Moving Toward Strategic Plan Implementation
November 4, 2009
I am pleased to announce that John Wright , Dean of the School of Applied Science, Engineering and Technology (ASET), is chair of a committee that will oversee the implementation of the USM Strategic Plan, “Preparing USM for the Future, 2009-2014.” Together with the Strategic Plan Implementation Committee, John will guide the implementation process. The committee’s work, under John’s direction, is especially important at a time when there are several planning initiatives that have been launched both at the System and at the campus levels.
In this update, I will briefly outline each of these initiatives and place the steering committee’s work in context.
The USM Strategic Plan is our foundational planning document. In the final analysis, any proposals that evolve as a result of the aforementioned planning initiatives must help advance one or more of the eight goals in our Strategic Plan. You can review our plan at http://www.usm.maine.edu/pres/pdfs/Preparing-USM-for-the-Future-June-11-09.pdf
I thank John and the Strategic Plan Implementation Committee for the critical role they will play in helping us evaluate, prioritize and, of course, implement our proposals for change.
The White Paper
At the opening of the academic year, we distributed the Deans’/Associate Vice President’s White Paper. Last week, in a series of campus meetings, I updated you on the current budget situation, as well as the need to use the White Paper as a catalyst for engaging in the work of reorganizing this University. Those remarks, along with principles to guide reorganizations, are available at the White Paper site, http://www.usm.maine.edu/pres/whitepaper/
New Challenges, New Directions
Later this month, Trustees will finalize and approve the implementation plan for the System-wide initiative, “New Challenges, New Directions.” This will provide a statewide perspective on opportunities to save money and achieve greater effectiveness.
NEASC
By start of the second semester, a large group of our colleagues, under the direction of Luisa Deprez, will have written the first draft of our NEASC
re-accreditation report. I deeply appreciate Luisa’s hard work, superior organizational skills, and unwavering commitment to this assignment. NEASC is important for many reasons, but especially because it provides a critical opportunity to reflect on what we do, how we do it, and in what ways we can do it better.
