News > November 1, 2007

By Liza Greenspun | News editor

The preliminary draft of the Strategic Plan for the entire university was put online for all university members to read Oct. 29. In order to write the plan, Provost Jill Tiefenthaler read and compiled main ideas from each of the 78 individual strategic plans that were composed during the 2006-’07 academic year.

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These 78 plans covered diverse interests of the university as they came from different groups including Student Government, various academic departments and the library.

Tiefenthaler compiled all of this information into one 16-page document, organized to highlight the five major priorities that were developed by the University Planning Council in summer 2006.

These priorities are: Build academic programs of nationally recognized excellence; enhance faculty distinction; attract talented, diverse student body and build exceptional young leaders of character and service; create a richer sense of community and strengthen connections to communities beyond campus.

Through these five priorities, the overall theme throughout the Strategic Plan seems to be gaining national recognition for the university, as well as improving its social and academic qualities for both students and faculty.

Build Academic Programs of Nationally Recognized Excellence

Under this first priority, the Strategic Plan suggests that throughout the next 10 years, four new interdisciplinary institutes will be established at the university, including the Institute for Public Engagement, which will help build new connections to the broader community; the Institute for Issues of Conscience and Voice, which will foster intellectual inquiry and innovation among faculty and students and the wider community; the Integrative Science Institute for Learning and Discovery, which will foster multidisciplinary collaboration and education and provide administrative support for potential centers in various fields of science; and the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise, will envelop all current entrepreneurship programs and encourage innovative thinking and action toward the creation of value.

This priority also proposes the creation of Crossroads Centers, which will be nationally recognized interdisciplinary research centers under the above institutes to attract external funding and scholars.

Other goals for building academic recognition include creating a nationally recognized mentoring program and enhancing business education through improved collaboration between the Babcock School of Management and the Calloway School of Business and Accountancy, which is already under way with the realignment of the two schools under one dean.

The academic programs section also emphasizes that it is important to maintain the current student:faculty ratio of about 11:1.

Enhance Faculty Distinction

In order to build a greater faculty, the Strategic Plan suggests that it is necessary to establish endowed chairs in order to recognizing top scholars, offer competitive salaries, diversify the faculty and establish a day-care center for children of faculty, as well as develop better parental and maternity leave programs.

Much of the faculty section of the Strategic Plan focuses on the importance of highlighting faculty achievements in research and distinctions, possibly by presenting such achievements in the media.

Attract Talented, Diverse Student Body and Build Exceptional Young Leaders of Character & Service

According to the Strategic Plan, in order to attract a more diverse student body, the university should offer more financial aid, create an opportunity program for first generation college students and grow admissions efforts through an increased online presence and improved outreach efforts.

It is also important, according to the Strategic Plan, to develop interdisciplinary joint degree and certificate programs to create an undergraduate research center and to cultivate leadership in the student body.

Create a Richer Sense of Community

The Strategic Plan proposes that a stronger sense of community can be built at the university through a shared sense of purpose and values, fostering the inclusion of staff in campus-wide committees and events, creating physical spaces on campus under the campus master plan that will bring people closer together and foster richer collaboration with the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

Significantly, the plan also proposes to increase the number of undergraduate students living on campus that will include a study on the impact of a three-year residency requirement.

Strengthen Connections to Communities Beyond Campus

This section of the Strategic Plan gives suggestions that aim to build stronger relationships with the local and regional community, including improving partnerships with the area’s public schools, enrich the university’s international focus and efforts, provide special opportunities for the university’s creative and performing arts to engage with surrounding communities and seek to involve alumni as active members of the university committee.

Any questions or comments about this preliminary draft of the Strategic Plan should be directed to provost@wfu.edu. A forum for faculty and staff about the Strategic Plan was hosted by the University Senate Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium.