Dear Faculty and Staff,
Thank you for your thoughtful engagement throughout the 1-3-5 year planning process. Your insights have been instrumental in identifying the priorities that matter most to our community.
I’m deeply grateful for your commitment and look forward to working together to address these priorities with clarity, collaboration and purpose over the next five years.
Year One Reflections
Your feedback for Year One highlighted key areas of concern: faculty and staff support; program alignment; equity and justice; meaningful partnerships; budget transparency; workload; compensation; course scheduling; facilities; and the need for clearer policies and procedures.
Three-Year Aspirations
Looking ahead to Year Three, you envision a college where faculty recruitment is guided by intentional strategies and meaningful involvement supported by resources that expand our reach. You expressed a desire for stronger regional and international partnerships built on clear structures that make collaboration seamless and sustainable. You also hope to see significant progress in addressing budget challenges with simplified, efficient and transparent funding processes. Above all, you emphasized the importance of fostering a more inclusive environment through policies that actively reduce bias and promote equity in our workplace practices.
Five-Year Ambitions
By Year Five, we seek to realize our full potential: a college defined by sustained partnerships, equity-driven programming and research excellence. We aim for manageable workloads for faculty and staff, robust support for service, dissertation advising and graduate program recruitment. We envision a stronger regional and national presence at conferences and events, and we strive to become a nationally recognized hub for school-university and community partnerships.
Your thoughtful feedback will help inform our overall plan, with recognition that student success continues to be a main driver of all our actions. Our path forward, aligned with our strategic action planning framework, will emphasize actionable steps, foster collaboration and ensure that your feedback continues to guide our progress.
I’m continuing to engage leadership in these conversations and will share another update by the end of the month with more detailed actions.
As we enter November, a month filled with reflection and gratitude, I want to express my sincere thanks for your continued engagement, dedication and care for our college community. Your contributions are deeply valued, and I’m thankful to be planning this future together with you.
Mary
