Building Our Future Through Innovation
Update on the University’s Strategic Action Plan
April 21, 2010 | Memo
By former President M. Duane Nellis
As the state’s leading university, the
University of Idaho has an obligation and opportunity to provide the best possible education, outreach, research and leadership for Idaho and our world as we face unprecedented social, environmental and economic challenges. Our strategic planning and prioritizing over the past few years has positioned us well to elevate our capacity in this critical moment in time. As an institution, we must become more entrepreneurial, more engaged and actively committed to sustainability. We must be committed to fostering and growing global connections, with an approach that bolsters interdisciplinary studies, and identifies diversity as an asset and cultural requirement.
Through the
Request for Innovations process, the University of Idaho is discovering and implementing new ways of organizing the university, resulting in the consolidation and/or realignment of programs to support a vital organization and address a strategic set of society’s vexing problems. The university will not lead Idaho by simply doing things as required: The University of Idaho will lead Idaho by recognizing the changing landscape of our world and by creating its own destiny.
Preliminary proposals have been developed by deans, department heads, faculty, staff and students, with input from external constituents. Based upon the recommendations of the RFI Advisory Committee, former President M. Duane Nellis and former Provost Douglas Baker have reviewed the 16 submitted proposals that support the above concepts and provide an outstanding foundation for the next phase of strategic planning. The president and provost have consolidated and prioritized the 16 proposals into eight comprehensive strategies that support the work of the strategic plan, with an implementation structure and timeline of actions attached to each. While each proposal may help the university attain more than one of the goals in the
Strategic Action Plan, each of the eight Innovation Projects is organized under one of the four goals to which it is most closely linked.
Innovation Projects: Eight Areas of Focus to Support Strategic Action Plan
Goal 1: Teaching and Learning Goal 2: Scholarly and Creative Activity
Goal 3: Outreach and Engagement Goal 4: Organization, Culture, and Climate The implementation of these Innovation Projects will be accomplished with existing resources. We expect the development of each will play a significant role in defining the University of Idaho’s future and in shaping the next iteration of the Strategic Action Plan.
The full list of steering committee members, along with descriptions and action steps are posted on this Web site. In addition, former
President Nellis’ memo outlines the next steps in the Request for Innovations process.