Dear colleagues,
I am excited to update you all on upcoming efforts to develop an exciting new Strategic Vision and Direction for Drew University.
As I have been meeting with many colleagues across campus and beyond, I have been struck again and again by hearing a shared interest in framing and communicating what a bold future for Drew will look like and how to get there. A strategic visioning/planning process is a way of framing this effort as an inclusive and actionable set of goals, while also addressing the funding structures needed to get us there. As you may know, universities typically undergo such a process every five to ten years. Drew has not had a true strategic planning process (nor strategic plan to follow) since 2011. What I have heard, as well, from many of you is that there has perhaps been a lot of planning initiatives over these past years but not a lot of “taking action” or deciding on a long-term vision and then sticking with it to reap the benefits down the road. I have taken all of this under consideration as I have framed out this process.
It is of course important to note that this effort will accomplish the Middle States Commission on Higher Education’s recent request to provide further evidence of comprehensive long-range planning processes in our Supplemental Information Report due in September 2024.
To lead this community-wide process, I have decided to engage my close colleague and mentor Dr. John Mills, who has served as president of Northern Vermont University, Paul Smith’s College (NY), and Mount Aloysius College (PA) and has led a variety of institutions through five strategic planning processes. John and I will lead this process together, and I am so thrilled he has agreed to work with us. Given John’s experiences with many different types of institutions, I am confident that he will provide to us all both expert guidance and important outside perspective. The Cabinet has already had the pleasure of meeting John, and I am confident that you will all enjoy working with him. John will be on campus to kick off this process later in October. His bio is attached.
There will be many different ways for members of the Drew community to get involved in developing the new strategic plan over the coming months, and we will communicate those opportunities to you as the project unfolds. Keep an eye out for a website to document progress, access documents, review past meetings, and announce upcoming meetings for our community. I am simultaneously continuing my meetings with various stakeholders in our community throughout the coming year, and I continue to be excited about all the future holds for Drew.
I look forward to working with you as we set out on this important journey.
Sincerely,
Hilary L. Link
