To: The William Paterson University Community

From: Kathleen Waldron, President

Re: Board of Trustees Adopts Strategic Plan 2012-2022

Date: March 23, 2012

The Board of Trustees formally adopted the William Paterson University Strategic Plan 2012-2022 at its meeting on Monday, March 19, 2012, culminating a ten month collaborative process that included faculty, staff, and students at William Paterson. Click Here for Internal Access to the Plan.  On behalf of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, I am delighted that the Board has taken this important step that will guide our collective endeavors over the next ten years. 

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee presented the Plan to the Board of Trustees after receiving input from the University community from feedback sessions in late January and February 2012, including town hall meetings, the Fall and Spring Faculty Meeting, and meetings of the Faculty Senate, Director's Council, students via the Student Government Association, and retreats with the Board.  The Committee thanks the University community for playing such an important role in bringing forward issues of concern, all of which were thoughtfully discussed at the Committee meetings. The final document incorporates many of the comments and suggestions that were received from the various feedback sessions. 

The Faculty Senate engaged in a series of discussion and feedback sessions, and ultimately endorsed the Plan. The 36-5 vote in favor of the Plan is an indication of the strength of support for this Plan, and I thank John Parras, chair of the Faculty Senate, for his leadership in guiding the Senate’s discussions, and the Senators who gave thoughtful consideration to the Plan and provided such important feedback.

I want to commend the work of the Steering Committee and the commitment they made to insuring that the process was deliberative, transparent, and comprehensive.  Each member made a valuable contribution to the success of the project, and the University owes them a debt of gratitude for the time, effort, and good counsel they provided.

Now we turn to the implementation of the Plan.  For each of the five overarching goals in the Strategic Plan, a team of faculty, staff, and students will lead the implementation and oversee progress toward the achievement of each goal. Each team will be led by a vice president and will be charged with crafting an implementation plan with recommended timetables, metrics and methods of assessment of the strategic goals. In addition, each team will provide minutes of its meetings and an annual report on the progress against the goal. It is expected that each team will utilize the existing councils, committees, standing committees and administrative and governance structures we have in place at the University today and form new groups if needed in a collaborative way with all parts of the campus community. Each team should complete its initial plan by the end of the Spring 2012 semester. Some meetings are already underway, others are being planned.

In addition to the five implementation teams, the University will form Committee 2022 with the specific responsibility of receiving the five annual reports of the implementation teams and communicating annually to the William Paterson University community on the progress of our strategic planning efforts. Committee 2022 will provide input to the President as to the progress of the University and recommendations and suggestions for improvement.

The five implementation teams, Committee 2022, and their proposed membership are listed below.  Invitations have been extended to faculty, staff, and students to participate, and as membership becomes finalized, we will update the rosters accordingly.

IMPLEMENTATION PLAN TEAM MEMBERSHIP

TEAM ONE: Offer Academic Programs of the Highest Quality – Chair Edward Weil, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, faculty, and representatives from the Academic Affairs Council

TEAM TWO: Achieve Student Success by Increasing Matriculation, Retention and Graduation – Chair Kristin Cohen, VP Enrollment Management and the Strategic Enrollment Management Committee

	Sandra Bembry	Director of Student Accounts
	Cindy Cohen	Associate Director, Athletics
	Kristin Cohen	Vice President, Enrollment Management
	Kim Daniel Robinson	Director, First-Year Experience
	Janet Davis Dukes	Executive Director, Academic Development Programs
	Francisco Diaz	Assistant Vice President for Campus Life
	Christine Diehl	Director, Marketing Communications
	Rebecca Fegeley	Assistant Director of Residence Education, Residence Life
	Pixie Ferris	Professor, Communication, College of Arts and Communication
	Colleen Fuller	Director, Undergraduate Admissions
	Jean Fuller-Stanley	Associate Dean, College of Science and Health
	Rosemarie Genco	Associate Vice President for Finance and Controller
	Martin Gritsch	Professor and Assistant to the Dean, Economics, Finance and Global Business, Cotsakos College of Business
	Stephanie Koprowski-McGowan	Director, Office of Educational Enrollment and Certification, College of Education
	Jonathan McCoy	Executive Director, Enrollment Management & Technology
	Kathleen Odell-Korgen	Professor and Department Chairperson, Sociology, College of Humanities and Social Science
	Donna Potacco	Director, Science Enrichment Center
	Sharon Rosengart	Director, Career Development and Advisement Center
	Julie Rosenthal	Assistant Professor, Elementary and Early Childhood Education, College of Education
	Kenneth Schneider	Director, Center for Student Services, Enrollment Management
	Nina Trelisky	Director, Registration Services
	Jeff Wakeman	Director, Campus Activities
	Robert Wolk (or Designee)	Special Collections & Archive, Cheng Library, Faculty Senate Council on Admission and Enrollment Management
	Jane Zeff	Director, Institutional Research and Assessment

