Strategic Planning Steering Committee
Town Hall Meetings
- November 17, 2006
- September 29, 2006
September 29, 2006 | EN A120
Introduction and Background:
* Dr. Williams gave a brief description about strategic planning in general and also how the process evolved here at Southern over the past months.
I. Core Values:
Presenters: Maria Diamantis, Chris Petto, Claire Novosad, and Elyse Williams. Dr. Novosad gave a brief introduction and the members took turns reading the value statements.
1. Excellence:
* A question was raised whether teaching was still the top priority at Southern, or if it was taken off teaching and placed on other goals such as learning, scholarship, and service. People might start to question how we will these other areas.
* Wording is confusing - Distinguished performance in all aspects of University life, by all members of the University community, especially in the areas of teaching, learning, and service. "Does it value faculty as teachers because grammatically stated, it sounds like we value students teaching, and we don't want all students to be teachers."
* "No inclusion of ethical behavior, which seems prerequisite to a true University milieu."
* "No mention of a marketplace of ideas, valuing dissent, discussion, debate, and promoting intellectual environment."
3. Diversity:
* "As it is written, there is nothing about inclusion, a requisite for having diversity and can be achieved without a diverse community. We want an inclusive community, not just whoever happens to be here celebrates whatever."
* Suggested language for Diversity: "The University values an educational and working environment that respectfully includes a broad spectrum of human and cultural diversity, where individuals and cultures are celebrated and respected for the unique talents, insights, and perspectives that they contribute."
4. Student Success:
* "What does this mean in both broad and general terms? For example, job placement: No mention of cultivating relationships with industry or preparing students for the real world. Secondly, will we be able to make the necessary institutional changes to make this real."
* "The word transform is puzzling, maybe use fulfill or to succeed."
* Dr. Novosad responded that teaching is still number one and job placement would more likely be placed under action steps. The value was originally termed "Academic Excellence," it seems people want to see teaching highlighted.
* Include research in excellence and make a distinction between both community and professional service.
* Job Placement: Become productive members of the larger community vs. University community. This gives the implication that students will go on to contribute to Connecticut and the world.
* Excellence and Student Success: Stronger language under Student Success reflects what the outcome of teaching is to student's success.
II. Mission Statement:
Presenters: DonnaJean Fredeen, Thuan Vu, Marge Fadden, and Robert Demezzo. Dr. Fredeen explained in detail how the Steering Committee arrived at the current draft of the mission statement.
Comments:
1. A statement was made regarding the length of the mission statement and how it might be better to make it short and brief, something that could fit on letter head paper. For example: "Educating Connecticut's future today."
2. "The term "talented teachers-scholars" is restrictive; because 30 percent of teachers are adjunct faculty and do not necessarily engage in scholarship. We have a lot of support staff, especially in the areas of technology and resources that do not fall under that category, but are still vital to the function of the University."
3. Confusion over the sentence "Our talented teacher-scholars actively engage students in their academic pursuits to prepare them with the knowledge and skills needed to be life-long learners and effective participants in a rapidly changing, global society." Does this mean students or teacher scholars? Maybe change academic pursuits to student and academic pursuits, and prepare to endowing or giving.
4. "Take out the word "talented" in the phrase "talented teacher scholars" because it suggests insecurity on our part. It's more important to let our accomplishments speak for it."
5. The word "provide" in the first sentence indicates where we are now, but changing it to "be to provide" is more indicative of a mission statement.
6. "The descriptive term teacher/scholars express what we do at Southern. Need to avoid the tendency to reduce what faculty and staff does to the transmission of knowledge, but more essential is the interrogation and creation of knowledge through which we pursue academic excellence."
7. "It would be more inspirational to add produce leaders vs. just helping students get jobs."
8. "What do the statements mean for us and how do both staff and faculty transmit them into our behavior?"
9. "Students learn about principals, character, and integrity while in college and it needs to be included in the mission statement, regarding how we want to give it to them."
10. A question was raised regarding the meaning of the term "intentionally diverse." Thuan Vu responded by stating that we are diverse by default; it's not in our mandate to recruit a diverse population. By putting it in our mission statement, this makes it our priority to do so.
