Online Edition | Washington State University | Pullman, Washington | Friday, October 5, 2001

Administrative News
Strategic plan posted for review
By Robert Frank, WSU Today

A general draft of university’s long-awaited, five-year strategic plan will be unveiled this weekend to both faculty and staff and the community.

Bill Fassett, chairman of the Strategic Planning Oversight Committee and dean of the College of Pharmacy, said the draft will be posted today, Oct. 5, or Monday, Oct. 8, on the Internet at www.wsu.edu/StrategicPlanning.

The document is the result of a year of work by SPOC, as well as faculty and staff throughout the system. Fassett said it pulls together missions, value statements and goals from the efforts of the design teams, as well as planning efforts designed by departments, colleges and other budget areas.

"We will be looking for input from the university and community in the next couple weeks," Fassett said. "Once that is received, our committee will revise the plan and present it in draft form at an administrative retreat in early November. In addition, that information will be reposted on the strategic planning Web site for further input. A final draft will then be presented to the president by the end of November. In turn, it will be presented to the Board of Regents in January."

Fassett emphasized that the new draft is not a comprehensive list of all recommendations of the design teams, but a distilling of the input SPOC has received. The draft is centered around two overarching goals and two underpinning goals.

Overarching goals:

1. To offer the best research university undergraduate experience.

2. To nurture an environment of world-class research, scholarship and arts.

Underpinning goals:

1. To develop a culture of shared commitment to quality in all activities.

2. To create an environment of trust and respect in all that we do.

"These have been identified as the overriding aspirations that differentiate us from other institutions and define us as Washington State University," Fassett said. The goals and strategies presented in the final plan will serve as a "compass for university, not a road map," he added.

"I don’t think there are any surprises. The goals are aimed at creating a university of distinction based on WSU’s presence as a research university and on its academic traditions in educating generations of undergraduates."

People may want to look for a list that SPOC will maintain on the Web site that details changes already being undertaken at WSU as a result of design team recommendations, he said.

"People need to understand that this is not a list of everything we need to do to become a great university," Fassett said. "And it’s not a catalog of all the recommendations and plans of the design teams. It is simply a compass to help guide us to things we can do in the next five years. And it will be updated annually."