TEAM THREE: Provide Students with Exceptional Opportunities Beyond the Classroom – Chair John Martone, VP Student Development and committee to be determined

TEAM FOUR: Enhance the Sense of Community Throughout and Beyond the University – Chair Pamela Ferguson, VP Institutional Advancement and committee to be determined

TEAM FIVE: Be a Model of Outstanding and Affordable Public Higher Education –
Chair Steve Bolyai, VP Administration and Finance with representatives from the Campus Facilities Committee, the Campus Safety Committee, the ACUPCC Steering Committee, the Senate Budget and Planning Committee, the Banner User Group, the Learning Spaces Committee and the IT Advisory Committee

COMMITTEE 2022:

	Edward Weil, co-chair	Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Chair of Team 1
	Steve Bolyai, co-chair	Vice President for Administration and Finance, Chair of Team 5
	Kristin Cohen	Vice President for Enrollment Management, Chair of Team 2
	John Martone	Vice President for Student Development, Chair of Team 3
	Pamela Ferguson	Vice President for Institutional Advancement, Chair of Team 4
	John Parras	Chair, Faculty Senate
	Kim Daniel-Robinson	Chair, Director's Council
	Undergraduate Student
	Graduate Student
	AFT Representative	Selected by AFT
	CWA Representative	Selected by CWA
	Academic Dean	Rotating every year
	Alumni Executive Council Representative
	Stuart Goldstein	Associate Vice President for Marketing and Public Relations, staff to Committee 2022

To: The William Paterson University Community

From: Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Re: Strategic Plan 2012-2022

Date: February 23, 2012

The Strategic Plan 2012-2022 is available for review. Click here to view [internal access]. The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has endorsed the Plan and recommends it to the Board of Trustees for adoption. 

The Plan incorporates many of the changes that were suggested by faculty, staff, and students in the various feedback sessions, including the Town Hall Meetings, the Faculty Senate Meeting, the Spring Faculty Meeting, the Director’s Council Meeting, the Town Hall Meeting with students, and retreats with the Board of Trustees. Some of the suggestions pertained to the implementation of the Plan, and those suggestions will be forwarded to the appropriate implementation team for discussion. Other suggestions fell outside the parameters of the five goals and were not included in the final 22-page draft, but will be noted in the minutes and referred to the appropriate office/division for discussion. 

Some of the most significant changes include

• the addition of new language in Goal I about the central role played by the humanities, arts, sciences and social sciences, and the University’s continued support of these important foundational areas of study; 
• the caveat that programs noted for expansion are not limited to those listed in the Plan; 
• a renewed emphasis on our role and responsibilities as a public institution; 
• the importance of providing opportunities for study abroad as part of a focused expansion of international programs; 
• an increased emphasis of the value and importance of intercollegiate and recreational sports to the college experience; and 
• the critical importance of providing professional development opportunities to all members of the WPU community. 

There are also multiple instances where the language was modified to include a heightened focus on diversity and on intellectual development and the enhancement of intellectual pursuits, along with professional development. 

The Board of Trustees will consider the adoption of the Strategic Plan at a meeting called for March 19, 2012, 9 a.m.to 12 noon in the College Hall Board Room. 

To: The William Paterson University Community

From: Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Re: Draft Strategic Plan 2012-2022

Date: December 15, 2011

The William Paterson University Strategic Planning Steering Committee is pleased to present a draft of the Strategic Plan 2012-2022 to the community for its consideration. The draft is the result of months of work by the Steering Committee and extensive input and feedback by faculty, staff, and students from a wide range of departments and programs.  

