Early Bird

Have your say in the University’s future

Strategic Plan 2025 process kicks off this month, and you are invited to participate.

By Dan Vaccaro

January 21, 2019

The future of Metropolitan State University of Denver has arrived with the kickoff of the Strategic Plan 2025 process.

Vice President of Strategy Cathy Lucas and Matt Makley, Ph.D, professor of history and president of the Faculty Senate, will co-chair the 18-month effort, which will build on the vision of President Janine Davidson, Ph.D. The process will produce goals and objectives that guide MSU Denver in becoming the model urban university in the nation.

“We want this process to be as collaborative and transparent as possible,” Lucas said. “During the last strategic-planning process, we engaged about 2,000 people. This time around, we’re aiming to engage between 4,000 and 5,000 internal and external stakeholders.”

That engagement starts with the formation of a Strategic Planning Team, which will comprise an esteemed and diverse group of faculty, staff, administrators, students and alumni. The 20- to 25-person team, in partnership with a consultant, will guide the process and keep the campus community updated on progress.

You can nominate yourself or a colleague for the team on the University’s new Strategic Plan website. Members will be selected by Lucas, Makley and senior leadership based on candidates’ enthusiasm for being a part of the strategic-planning process and their track record for collaboration, inclusivity and achieving results. The team will include representation from leadership groups such as the Faculty Senate, the Council of Administrators and the Classified Staff Council.  

Members will need to commit four to six hours per month for the duration of the process, so they should ask their supervisors before applying. The nomination deadline is Feb. 15, and members will be selected by the end of the same month.

There will be many other ways to participate as well, including multiple subcommittees, campus forums and digital surveys. There will also be a form on the planning website where you will be able to share your thoughts and ideas.

“Feedback and support from the entire community will be essential in making this process a success,” Davidson said. “It’s exciting that all of us will have a role in shaping the future of our University.”

At a presentation to the Board of Trustees in December, Lucas noted that the planning process will take place in six phases: 

1) Getting organized (January-March)
2) Data gathering and engagement (April-July)
3) Making sense of the issues (August-October)
4) Vision building (November-December)
5) Goals building (January-March 2020)
6) Strategic implementation (April-June 2020)

Strategic Plan 2025 will go into effect July 1, 2020. The Early Bird will be the primary means of communication for this process, so stay tuned for regular updates.