The strategic planning process was led by a steering committee of 11 members of the faculty and administration mostly drawn from a standing Strategic Planning Committee of 24 members that includes elected faculty members, administrators, faculty representatives from other standing committees, and faculty and student trustees.
This Strategic Planning Committee formed the main pool of persons to staff subcommittees of this strategic planning process, which were organized around the Mind, Heart, and Place pillars. To draw on expertise outside of the standing Strategic Planning Committee, the subcommittees enlisted additional faculty, staff, students, trustees, and regents to join them in their work. Learn more about each committee at the links below.
Organizational work on the strategic plan began in October 2023, during Vice-Chancellor Rob Pearigen’s first months in office.
In the Advent 2023 semester, the vice-chancellor worked with Acting Provost Scott Wilson and the Strategic Planning Committee to discuss a new framework for the strategic plan, focusing on three pillars. Vice-Chancellor Pearigen and Acting Provost Wilson hired Dawn Wiese, former vice president for student affairs and dean of students at Washington & Lee University, to serve as a facilitator for many of the on-campus conversations, especially those focusing on potentially divisive topics. The Strategic Planning Committee also discussed potential initiatives that might be included under the three pillars. Throughout the fall, the acting provost made presentations to the Joint Faculties, Board of Regents, Student Government Association, open staff meetings, and the Board of Trustees to update them on the strategic plan as it began to take shape.
During the Easter Semester of 2024, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee hosted 54 facilitated conversations (focus groups, town hall events, and open fora) to discuss the strategic plan at various stages of the process. The committee disseminated Google forms to collect additional input following the focus group conversations held on April 2 and 9. Subcommittees organized around the Mind, Heart, and Place pillars met on a weekly basis to analyze background materials and, in some cases, to meet with people outside of the Strategic Planning Committee. Based on feedback from various stakeholders, the committee members wrote and circulated the draft report for further input. Beginning in early May, the Strategic Planning Committee began to seek endorsement of the plan from the Joint Faculties, the Staff Partnership Council, the Board of Regents, and the Board of Trustees.
Equipping our graduates with the knowledge, skills, and powers of discernment to greet the opportunities and to address the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Embracing our responsibility for character development, moral leadership, and the advancement of equity and social justice on campus, across the country, and around the world.
Realizing the full potential of the Domain—our laboratory, playground, and sanctuary—to create more opportunities to learn, explore, and reflect, leading in matters of the environment.