When the framework of the Strategic Plan was distributed to the University community on September 6, 2011, we asked for careful review and comments back to the Committee. We are pleased with the level of engagement and recommendations we received from various groups and individuals on campus, including the Faculty Senate, the Directors Council, the Student Government Association, several academic departments, a student life department, the Foundation Board, the Alumni Executive Council and the Board of Trustees.  We also received recommendations and reactions at the Fall Faculty Meeting, two Town Hall Meetings and other meetings of various groups and via the Strategic Planning BLOG.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee, working with our consultants, Anthony Knerr & Associates, reviewed all of the comments and sought to address areas of major concern, including the academic focus of the framework, the campus-wide role in supporting student success, the importance of adjunct faculty and the opportunities for experiential learning, civic engagement and values that link to those defined in the University Core Curriculum, among other issues.

We now present this draft of the Strategic Plan for your consideration and request that you discuss it within your units and departments and join the Strategic Planning Steering Committee in the following public forums:

• SGA Open Forum – January 24, 2012, 4:30 – 6:00 p.m., Ballroom C
• Spring Faculty Meeting – January 26, 2012, 12:30 – 1:45 p.m., Ballroom
• Town Hall Meeting – January 30, 2012, 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., Library Auditorium
• Faculty Senate Meeting -- January 31, 2012, 12:30 – 1:45 p.m., Ballroom
• Directors’ Council Meeting – TBD late January/early February
• Town Hall Meeting-- February 1, 2012, 2:30 – 4:30 p.m., Library Auditorium
• Board of Trustees Meeting – February 3, 2012, (Retreat) 12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., Board Room

Toward the end of the document, in the section titled “Moving Forward,” is a brief outline of the proposed implementation phase of the Plan.  The Implementation Plan will address the specific goals delineated in the draft Strategic Plan, including metrics against which our progress will be measured. A preliminary Implementation Plan will be forthcoming by mid-January 2012.

Feedback on the draft Strategic Plan is strongly encouraged. Your comments and suggestions may be sent electronically to the e-mailbox Strategic-Plan on Outlook, or posted to the Strategic Plan BLOG, found on the Strategic Plan webpage on the University’s homepage.  After all feedback has been received and following the Board Retreat on February 3^rd, the Committee will reconvene to make final edits to the document so that a final draft will be ready for distribution to the community by mid-February.  The Strategic Plan will go to the Board for adoption in March 2012, and implementation will begin shortly thereafter.

Thank you.

Strategic Planning Steering Committee

 

To: The William Paterson University Community

From: President Kathleen Waldron

Re: Strategic Plan Update

Date: November 4, 2011

The University continues to make progress on its Strategic Plan 2012-2022 and we are on schedule to deliver a preliminary draft of the plan to the campus community in mid- December 2011 for comment and discussion.

I want to thank the many students, faculty and staff and the Faculty Senate, academic departments, colleges, the Board of Trustees, the Foundation Board members, several alumni and various other groups on campus for suggestions, comments, and criticisms to the Framework document that appeared September 6, 2011. All your suggestions received by email, blog, letters and conversations at meetings were shared with the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC)  and with our consultants, Anthony Knerr and John Braunstein. The material also forms part of the record of feedback now available for the entire WPU community to read on the Strategic interactive blog and as part of the documents provided on the Strategic Plan website.

In addition, the University conducted a series of public and specific meetings to gather input and commentary. Again, I want to thank the nearly 500 people who have attended these meetings over the past six weeks to engage in this process. Your comments are invaluable to assist this institution to develop a meaningful and visionary strategy to guide us for the next 10 years.

Specifically, the Strategic Planning Steering Committee hosted some town hall meetings and attended other meetings or received comment from the following:

1. Board of Trustees Strategy Retreat on September 23.
2. Town Hall meeting on September 28 with about 100 people in attendance.
3. The Foundation Board on September 14.
4. The Alumni Executive Council on September 16.
5. Town Hall meeting on October 6, with about 75 people in attendance.
6. The Student Government Association (SGA) Town Hall Meeting on October 11 with about 50 students attending.  
7. Meeting of the University’s collective bargaining units on October 12.
8. The Director’s Council meeting on October 20.
9. The Faculty Senate devoted parts of its meetings on September 13, 27 and October 11 to discussion.
10. The Deans’ Council meeting on October 18.
11. Department Meetings including Anthropology, History, Languages and Cultures, and Philosophy.
12. College Meetings, including the College of Education and the Humanities and Social Sciences College Council.

