June Progress Report

Co-chaired by faculty members Mike Huggins and Stacie Whinnery, The Academic Visioning Committee (SAVE) met on June 9 and 10 to review the results of various data gathering efforts as the foundation for a 5-10 year plan for Academic Affairs. During the meeting the SAVE Committee members systematically looked at survey results from internal and external stakeholders as well as archival data that examined both internal and external perspectives. The Power Point presentations for all four SAVE subcommittee groups can be found linked below under "Subcommittee Reports."

Provost Chula King provided context for the two-day discussions with a Power Point presentation in which she urged the committee to be bold about moving away from the status quo. She suggested that the committee strive to adopt a course somewhere between "evolution and revolution." Her technology-focused power point is also available below under "Provost Remarks."

Stacie Whinnery and Laura Koppes Bryan also presented a final SWOT analysis that had recently been conducted during a Joint Board session, which included BOT members, Foundation Board members, Alumni Advisory Board members, NWF Historic Preservation Board Members, Faculty Senate, and Staff Senate. That analysis is also posted below under "Joint Board Analysis."

The SAVE Committee shared conclusions and identified the most prominent themes under the guidance of strategic planning expert Laura Koppes Bryan. Eight themes emerged from SAVE Committee discussions of the patterns reflected across the data and stakeholder opinions. The names of the themes may be further refined by the time members of the committee develop concept papers; however, the conceptual themes include the following:

• Growth (purposeful, managed)
• Skills for the 21st century (“work force readiness”)
• Community Engagement
• Quality
• Research
• Teaching
• Visibility
• Innovation

The SAVE Committee divided into groups of two or three to take on writing the concept papers. The concept papers will be available to campus community in early August. The papers will then serve as the basis for the Visioning Conference being planned for August 11. Participants at the visioning conference will include faculty and other internal and external stakeholders.