Opinions Wanted

Decisions and actions need to be taken now or over the next three years to best leverage forces for the University’s success. (Photo by Carlo de Jesus)

ALBANY, N.Y. (Nov. 7, 2016) — The University’s Strategic Planning Steering Committee is leading the charge to develop a vision and a roadmap for the future of the University. Crucial to the plan is input from the entire campus community.

There’s an opportunity right now for the campus to get involved, by reading and commenting on the “Futuring Papers,” created by 18 faculty-led teams.

These brief papers identify the forces acting on academic disciplines and cross-cutting areas of interest, now and 10 years into the future, and explore implications and opportunities for programs, faculty and students. Cross-cutting issues include equity, diversity and inclusion; the role of the arts and humanities in the public research university; and internationalization.

The papers postulate about decisions and actions that need to be taken now, or over the next three years, to best leverage these forces for the University’s success.

The Steering Committee, co-chaired by Darrell P. Wheeler, interim provost and senior vice president for academic affairs, and Leanne Wirkkula, vice president for planning, policy and compliance, is asking for input from the campus community.

“Please read the papers to see what your colleagues have written about the future of our disciplines and eight cross-cutting areas,” Wheeler and Wirkkula wrote in a message to faculty, staff and students. “Most important, please use the comment field on the web form to share your thoughts. This is your opportunity to have a say about how the University will be positioned.”

The Futuring Papers can be viewed online. Click the link for the paper’s title to read it. A comment field is at the bottom, where you can add your own thoughts, opinions and ideas. Comments are due by Friday, Nov. 18.

There will be more opportunities to get involved in the strategic planning process, including the upcoming Concert of Ideas on Dec. 9 and 10. The two sessions include an afternoon of exploration though music, drama and the spoken word on Friday, followed by important collaborative working sessions on Saturday morning.

Click here to register for the December 9 and 10 Strategic Planning Events.

Over the next several weeks members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee will consult with key groups such as the Council of Deans, Executive Committee, Senate Executive Committee and the chairs of the University’s schools and colleges, as well as with the Student Association and the Graduate Student Association leaders, in order to clarify the planning process and to facilitate active engagement from start to finish.

More details about the strategic planning process is available at the UAlbany Strategic Planning website https://www.albany.edu/strategicplan/index.shtml.

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