11. Lack of consistency between the Mission and Vision Statement and the Overarching Goals. For example, in the Vision Statement it talks about "educating students to reflect a new standard of social responsibility and global citizenship," but it's not reflected in the Mission Statement.
Dr. Williams made the following comments:
1. The Mission Statement addresses where the University is now, and the Vision is more inspirational in terms of what we want to become.
2. When the committee tried to reduce the Mission Statement, it resulted in leaving important elements out and looked more like a slogan. Having a two-sentence mission statement is as brief as we can get, while still capturing everything. It's easier to create slogans that it is to recreate mission statements.
3. He reminded the group about the suggestions box and the upcoming town hall meeting, in which the committee will hopefully have almost a final draft of the document.
III. Vision Statement:
Presenters: Mike Shea, Ron Heron, and Joe Brignola. Mike Shea gave the introduction and background about the process the committee went through in drafting the Vision Statement, as well as where the ideas came from. Ron Heron read the statement out loud to the group.
Comments:
1. "No mention of the role of faculty as scholars engaging in ongoing research. Need to make exclusive reference to the importance of research activities and support for faculty research."
2. "Use of the terms "racial and religious" from a philosophical and historical point of view are labels that resulted from early colonization movements and the eugenics movement and are thus outdated. A suggestion might be cultural diversity or advancing social justice, to reflect what people do or make."
3. "Change the word "utilize" to harness, in order to represent a more reciprocal relationship/reciprocity. Another suggestion was benefit from, as well as use broaden vs. deepen when talking about students understanding the world around them."
4. The word "urban" might be connoted in a negative manner, and might be better to use the term regional, cosmopolitan or metropolitan.
5. Professional Studies not mentioned in the Vision Statement.
6. Employees are absent from the statement.
7. Sounds like we are offering a commodity, providing services, but no mention of what we envision going on campus. It was suggested to include offering a safe haven for the exchange of ideas, etc.
8. Disciplinary focus is limiting, there is a lot happening outside the classroom. Mike Shea added that this encompasses a general education and a more focused major.
9. "As stated, the statement can apply to any University and does not address what is distinctive or unique about Southern, whether it the best value or our premiere graduate institution."
10. A suggestion was made to include helping students develop an appreciation for an ethical life.
IV. Overarching Goals:
Presenters: Lise Brule, Marianne Kennedy, Cesarina Thompson, and Sam Andoh. Ms. Brule gave the introduction and Dr. Kennedy described the process in detail and how goals evolved.
Comments:
1. Evaluation of online programs and hybrid classes from an educational point of view: do we want to spend resources on this and is it a good way to deliver education and is there evidence to support it? It would be beneficial to investigate this before we state it as a goal.
2. Structures and goals vs. processes- the ideas are there, but cannot tell where we are going or a good sense of the outcome.
3. Campus life is not stated in the goals, such as experiences outside the classroom, internships, co-ops, school organizations, etc.
4. "School of choice vs. value- Southern was a great value back in 1938 when it cost $10 dollars, but today we are school of choice, maybe not all programs, but someday we will be."
5. "What is our overall focus: is it to deliver services efficiently or fundraising mode? Is the character of the University to engage in huge fundraising and assessment efforts to cover the costs to obtain our goals, or are we going to focus on certain programs over other and adopt frugal use of funds we have or acquire more."
6. A point was raised regarding the absence of staff members from the overarching goals, but was later clarified by one of the presenters that staff members are listed under Goal C institutional effectiveness, initiative 5.2.
7. Mike Shea clarified an earlier point about value, in that when given the ratio of education to the cost, Southern does more per dollar than other Universities, verses the quality matching the price.
8. "Is it wrong for an institution to engage in fundraising to support faculty and staff and stay competitive?"
9. "If we are focusing on expanding resources and becoming a distinctive brand that needs to be written into the Mission and Vision Statement and everything else. On the other hand, if we are going to make use of state funding and existing resources with incremental increments than that needs to be accepted. Funding base determines program offerings, support for research, etc. If we want to be an industry leader, we need aggressive fundraising efforts; if it's not going to happen, it's misleading to position ourselves that way. From fundamental decisions the Mission and Vision Statements emerge."
10. It was noted that in the Mission Statement, it talks about "effective participants in a rapidly changing, global society," but only listed as an initiative under Goal A. Maybe it should have its own initiative.