Notes from  the public meetings, the Board meeting and the Faculty Senate meetings are available on the Strategic Plan web page for your review.

There have been many opportunities to provide the type of comments that are instructive to the SPSC. The SPSC continues its discussions, meeting monthly since May 2011 and most recently on September 26 and October 24.  We fully expect to have the first draft of the Strategic Plan disseminated to the community in mid-December and we have scheduled public discussion of the Plan as follows:

January 26, 2012 – 2:00 – 4:00 p.m. town hall meeting in the Library Auditorium

January 31, 2012 – Faculty Senate meeting devoted to the Plan – 12:30 – 1:45 p.m., University Commons Ballroom

February 1, 2012 – 2:30 – 4:30 p.m. town hall meeting in the Library Auditorium

Please continue to visit the Strategic Planning web pages for updates about other meetings and forums to be scheduled.

 

To: The William Paterson University Community

From: President Kathleen Waldron

Re: Strategic Plan 2012-2022

Date: September 8, 2011

The work on the University’s Strategic Plan has moved forward this summer, and as the new academic year is underway, I want to update the campus community on our progress and what to expect in the next few months.

A framework of the Strategic Plan was presented to the University community on September 6th by the Strategic Planning Steering Committee (SPSC) for discussion and comment. You may view this framework here. Click here to view (internal access).

We started this project on April 1, 2011, working with strategic planning consultants Anthony Knerr and John Braunstein of Anthony Knerr and Associates and engaging many campus constituent groups over the spring term in various discussions. Four dinners with faculty and staff in April and May on institutional visibility, resource planning, academic focus, and enrollment management were attended by over 100 people and garnered much valuable feedback and good ideas.  I met with the Directors’ Council in May with 40 people in attendance and in June, the William Paterson University Foundation Board and the Alumni Executive Council met to discuss the strategic planning process. [Notes from all these meetings are available for review on the Strategic Planning website, click here to view (internal access)].

Immediately after Commencement in May, the Board of Trustees held a retreat on strategic planning, led by our consultants. Our Board has taken a concerted interest in the planning process, and has offered their advice and guidance to the process. We are fortunate to have such an engaged and supportive Board which ultimately is the body that must endorse and approve the Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has now met five times throughout the summer months and will meet again in September. Committee members of faculty, staff, and students have engaged in frank and honest dialogue with the consultants, and the upcoming draft framework reflects the collective thinking of the group.  The planning process is an iterative process; many items have been redrafted, re-conceptualized, or in some cases, dropped.  The Steering Committee has driven this process, and I want to thank the members for their diligence, thoughtfulness, and willingness to think on a larger global scale.

There will be multiple opportunities for all members of the University community to review and provide comments on the draft framework in September and October 2011.

• The Faculty Senate will devote part of its September 13 and 27 meetings of the Faculty Senate to a discussion of the draft framework. Updates on the planning process will be provided at subsequent Senate meetings.
• Provost Weil’s Fall Faculty Meeting on September 22 will be devoted to discussing the framework.
• A Town Hall Meeting will be held on September 28, from noon–2 p.m., and again on October 6, from 4–6 p.m., to discuss the framework and solicit comments and feedback. This meeting is open to all members of the University community.
• The Board of Trustees will review and discuss the framework at its retreat scheduled for September 23.
• The framework will be discussed in department meetings, and in the Deans' Council, Directors’ Council, and with the Student Government Association throughout October 2011.
• After two subsequent SPSC meetings to review comments and feedback from various campus constituents, a draft of the full Strategic Plan will be developed and then distributed to the University community toward the end of the Fall 2011 semester.
• The first months of the Spring 2012 semester will be devoted to finalizing the Strategic Plan, which will eventually go before the Board of Trustees for their approval, hopefully in February or March 2012.

The University has established several electronic mechanisms to provide feedback and comments on the Strategic Plan:

• The e-mail account Strategic-Plan@wpunj.edu is provided and responses go directly to the President’s Office.  Your feedback will be forwarded to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee for review.
• An interactive BLOG to provide forums for dialogue among campus constituents exists. Click here to view (internal access).
• You may give your comments to the members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, who will bring your comments back to the Committee. Committee members are listed below.

