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Thursday, November 17, 2016

Eleanor's update

This fall we have been out visiting with Duluth, Crookston, and Morris campuses sharing information and seeking input on current initiatives. These visits allow us to exchange information face-to-face and listen to each other’s concerns. They also allow us to work together to support each other, and look for opportunities to tackle challenges.

Shortly after returning from Crookston I saw the information from President Kaler announcing the formation of a new committee: the System-wide Strategic Planning Committee. As I read through the information, it was almost like time traveling back to the ESUP project and the formation of the various student steering committees which we have continued as system councils.

Some of the articulated goals and the posed questions are items we adopted during ESUP and have continued to strive towards over the last several years. Take a look at the following and see if these items sound familiar.

Goals:
  • While still being mindful of the distinctive missions and strengths of our five campuses, each campus plan will continue to locally guide decision-making and resource-allocation.
  • The system-wide plan should articulate the common values, processes, and expectations across campuses, and how the unique strengths of each part of the system.
  • Make planning efforts to better align our resources and leverage our strengths as a system.
  • Recommend new opportunities to leverage a system-wide perspective to benefit all of our students and citizens across the state.

Questions:
  • Who are we as a University system? What are our collective strengths and commitments? What are the unique strengths of individual campuses?
  • How do we ensure that the unique areas of strength are complementary and connected within the system?
Each committee member is to work as a “University citizen,” not solely as a representative of a specific campus, unit, or constituency, so that the committee will think creatively and big about how we can make our University of Minnesota system more impactful and greater than the sum of its parts.

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