Early Bird

Strategic planning enters final phase

After pause to examine post-pandemic scenarios, Strategic Planning Team resumes work, will create draft vision statement and plan for your feedback.

September 22, 2020

The Strategic Planning Team officially kicked off the final phase of the strategic-planning process at its Sept. 11 meeting, with the goal of launching a new plan in January.

The team resumed its critical work after pausing to consider post-pandemic scenarios over the summer. That planning effort culminated in a Game It Out day Aug. 15, which included participation from trustees, senior leaders and community stakeholders.

At its first meeting of the semester, the team spent much of its time digging through the information that surfaced at Game It Out day to discuss how it applied to the planning work done prior to the pause.  

“If we treated every observation as a lens to look at the strategic plan, how would it change?” said Dan Baer, former executive director of the Colorado Department of Higher Education, who facilitated the wide-ranging conversation.

Topics were categorized as threats or opportunities, with some intersecting both. The team considered themes such as continued disinvestment from the state, increased competition for local and diverse students, and the pandemic’s long-term implications on academics, retention and reputation.

After a robust discussion, the team agreed on a timeline for the final phase of the process, culminating in the launch of the new plan in January. The next step is drafting a Vision Statement to share with stakeholders for feedback in early October. Members of the University community will also be asked to review and comment on a draft of the full plan in November. Team members will also be in touch with their stakeholder groups to collect input.  

Once feedback is gathered and incorporated, the plan will be shared with the Board of Trustees at its December meeting before the final document is rolled out in January.

“We’re coming into the final stretch,” said Cathy Lucas, vice president of Strategy and co-chair of the Strategic Planning Team. “The team has done a fantastic job, but this plan belongs to all of us, and we want to make sure that every member of community can share their feedback.”

Please stay tuned to the Early Bird for calls for feedback. And be sure to check the Strategic Planning webpage to take another look at the team list, pillars and timeline.