News > September 27, 2007

By Liza Greenspun | News editor

“Our mission, at its heart, is to improve the lives of all members of the Wake Forest community,” states the mission of Student Government. “This development is achieved by empowering and mobilizing the student population to achieve the ends necessary to protect the vision and mission of the university.”

With this mission in mind, the Student Strategic Planning Committee composed the 22-page Strategic Plan for the Wake Forest Undergraduate Student Body, highlighting what it believes are the most important issues for students at the university.

With the inauguration of University President Nathan O. Hatch, the new administration implemented a long-term strategic plan process for the university, beginning during the spring 2006 semester.

Various departments and organizations within the overall university community submitted individual strategic plans by June 1, 2007, which the Office of the Provost is currently reviewing and compiling, said senior Whitney Marshall, Student Government president.

According to Marshall, each committee member, including seven SG members as well as the Student Trustee and Student Trustee-Elect during the spring 2006 semester, compiled a list of what they believed to be the most important needs of the university.

The seven issues that most or all of the committee members listed as important make up the completed student strategic plan.

Marshall said that the committee members gathered information for the strategic plan simply by paying attention to both formal and informal conversations on various subjects that concern the student body at large.

“When you go to a bunch of meetings with different students, a lot of the time we end up saying the same things,” she said.

University Size and Identity

“Small in size. Big in resources.” Because this phrase has been a selling point for the university for years, according to the SG strategic plan, students are worried that an increase in the size of the student body would take away from the sense of community currently felt within the student body.

“We suggest that any increase in size be stretched over a long period,” states the strategic plan, as the committee is concerned that any abrupt change in university size will lead to the acceptance of students who do not reach the current high expectations and standards of the university.

Also a priority is that “any further increase in student body size must be accompanied by an increase in both physical facilities and faculty members” in order to maintain the ability of students to attend varsity athletic events, register for desired classes and participate in campus activities.

Admissions/Diversity

Diversity at the university is cited as a major issue, according to the strategic plan. “There needs to be a diverse group of students living and working together, and not a homogenous population,” it states.

“At Wake Forest it is hard to ignore the fact that campus is separated along racial, socio-economic, religious and many other lines,” states the SG strategic plan.

“While we support increasing the number of diverse students attending the university, this may be futile without efforts to bridge gaps of communication that currently exist.”

Thus, the committee believes it is imperative that further dialogue about diversity issues be started, both inside and outside of the classroom.

The committee suggests that in order to improve diversity, improved recruitment efforts, including mock classrooms in various high schools as well as summer camps and academic programs for those interested in applying for undergraduate studies at the university, are needed.

Social Life

The social life section of the strategic plan focuses on Greek organizations and how the system needs to be changed in order to promote a stronger sense of community among the entire university community.

“The recent trend of parties moving off campus has devastated the Wake Forest sense of community,” the plan states.

This is evident by the success of on-campus lounge party nights.

However, according to the strategic plan, in order for such nights to continue to be successful, it is imperative that all Greek organizations have on-campus lounge space.

The Need for a Student Center

According to the strategic plan, Reynolds Gymnasium, built in 1956, is the oldest facility building in the Atlantic Coast Conference, followed by the next oldest facility, built at Florida State University in 1996.

“These facilities are too small and too out of date to satisfy the needs of current students, as evidenced by the severe overcrowding of the Miller Center throughout most of the day,” states the student strategic plan.

The plan proposes that a new student center not only have fitness facilities but also other spaces to resolve the problem of a lack of student hang-out space on campus.

This, according to the plan, would lead to a greater sense of community among the student body.

Academic Affairs

The academic affairs section of the student strategic plan emphasizes bringing a variety of professors with diverse backgrounds to campus.

“One of the major difficulties in bringing top name professors to Wake Forest is the sometimes lack of funds that are necessary to entice them to campus,” the plan states.

Thus, the committee suggests that the university seek out donors interested in giving money to form endowed professorships. Other benefits the plan suggests giving to professors include a child care program and a dining area specifically for faculty, separate from the Reynolda Fresh Food Company.

“We value the teacher-scholar model rather than the scholar-teacher model,” Marshall said.

“We want to make sure we have teachers who actually care about their students and their learning.”

Pro Humanitate and Our Communities

The committee, according to the strategic plan, fully supports having a larger, more involved Pro Humanitate Center for Leadership that is located in a more prominent site and takes an active role in campus life, as many students do not even know that the university currently has a Pro Humanitate Center.

“We envision this center as a space for the study of leadership and community service in addition to areas where leadership and membership of campus organizations can interact,” the plan states.

“The center would serve as a link between life inside and outside of the classroom, essentially contributing to a more vibrant intellectual life.”

Student Living Space & Amenities

One of the longest and most involved sections of the student strategic plan, the student living space section, includes goals for the increased hours of the Student Health Center and Information Systems. The strategic plan calls for university police to assess the lighting situation on campus, as well as to be more friendly and willing to reach out to students in a personal way. The committee would like to see healthier dining options on campus, as well as more late-night food options in order to accommodate the daily schedules of typical college students.

“The controversy surrounding the removal of Shorty’s from its current location provides ample opportunity for discussion on this very issue,” the plan states. We fully recommend that a late-night venue open elsewhere on campus, perhaps on the north campus, to serve students’ needs. Should this location become Shorty’s, we believe it would fulfill the original purpose of this historical location on the old campus.”

Student activities funding has been a controversial issue in recent years, as less and less funding seems to be available for groups that request it. Thus, the committee recommends that an evaluation of the funding for each individual campus group be completed in order to see which groups are actually using the money they are allotted. Also, the plan suggests that alumni should be able to donate money specifically to student activities in order to increase the total amount of funds. Finally, the strategic plan addresses the ever-pertinent issue of the lack of parking on campus. It recommends that an underground parking garage be built, depending on the location and provided that students still have the opportunity to park behind academic buildings and residence halls at night and on weekends.

A better shuttle system is also included in the plan. The committee, according to the strategic plan, would like to see at least two RIDE shuttles running at night as well as a shuttle to and from athletic events for the safety of the students. The Student Strategic Planning Committee, according to Marshall, will have a meeting with the Provost Jill Tiefenthaler Oct. 25 in order to discuss the future of the goals discussed in the strategic plan.

According to Marshall, the plan is now in the long-term stage, as it will take at least 10 years to implement these goals.