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Syracuse University is in the process of developing a new Academic Strategic Plan, which it expects to finalize in March 2023.

The plan will outline the university’s academic aims for the next five years in response to recent cultural, economic, societal and governmental changes. SU has published details regarding the plan online through the Office of Academic Affairs’ website.

“Our goal is to give each college and school a framework for deciding what changes to make, what new initiatives to pursue, which existing efforts to phase out and how to thoughtfully allocate resources,” said Gretchen Ritter — the vice chancellor, provost and chief academic officer — in an Aug. 18 press release.

A total of seven working groups composed of students, faculty, staff and administrators will collaborate to develop the plan.

Three core pillars — Research and Creative Excellence, Educational Excellence and Student Success and Public Impact — will guide the strategic planning process, each with dedicated working groups led by two co-chairs.

Four additional groups — focusing on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility; Global Engagement; Enrollment Strategy; and Resource Sustainability and Budgeting — will support the core pillar groups with a focus on cross-cutting issues and values.

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SU formed the groups in August, with the university selecting its members based on nominations from deans and other academic leaders, according to the press release. This month, the groups began engagement and creation for the plan.

The Research and Creative Excellence core pillar group is co-chaired by Duncan Brown, vice president for research, and Vivian May, the director of the Humanities Center.

Lois Agnew, interim dean for the College of Arts and Sciences, and Kira Reed, an associate professor of management in the Whitman School of Management, will co-chair the Educational Excellence and Student Success core pillar group.

Chris Ashby, the director of the Center on Disability and Inclusion, and Sean O’Keefe, university professor at the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, will lead the Student Success and Public Impact core pillar group.

The DEIA group is co-chaired by Mary Grace Almandrez, the vice president of diversity and inclusion, and Marcelle Haddix, the associate provost for strategic initiatives. Maxwell Dean David Van Slyke and Ryan C. Williams, the vice president for enrollment management, are co-chairing the Enrollment Strategy group.

The Global Engagement group is co-chaired by School of Architecture Dean Michael Speaks and Erika Wilkens, the assistant provost and executive director of Syracuse Abroad.

Sinéad MacNamara, the associate dean for student affairs in the School of Architecture, and Brett Padgett, SU’s senior vice president and chief financial officer, lead the Resource Sustainability and Budgeting group.

The groups plan to engage the community, create content for and submit a draft of the Academic Strategic Plan from October to December, according to the plan’s timeline.

The Office of Academic Affairs will partner with working group co-chairs to host virtual engagement events from Friday until Nov. 1, according to a Sept. 6 press release. These events will give community members an opportunity to provide verbal feedback on the aims of each group.

“Your participation and input are critical to the work of each group and the overall success of the Academic Strategic Plan,” the press release wrote.

The plan draft will be available on the academic affairs website for review in Jan. 2023. Faculty, staff and students can submit feedback for the plan through the Office of Academic Affairs’ website throughout the entire process.

“Along the way, we will surely redefine academic excellence as we currently understand it and enhance our vision for a University that is truly distinctive, accessible and welcoming to all,” Ritter said in the press release.

Published on September 13, 2022 at 11:24 pm