Community Input Begins in Baylor's Strategic Planning Process

Follow us on Twitter: @BaylorUMediaCom

Following a month of reflection initiated by Baylor University Provost Elizabeth Davis in her essay, "Envisioning Our Future," faculty, staff, students, alumni and friends of Baylor are now being invited to provide input to inform the direction of the university's next 10-year strategic plan. The community input portion of the strategic planning exercise will run from December 2010 through April 2011.

The university's Strategic Planning website will help guide the process. The website includes a timeline of the planning process, links to helpful resources such as the university's mission statement, foundational assumptions, core convictions and unifying academic themes, and instructions for individuals to provide input as the process moves forward.

Davis, executive vice president and provost, was appointed by Baylor President Ken Starr to lead the planning process. Davis spent much of November meeting with on-campus groups to explain the process and encourage participation.

"Baylor is on a powerful upward trajectory and ahead of us are many wonderful opportunities. But we need to be disciplined and intentional in our efforts to determine the very best path for Baylor to take as it contemplates its future as a national research university that resolutely embraces its Christian identity," Davis said. "Baylor represents a unique offering in American higher education; all of us need to participate in determining how we can best act in this privileged position over the next decade."

On-campus discussion will take place within departments, schools, administrative units and student organizations, as well as in multi-disciplinary groups. Faculty, staff and students are encouraged to share their input during these meetings. The leaders of these groups will summarize the input and upload that document through the Strategic Planning website. The recommendations will be sent to the Strategic Themes Committee (STC) and made available to the Baylor community via a password-protected area of the website.

Off-campus constituents also will have the opportunity to share insights and ideas during meetings in select cities. In addition, all constituents are invited to upload individual input through the Strategic Planning website. These written submissions will go to the STC but will not be available for public review.

This collective feedback will play a critical role in informing the development of the university's future strategic priorities, Davis said.

The process will result in a draft plan for consideration by Baylor's Board of Regents at the homecoming meeting in 2011.

Questions or comments about the Strategic Planning process can be sent to strategicplan@baylor.edu.

Media contact: Lori Fogleman, director of media communications, (254) 710-6275