IUB Strategic Planning Committee finishes three of five tasks

By Susan Williams

The "Report on the Mission and Values Statement, Academic Priorities and Review Process for Proposals for Commitment to Excellence Funding" was issued at the end of January by the committee, coming in under its Feb. 1 deadline. As the title suggests, the report articulates a statement of mission and values for the Bloomington campus; drafts a statement of academic priorities to guide the investment of Commitment to Excellence funds generated by the new $1,000 undergraduate tuition assessment; and offers advice on how the chancellor should proceed with reviewing proposals for that funding.

"There is still plenty more to do," said Fred Cate, professor of law and chair of the 25-person committee composed of deans, faculty, staff and students from a wide variety of disciplines. He noted that this report represents only the first phase of the committee’s work. Its members still must write a statement of general priorities by May 1 and by Dec. 15, devise systems to evaluate Commitment of Excellence investments, revise academic priorities for 2003-04 and review the overall strategic plan.

"Our first task was fairly broad and represents the fact that the campus apparently has never had a formal mission statement," said Cate. "The remaining ones all respond to the availability of Commitment to Excellence funds—the funds generated by the new $1,000 per entering student special tuition assessment that begins next fall. So the committee had a fairly precise focus, a very tight time frame and something upwards of $20 million to help fund projects within the priority areas it identified."

After drafting the statement of mission and values, the committee moved on to defining broad themes and academic priorities for IUB.

"The mission and values statement speaks to the whole campus, as do the broader themes we identified before focusing on specific priority areas," Cate said. "Those themes address issues that apply both inside and outside of the strategic priority areas, and I think highlight for the campus, the administration and the trustees issues that are critical to the future of the campus."

According to Cate, the committee had neither the time nor the charge to examine everything the campus does, but instead, worked to identify academic areas key to IUB’s future.

"Our real focus was to identify areas of strategic significance, where investments could generate a significant return for the whole campus," he said. "We weren’t concerned with unmet needs—there are many of those, far more than Commitment to Excellence funds could ever address—or with the advancement of individual programs or units for their own sake; we tried to keep our focus on the campus and what would make a difference to the quality and reputation of the campus.

"Certainly, not everyone will like everything they see in the report," he continued, "but I think the document is much stronger because of the breadth of views and ideas it reflects."

Read the mission statement articulated by the committee.

The complete report is online:
http://www.iub-chancellor.indiana.edu/strategic_plan/