Presenting Our University Strategic Plan (Alumni)
February 4, 2014
Dear Rutgers Alumni:
This is an exciting moment for Rutgers. With our recent integration with the former University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, our entry into the Big Ten Conference and its academic counterpart the Committee on Institutional Cooperation (CIC), and major capital construction projects under way on all our campuses, Rutgers is undergoing an unprecedented transformation as we approach our 250th anniversary.
In order to ensure that we make the most of this historic opportunity, Rutgers has undertaken a rigorous assessment of our position and established a vision for our future, and I am pleased to announce that the Board of Governors has approved our University Strategic Plan today. This bold, five-year plan challenges our University community to work together toward a shared aspiration for Rutgers: to be broadly recognized as among the nation’s leading public universities—preeminent in research, excellent in teaching, and committed to community.
You can download a PDF of the plan or read it online at: http://universitystrategy.rutgers.edu.
Our plan reflects the participation of thousands of members of our Rutgers community—faculty, staff, students, alumni, members of our governing boards, and friends of the University. During the planning process, we conducted a frank assessment of the challenges we face and outlined a strategy to meet those challenges. Through surveys, town hall meetings, retreats, focus groups, strategic planning committee meetings, and advisory group meetings, our University community developed a plan that surveys the current landscape of higher education and establishes priorities and goals that are specific to our institution. This is truly a plan written for Rutgers, by Rutgers.
As I have spoken about this plan to alumni across the country in recent months, I have been candid about the need to increase alumni participation in University life and, more specifically, alumni giving. But I have also made clear that while we have made some progress, the University has a lot of work to do to strengthen that bond, to build pride, and to make all Rutgers alumni feel welcome and connected to their alma mater.
I am confident that achieving this and all the goals we have set in our plan will advance Rutgers into the ranks of the nation’s most outstanding public research universities. But our work is just beginning. The next critical step is to form campus- and division-level strategic plans for Camden, Newark, New Brunswick, and the newly established Rutgers Biomedical and Health Sciences. That effort, led by the chancellors, will be completed by the end of the academic year. In addition, in the coming weeks I will launch several University-wide initiatives that will begin to shape the vision outlined in our strategic plan.
With all the transformative changes that are happening at Rutgers, this is truly a singular moment in our history. Now is the time for bold action to achieve our enormous potential as a great state university. I encourage you to read the plan, and I look forward to your continued support and participation as we build the New Rutgers.
Sincerely,
Bob Barchi