Strategic Plan Input Period Concluding at the End of April

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Still Time to Share Insights and Ideas

The community input portion of Baylor University's strategic planning process will conclude at the end of April, but there remain plenty of opportunities for members of the Baylor University family to share ideas that will inform the development of Baylor's next 10-year strategic plan.
"We are delighted with the enthusiastic response we have had from members of the Baylor family as we have encouraged them to participate in the process of envisioning Baylor's future," said President Ken Starr. "This collective feedback will play a critical role in the development of the university's future strategic priorities. We welcome everyone to the conversation."
To date, more than 800 alumni and friends have attended community town hall meetings in Texas and across the United States, while some 50 on-campus groups have submitted their ideas. In addition, more than 200 individuals have participated using input form available on the strategic planning website.
During the final weeks of April, alumni and friends of Baylor are gathering in several cities for the final series of off-campus town hall meetings. Having already met in Amarillo, Atlanta, Austin, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Los Angeles, Lubbock, Nashville, San Antonio, Tyler, Waco and Washington, D.C., the community input sessions will wrap up in Fort Worth (April 18) and New York City (April 25). To sign up for the remaining sessions, go to the Strategic Planning Community Input Sessions website.
Baylor Executive Vice President and Provost Elizabeth Davis, who was appointed by President Starr to lead the planning process, said the community sessions have drawn large numbers of enthusiastic Baylor alumni and friends.
"We are grateful to those who took the time to participate, and we are eager to hear from many more by the end of the month. Their input is invaluable to our planning for the future of Baylor," she said. "As an institution committed to academic excellence and a Christian worldview, Baylor occupies a distinctive and important place in higher education. All of us need to participate in determining how Baylor can most effectively fulfill its role and responsibilities in the future. As this portion of our effort begins to wind down, I strongly encourage everyone to take a few moments to share their insights and ideas with us."
The planning process began in the fall of 2010 when alumni, faculty, staff, students and friends of Baylor were invited by President Starr to become active participants in helping shape the future direction of the university. Once the input process concludes, the Strategic Themes Committee will spend May and June synthesizing and analyzing the data. It will then report to President Starr and the Executive Council on the recurring themes and priorities that are reflected in the input.
In the fall, President Starr and the Executive Council will write a draft strategic plan integrating the University's mission, its foundational assumptions, core convictions and unifying academic themes, and informed by the community input. The draft will be shared with university regents at their 2011 Homecoming meeting and then submitted to the university community for review and feedback before the plan is finalized in the spring. The new strategic plan will be launched in June 2012.

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