p. 2
Since the last newsletter, change has been the theme at LTC.
In January I announced that I was stepping down as director. I took the position for an initial three-year period, and that period comes to a close on 30 June. It will now have been seven years since I have been a regular member of the faculty, and as I contemplate what I hope to accomplish in this next period of my career, it is more centrally in the areas of fostering the learning community for students and engaging in substantial scholarly endeavors.
Having said this, it has been a great honor to serve as LTC director. I believe more than ever in the importance and relevance of the Center's mission, and I am even more aware of how highly the Center is valued globally. It is my hope that I will be privileged to continue being involved with the Center’s activities for the duration of my career.
This winter, an on-campus assessment team undertook a regular 10-year review of LTC. In March, they concluded that there is much to praise about LTC: “LTC enjoys an enviable worldwide reputation [and] a highly professional, dedicated staff." Yet, they noted that the funding environment for LTC activities has changed substantially. As a result, the organization and structure of LTC within the University requires re-examination. Based on this recommendation, a faculty committee has been appointed to study these issues. It has gathered suggestions from faculty and staff across campus and expects to make its recommendations by the end of summer.
LTC was founded in 1962. Forty years later, conflict over land tenure has not lessened globally (if anything it has increased), nor has the need for good research and focused technical assistance—the hallmarks of LTC. What has changed is the range of private and public-interest organizations that address land tenure. There are, however, few institutions like LTC that can bring the resources of a whole university to bear on land tenure matters. The issue facing the University of Wisconsin is how to position LTC in the future to have the influence and impact it has had through the past 40 years.
Copyright © 2002
by Land Tenure Center and Board of Regents, University of Wisconsin. All rights
reserved.
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