Dear Colleagues,
I’m pleased to provide you with an update on our strategic planning process, which has reached a critical phase in the plan’s definition and implementation.
As many of you know, in 2021, we began work on developing a strategic plan that will define the path ahead for the University of Rochester. Initially, we gathered feedback and insights from faculty, staff, students, alumni, and the Board of Trustees. I’m grateful to everyone who contributed their views through Town Halls, meetings, and website submissions: we carefully considered all of the information we received.
We also engaged with external consultants and organizations to review historical trends as well as future trends and opportunities in the higher education space. Our Board of Trustees have been active and engaged with our process and contributed their expertise while voicing support for our direction.
Interim Provost Sarah Peyre, who initially led the planning process, handed direction of the project to our new Provost, David Figlio who joined us in July. Working with a Steering Committee Work Group of senior leaders, David continued to advance our progress with the objective of formally launching the strategic plan in February 2023.
The strategic planning goals we have now developed are the direct result of the great work of many people. They reflect our ongoing strengths and successes as well as the aspirations many of us have for our future – not only for the University of Rochester, but for the City of Rochester and for the many communities that make up our organization.
With those aspirations in mind, and in order to position ourselves to adapt and succeed in the academic, research, and healthcare environments that have been shaped by the last few years, we have identified five strategic goals and objectives:
- Enhance our reputation as an eminent global research institution at the leading edge of our fields of distinction.
- Define the standard for an exceptional, residential undergraduate education at a research-intensive institution.
- Reinforce and further enhance our position as a leading national academic medical center.
- Invest in a diverse and inclusive workplace culture and climate to improve the recruitment, wellbeing, growth, and success of our people.
- Implement a new University finance and operational model that will enable successful completion of these goals.
Moving forward, our plan will inform how we make decisions; allocate resources; develop the roadmap for expansion and innovation; prioritize, coordinate, and collaborate, and better tell the story of our university. And we are not done yet. Your input and engagement – especially in our implementation plan after the plan launches in February 2023 – will be critical to our success.
There are many people to thank who helped us arrive here and who will no doubt help us as we move forward. I look forward to continuing our conversations as the planning process progresses.
Warm Regards,
Sarah C. Mangelsdorf
President and G. Robert Witmer, Jr. University Professor