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I have been greatly encouraged and appreciative
of the level of campus interest in the strategic planning process this fall, as evidenced
by the participation in the roundtables and the submission of more than 100 proposals.
Informed
by this fall's discussions and proposal submissions, the committees on mission and
priorities (CMP) and on academic priorities (CAP) will continue to meet jointly through
the semester to review and integrate emerging initiatives as well as to develop action
steps for achieving progress in priority areas. Our intent is to develop a draft
planning document for campus review by February 2007.
A number of galvanizing ideas are coalescing around
three important themes: community engagement, global issues, and environmental issues.
Complementary to these potential new centers of focus and integration, I see three
areas in which we must reconsider and strengthen our efforts: the extent to which
our open curriculum supports student learning, opportunities for student research,
and identifying ways of fostering meaningful engagement with alumnae in support of
our strategic directions. Finally, we have been presented with a provocative and
interesting list of proposals related to strengthening the college's commitment to
diversity from the Common Ground committees.
I encourage you to stay actively involved in the planning
process as we enter the important phase of translating ideas and proposals into an
integrated plan. Please read the submitted proposals, all of which are available
on this Web site, and share you comments with me or CMP/CAP at planning@smith.edu.
Carol T. Christ
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