Update on Campus Strategic Planning Process

During the break in semesters, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee met to discuss the planning focus areas emerging from our engaging conversations with faculty, staff, students, and alumni last fall.

Based on that campus input, the Steering Committee identified four planning focus areas, and outlined charges and research questions for strategy groups that will develop goals, objectives, and progress measures in each area. Comprised of faculty, staff, students, and alumni, these groups will be responsible for engaging campus and external stakeholders in this next stage of planning work, as we establish drivers of future success for UMBC. The four groups are expected to align their work with current and future interests of the campus community, the State, and the nation.

In addition, a Foundations Work Group will guide the development of recommendations to continue to build the strong foundations necessary for UMBC to grow and thrive. The work group will address people, resources, policies and procedures, facilities, IT, and environmental sustainability. Its work will include reviewing current status, identifying pain points, and proposing opportunities for improving in those areas.

I want to thank Kathleen Carroll for her service as co-chair of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee during the formative stage of the planning process, and welcome Bruce Walz, who will serve as co-chair going forward.

The four planning groups, their co-chairs, and primary goals are as follows:

The Student Experience
Co-chaired by Kim Leisey, Associate Vice President, Student Affairs, and Devin Hagerty, Professor, Political Science, and Program Director, Global Studies

Create vibrant, exceptional, and comprehensive undergraduate and graduate experiences that integrate in and out of classroom learning to prepare graduates for meaningful careers and civic and personal lives.

Innovative Curriculum and Pedagogy
Co-chaired by Carole McCann, Professor and Chair, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Jeffrey Leips, Associate Professor, Biological Sciences

Develop innovative curricula and academic programs that support and enhance the success of our undergraduate and graduate students and prepare them for meaningful careers, lifelong learning, and engaged citizenship; and thereby maintain and enhance our position as a national leader in undergraduate and graduate education.

Collective Impact in Research, Scholarship, and Creative Achievement
Co-chaired by Aryya Gangopadhyay, Professor and Chair, Information Systems, and John Schumacher, Associate Professor, Graduate Program Director, Sociology and Anthropology

Elevate UMBC as a nationally recognized and regionally relevant research university, The key drivers in achieving this goal are: creating an inclusive environment for faculty and students, developing excellence in new intellectual frontiers, and fostering multidisciplinary and inter-institutional approaches that build research, scholarship, and creative achievement across the campus.

Community and Extended Connection
Co-chaired by Steve Bradley, Associate Professor and Graduate Program Director, Visual Arts, and Mavis Sanders, Professor, Education

Build, nurture, and extend relationships among diverse internal and external communities and partners to enrich campus life, local neighborhoods, the State, and the surrounding region. Foster innovative problem solving and responsible entrepreneurship through strategic partnerships with alumni, government agencies, businesses, and community-based organizations to create a sustainable and prosperous future for all.

More information about our planning process is available at planning.umbc.edu. I will continue to update the campus as we move forward.

Thank you.