Corrine Carvalho
One of the most common questions I get is, where are we with the Strategic Plan? I will write a series of articles that will update the community on the status of our progress in pursuing each of our eight strategic priorities, but before I launch into the first one, I think it’s good to recall the purpose of a strategic plan.
A strategic plan maps the progress toward long-term goals. The main title of our plan reflects that: St. Thomas 2020. Strategic plans often require re-allocation of resources to achieve those long-terms goals, and they serve as the foundation of capital campaigns. This is the case with our strategic plan as well.
Over the next eight weeks, I will highlight the work of each of the eight Strategic Planning task forces. I will report on initiatives and objectives that have already been accomplished and others that are currently in progress. These reports will hopefully help the community see what I see: a mission-driven university deftly responding to the challenges confronting higher education.
The strategic planning task forces have identified a number of aspirational goals that guide our continued implementation of our strategic plan and its priorities. There already has been tremendous change on campus as we move towards those goals. The changes we experience now – re-organization, re-positioning, program review and the development of new procedures – are essential to achieve the long term goals that the task forces are recommending.
Becoming a more effective and efficient institution is a component of one of our goals, Integrated Planning. Because of this, next week’s article will summarize the work of the Integrated Planning task force.
As we move through this process, we will continue to actualize our common aspiration to be One University. In an organization of over 2000 employees, that can sometimes be challenging, but we know that if we continue to work with mutual trust, mutual respect, and transparency, we will feel pride in what we accomplish together. I encourage all of us to continue our strong engagement in this process.
As you have more questions, ask. If you have a perspective, relay it. If you have a disagreement, engage in dialogue. And if you want more information, please see the summer reports of each task force on the Strategic Planning Sharepoint site, accessible here.