 

To: The William Paterson University Community

From: President Kathleen Waldron

Re: Strategic Plan Update

Date: August 8, 2011

The work on the University’s Strategic Plan has moved forward this summer, and as the new academic year approaches, I want to update the campus community on our progress and what to expect in the next few months.

We started this project on April 1, 2011, working with strategic planning consultants Anthony Knerr and John Braunstein of Anthony Knerr and Associates. As they have constantly reminded us, there cannot be too much feedback in the Strategic Planning Process.  Mindful of this admonition, we engaged in discussions with many campus constituent groups over the spring term. Four dinners with faculty and staff in April and May on institutional visibility, resource planning, academic focus, and enrollment management were attended by over 100 people and garnered much valuable feedback and good ideas.  I met with the Directors’ Council in May with 40 people in attendance. We discussed a SWOT Analysis of the University (Strengths-Weaknesses-Opportunities-Threats) and had a long discussion about how to improve the University. In June, the WPU Foundation Board and the Alumni Executive Council met to discuss the strategic planning process. [Notes from all these meetings are available for review on the Strategic Planning website, accessible from the University’s homepage (http://www.wpunj.edu/president/strategic-planning.dot)].

Immediately after Commencement in May, the Board of Trustees held a retreat on strategic planning, led by our consultants. Our Board has taken a concerted interest in the planning process, and has offered their advice and guidance to the process. We are fortunate to have such an engaged and supportive Board which ultimately is the body that must endorse and approve the Strategic Plan.

The Strategic Planning Steering Committee has now met four times throughout the summer months and will meet again on August 23^rd. Committee members of faculty, staff, and students have engaged in frank and honest dialog with the consultants, and the upcoming draft framework reflects the collective thinking of the group.  The planning process is an iterative process; many items have been redrafted, re-conceptualized, or in some cases, dropped.  The Steering Committee has driven this process, and I want to thank the members for their diligence, thoughtfulness, and willingness to think on a larger global scale.

The draft framework will be available to the University Community for review in early September.  I will focus my remarks at the Opening Day luncheon on the planning process and how we have arrived at this draft framework. The Opening Day luncheon will be held on the first day of the Fall 2011 semester, Thursday, September 1, 2011, 12:30-1:45 p.m. in the University Commons Ballroom.  Please make every effort to attend and be part of the discussion.

There will be multiple opportunities for all members of the University community to review and provide comments on the draft framework in September and October 2011.

• John Parras, chair of the Faculty Senate and member of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, will devote part of the September 13 and 27 meetings of the Faculty Senate to a discussion of the draft framework.  We will also provide updates on the planning process at subsequent Senate meetings.
• Provost Weil’s Fall Faculty Meeting on September 22 will be devoted to discussing the draft framework.
• A Town Hall Meeting will be held on September 28, from noon – 2 p.m., and again on October 6, from 4 – 6 p.m., to discuss the initial framework and solicit comments and feedback.
• The Board of Trustees will review and discuss the draft framework at its meeting on September 23 and November 18.
• The draft framework will be discussed in department meetings, and in the Dean’s Council, Directors’ Council, and with the Student Government Association throughout October 2011.
• After two subsequent Steering Committee meetings to review comments and feedback from various campus constituents, a draft of the full Strategic Plan will be distributed to the University community by the end of the Fall 2011 semester.

The first months of the Spring 2012 semester will be devoted to finalizing the Strategic Plan, which will eventually go before the Board of Trustees for their approval, hopefully in February or March 2012. A full timeline for the strategic planning process is presented on the Strategic Planning webpage (http://www.wpunj.edu/president/strategic-planning.dot).

The University has established several electronic mechanisms to provide feedback and comments on the Strategic Plan:

• On Outlook, the e-mail account “Strategic-Plan” is provided and responses go directly to the President’s Office.  Your feedback will be forwarded to the Strategic Planning Steering Committee for review.
• An interactive BLOG is being established to provide forums for dialogue among campus constituents.  Instructions on the use of the BLOG will accompany the September 6 dissemination of the draft framework.
• You may give your comments to the members of the Strategic Planning Steering Committee, who will bring your comments back to the Committee.