The following is an excerpt from President Bravman’s 2018 August Update.
Last September, I identified four strategic commitments paramount to our ability to strengthen Bucknell and fully capitalize on who we are as an institution. We then began our strategic planning efforts by holding a series of open forums designed to create a shared understanding of broad topics critical to Bucknell’s long-term sustainability. In advance of my presentation at the April forum, I articulated my priorities for each commitment. Allow me to reiterate what I wrote to you at that time:
Given the breadth of opportunity before us in these areas, and the urgency created by financial challenges and our competitive market, I have given significant consideration in developing the strategic commitments and priorities stated here … Although certainly not exhaustive, the priorities reflect my clear sense, as president, of what we must do; to that end, they provide an important framework as we move forward.
This summer, in collaboration with Faculty Chair Bill Kenny, and, in turn, the Faculty Council, we established a strategic planning Steering Committee and four Working Groups. The Steering Committee is responsible for providing opportunities for engagement of the Bucknell community throughout the process and also charging the four Working Groups, which were formed around the strategic commitments. Each of the Working Groups comprises faculty and staff members, and each is co-chaired by one faculty member and one member of the administration. An Executive Committee comprising a subset of the Steering Committee will be responsible for preparing the actual plan document. I am extremely grateful for our nearly 60 colleagues who have volunteered to commit a significant amount of their time and energy to advancing Bucknell through this strategic planning initiative.
By way of process, the members of the Working Groups will meet regularly throughout the fall 2018 semester, leading to their submission of written reports to the Steering Committee by Dec. 10. (The Steering Committee, which includes the co-chairs of each Working Group, is already scheduled to meet throughout the fall semester to receive interim oral reports from and provide feedback to the Working Groups through their co-chairs.) In mid-December, the Steering Committee will review the Working Group reports in order to provide direction to the Executive Committee in its preparation of a draft plan, which will be shared with campus for feedback in early February. We plan to present a final strategic plan for adoption by both the Faculty and Board of Trustees in April 2019.
We will, of course, provide regular updates on this important work as the process moves forward.