Office of the Chancellor

Strategic Planning Process Launched

October 18, 2018

Dear Faculty, Staff, and Students,

I am pleased to report that our strategic planning process launched officially this week, and we are off to a tremendous start.

As you will recall, we recently sought campus-wide nominations and volunteers for membership on the Strategic Plan Steering Committee. This included nominations from the Faculty Senate, Administrative and Professional Staff Advisory Council, and the Clerical and Service Staff Advisory Committee. We also received an enthusiastic response from those wishing to volunteer to serve, and the vice chancellors and deans voted on the final composition of the committee.

The Steering Committee met for the first time this week, and one of their first orders of business was to examine the make-up of the committee to be certain there is representation of all aspects of the university. They concluded that all constituent groups are adequately represented. The committee also elected Jeff Malanson, associate professor of history, as chair, and Krissy Creager, associate vice chancellor for student success and transitions, as co-chair. Here is a complete listing of the Steering Committee members and their affiliations.

I am confident the Steering Committee will ensure a comprehensive, transparent, and inclusive process. They will invite participation among all campus constituents and will seek input and perspectives in many, many ways as the planning process unfolds. The committee is already working on the creation of subcommittees and is working with our Office of Communications and Marketing to develop a website that will serve as the hub of information related to strategic planning.

That process started in earnest this week with five intensive focus group sessions that focused on gathering input, insights, and initial data. The sessions held thus far included a total of 51 participants from administrative and academic units. Information from these sessions will be incorporated into a comprehensive report of initial findings.

As I reported previously, the strategic planning process is being coordinated by Sean Ryan, director of the university’s Office of Engagement, and we are being guided in our work by Kathy Church and Gary Frank of Strategic Focus Associates.

I want to thank everyone who has worked so hard to move us into a strategic planning mode. As we continue with the process, I encourage each of you to take advantage of the opportunities to share your perspectives, and I ask that everyone in supervisory roles please allow work-time for your team members to participate in this important process.

I know we all agree that this is a critical undertaking as we chart our course for the future.

Sincerely,

Ron Elsenbaumer
Chancellor