Strategic Planning Committee

Change is disturbing when it is done to us, exhilarating when it is done by us.
-Kanter

Message from the Chairs

It’s out! On September 19th, 2007, the Strategic Planning Committee (SPC) put forth, and Vice President Saddlemire accepted, the Division’s 2007-2010 Strategic Plan during the annual Division town meeting. The new plan is really more of an update to our existing plan. And apart from a new plan component; Division Initiatives, most of the changes to the plan have been behind the scenes in how the Division and its departments conduct long-term planning, goal setting, and goal accountability.

The Town meeting presentation had two main goals: 1. Reacquaint the Division to our current plan. More specifically, how staff should interpret the plan and determine how we individually contribute to the plan and 2. Introduce the new plan component of “Division Initiatives” – Division-wide strategic efforts.

The 2007-2010 Division Initiatives are:

• Initiative 1: Position the Division to be environmentally sustainable
• Initiative 2: Develop a comprehensive and strategic approach to Division-wide assessment.
• Initiative 3: Develop an organizational philosophy and plan that will guide our interactions with parents.

Additional details from the Vice president’s office on next steps for achieving these initiatives will be forthcoming. In fact, work has already started on several initiatives.

The Division of Student Affairs continues to utilize a staff engagement model for long-term planning. The SPC, comprised of students and staff from across the Division, adopted a sub-committee framework for conducting the business of the committee. The sub-committees were: Critical Issues, Division Retreat, and Division Initiatives. Notable Committee accomplishments over the last year include our efforts to collect information from staff and managers, refine the department goal-setting processes and accountability, and develop the Division Initiatives component.

Kanter’s words continue to guide our planning model – change is exhilarating when it is done by us. We continue to encourage staff to be involved, provide feedback on our process, and remain knowledgeable of our long-term goals.

John Sears, Residential Life
Nancy Bilmes, Career Services
Strategic Planning Committee Co-chairs