III. Strategic Goals
Since the University of Connecticut was founded as Storrs Agricultural School
in 1881, it has done many things exceedingly well. It has been an important resource
for the state. It has been the site of research and creative endeavors that have
enriched the world. It has graduated more than 95,000 students -- the majority
since 1970 -- who have extended the university's contributions into every field
of thoughtful endeavor. It has provided the state with well trained farmers and
lawyers, nurses and artists, teachers and business people, engineers and historians,
biologists and writers, doctors and philosophers, legislators and academicians.
The University must look ahead with the understanding that a productive past
does not guarantee a successful future, and we must choose the best path. The Board
of Trustees, in asking the Strategic Planning Management Committee to undertake
the task, recognized the difficulty of the process, and the importance of the University's
future.
In charting a course, the Committee acknowledged the extraordinary journey the
University has already completed. It was cognizant of the environmental influences
that help define where the University is now. And it was motivated by the dream,
embodied in the University's new Vision, Mission, Values and Goals statement, which
guides us toward tomorrow.
The vision statement adopted by the Board of Trustees establishes three primary
goals. It states that the University will serve as a center for learning, that
the University will be an organization focused on outcomes and a shared vision,
and that the University will be committed to Connecticut and the world. The strategic
goals that follow are arranged under the University goal to which they relate.
Each goal is accompanied by objectives and action items.
Each action item is coded with three codes that denote its priority, anticipated
funding requirements, and whose cooperation is needed to accomplish it. These determinations,
like strategic planning itself, are not permanently fixed. They are based on today's
knowledge and needs. The strategic planning process is dynamic and ongoing -- it
demands that we make our best choices now, and be prepared to revise them in an
orderly and thoughtful manner tomorrow. The process demands that as progress is
made toward the strategic goals and as the world around us changes, we must adjust
our course if we are to reach the destination set in the University's vision statement.
Strategic Goal 1: Provide a challenging
and supportive learning environment that fosters achievement
and intellectual interaction among undergraduates, graduate students
and faculty members and promotes excellence in research, scholarship
and artistic creativity.
Strategic Goal 2: Recruit and retain outstanding
students, faculty and staff.
Strategic Goal 3: Create a physical environment
that reflects our expectation of excellence and encourages interaction
among a diverse population.
Strategic Goal 4: Enhance our sense of
community by increasing and valuing interaction while developing
a strong sense of pride and ownership.
Strategic Goal 5: Allocate and develop
resources on the basis of mission value and performance. Hold
the community of students, faculty and staff accountable for the
success of the University.
Strategic Goal 6: Streamline administrative
functions.
Strategic Goal 7: Promote the University's
role in fulfilling the needs of the state, its citizens and its
economic institutions.
Strategic Goal 8: Foster a sense of partnership
with the state.
|
