The University Strategic Planning Initiative has embarked on extensive conversations among groups鈥�24 in all鈥攐f administrators, faculty, staff and students, reviewing the University鈥檚 progress on a variety of fronts during the past decade, and identifying key issues and trends in higher education and elsewhere that will help inform the future of Boston College.聽
The substance of these past few weeks of discussions will be shared with the USPI Steering Committee, as the University鈥檚 newest comprehensive planning effort continues to take shape.
Steering Committee members describe this part of the initiative鈥檚 self-study phase as a period of 鈥渉igh engagement.鈥� The working groups represent each of BC鈥檚 eight schools and other academic areas as well as most 鈥媣ice-presidential administrative divisions, including Student Affairs, Facilities Management, and Information Technology.聽
Other self-study teams have assessed initiatives or areas of interest 鈥� such as undergraduate liberal arts or international programs鈥攖hat involve multiple schools, departments, or divisions.
To accomplish their tasks, these groups have sought additional insights by inviting comments and perspectives from elsewhere within the University community, among faculty, staff and students.
The 24 self-studies are slated to be completed by the end of the spring semester, and will then be reviewed by the USPI Steering Committee and the Executive Committee to examine 鈥媝otential areas of focus聽within the context of the University鈥檚 mission, ongoing institutional goals and available resources. 聽
Vice Provost and Dean of Faculties David Quigley, USPI co-chair, said, 鈥淚鈥檝e been impressed by my conversations with the leaders and participants in the various assessment efforts across the schools and libraries.聽 The academic community seems to be taking seriously the charge to take stock of the current state of higher education, and Boston College鈥檚 particular place therein.聽 It鈥檚 exciting to hear some compelling themes resonating across different committees.鈥�
鈥淒avid Quigley and I have spent a lot of time working with the chairs of the various assessment committees, particularly those that are looking at cross-University initiatives and programs,鈥� said Executive Vice President Michael Lochhead, the other USPI co-chair. 鈥淭he level of commitment, energy, and collegiality evidenced through the works of these groups has truly been impressive and bodes well for the remainder of our strategic planning process.聽 I look forward to continuing this important work in the months ahead.鈥�
BC formally launched the USPI in February, led by an Executive Committee of Quigley, Lochhead, University President William P. Leahy, S.鈥婮鈥�., Financial Vice President and Treasurer John Burke, Vice President for University Mission and Ministry Jack Butler, S.J., and Senior Vice President for Advancement James Husson. Quigley, Lochhead, and Fr. Butler also serve on the 18-member Steering Committee, composed of deans, faculty, senior administrators and students.聽
A major component of the USPI is to evaluate the outcomes of BC鈥檚 previous strategic planning effort that produced the 2006 document Seven Strategic Directions, which set a clear institutional path for Boston College in anticipation of its sesquicentennial in 2013. The same planning initiative also led to an accompanying 10-year Institutional Master Plan to provide the infrastructure to support the Strategic Plan, and inspired the 鈥淟ight the World鈥� campaign to fund selected programs and projects.
Even as BC endeavored to implement the Strategic Plan, USPI members note, economic, social and political forces well beyond Chestnut Hill were changing the terrain for higher education. To ensure that the progress of the past decade would be meaningful and long lasting, and to position BC for more, they say, it was imperative for BC to embark on another broad-based planning initiative.聽
What鈥檚 more, the members add, the planning process itself had to reflect the impact of such wide-spread changes, hence the creation of the self-study teams, in particular those that draw on expertise from cross-sections of the University.
Among those members of the University community working in such groups is Carroll School of Management Associate Professor Billy Soo, who is co-chairing with Institute for the Liberal Arts Director Mary Crane a committee evaluating the role, contributions and costs of graduate education at BC.
鈥淕raduate programs face a very different landscape since the last strategic plan,鈥� said Soo. 鈥淭he financial crisis has had a significant impact on labor markets and how students and employers view the economics of graduate education. Advances in technology have also created new channels of instruction鈥攕uch as online and hybrid programs 鈥� and alternative providers that pose both challenges and opportunities for graduate programs.鈥�
Others in the group are Jennifer Bader (School of Theology and Ministry), Solomon Friedberg (Mathematics), Kevin Kenny (History), Penny Hauser-Cram (Lynch School of Education), Kathryn Mackintosh (Office of Institutional Research), Aimee Milliken (Connell School of Nursing), Darrell Peterson (Office of Graduate Student Life), John Stachniewicz (Law School), Thomas Walsh (School of Social Work) and John Zona (Office of the Treasurer).聽
Soo said his group has collected considerable data to address basic questions about graduate education鈥檚 role at BC and how to evaluate its costs and contributions, and to evaluate threats and opportunities facing graduate education not only at the University but in the field itself.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been a very informative process because while most of us know a lot about our own segment of the University, the committee鈥檚 work has opened our eyes to better ways to understand and evaluate different graduate programs. These discussions have also revealed how programs are responding to their respective challenges and have raised new possibilities for future collaboration.鈥�
School of Social 鈥媁ork 鈥婦ean Alberto Godenzi and Vice Provost Patricia DeLeeuw, meanwhile, are heading up a self-study of BC鈥檚 global engagement. The group鈥檚 other members are聽Hans de Wit (Lynch School of Education), 鈥婩rank Garcia (Law School)鈥�, Nick Gozik (Office of International Programs), Jonathan Laurence (Political Science), Margaret Lombe (School of Social Work), Robert Mauro (Global Leadership Institute), Adrienne Nussbaum (Office of International Students and Scholars) and Ellen Sullivan (University Advancement).
鈥淭he growing internationalization of higher education is happening before our eyes,鈥� said Godenzi. 鈥淭he force behind our efforts is the belief that BC has something unique to offer in the international arena. Our Jesuit, Catholic mission and heritage positions us very well among other institutions of higher learning. Boston College鈥檚 focus on the liberal arts, on integrated sciences and society, and on the dialogue between faith and culture opens up many opportunities for global engagement and mutually beneficial exchanges.鈥澛�
For more聽information, visit: 鈥媡he聽.鈥�
By Sean Smith | News & Public Affairs