Trustees approve updated strategic plan

February 1, 2011 | News, UToday
By Jon Strunk



The University of Toledo Board of Trustees last week approved a recalibration of the institution’s strategic plan.

directions_2011_coverLeaders praised Directions 2011, saying the document would provide the University guidance and direction as UT identifies priorities and goals in the midst of turbulent financial times.

Speaking to Dr. Jamie Barlow and Chuck Lehnert, who led the recalibration process, Trustee Susan Palmer thanked all those who participated in the new plan’s development.

“This is a great job. It’s what we need and it’s where we need to head,” Palmer said.

Directions 2011 identifies six goals, each with four to nine metrics to qualify what success will look like. The goals look at:

Goal 1 — Undergraduate academic programs;

Goal 2 — Graduate and professional academic programs;

Goal 3 — Research and technology transfer;

Goal 4 — Learning environment;

Goal 5 — Health-care access and delivery; and

Goal 6 — Outreach and global engagement.

“Our values remain the same, but the world is changing around us,” said President Lloyd Jacobs. “We need to be ready to pursue our priorities within our values system, and this document provides us with the tools and framework to do that.”

At the Jan. 25 town hall meeting, Jacobs said the next, harder, step will be implementation. He said he will ask division and college leaders to evaluate, adapt and update their strategic plans to correspond with Directions 2011. Specific steps are being formulated and will be disseminated soon, he said.

At the board meeting, Barlowe, professor and chair of women’s and gender studies, emphasized that input into the final document came from hundreds of people, ranging from UT employees and students to alumni and community leaders.

In addition to the plan itself, trustees lauded the plan’s development process.

Trustee Bill Koester thanked Lehnert and Barlowe for the inclusive nature of the process, and Trustee Carroll Ashley noted the high levels of enthusiasm and focus around the plan’s yearlong development.

“This document provides a clear guide for all constituents within the University,” Ashley said.

The final draft of Directions 2011 is available at www.utoledo.edu/strategicplan.

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