a2ru a partnership of nearly 40 institutions committed to transforming research universities in order to ensure the greatest possible institutional support for interdisciplinary research, curricula, programs and creative practice between the arts and other disciplines. The world's most pressing, complex and open-ended challenges resist singular approaches and resolutions; whether global or local, they will continue to spring from both likely and unlikely sources. With unparalleled scholarly range and depth, the contemporary research university has the distinct capacity to equip faculty and students to confront such challenges with expertise and creative confidence. High quality scholarly and creative production is most attainable when students and faculty are free to experiment within and across their disciplinary boundaries. Research universities that support such exploration through mutually beneficial interdisciplinary approaches spur creative resolutions and meaningful innovations.