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Dear Members of the Faculty and Staff:
I am delighted to begin a new academic year. The fall
term promises to be rich and exciting, with a wonderful set of lectures, panels,
exhibitions, and performances already planned.
The most important work we will undertake this year
is the completion of the strategic plan that will guide the college over the next
decade. I am sure that you recall that we ended last year with the identification
of eight strategic directions. I encourage you to read the report of the Committee
of Mission and Priorities that identifies and describes them.
This year we will develop focused initiatives to address
each of these objectives. Staff and faculty may submit concept papers of no more
than two pages for initiatives to the Committee on Mission and Priorities by October
16, 2006. I will be sending an e-mail to the campus about this process very soon.
To begin our campus discussion of each of these directions,
I have scheduled a set of round tables for faculty
and staff. (Similar
events for students will be scheduled later in the term.) I imagine these occasions
as lively, focused conversations about how best to move forward in each of these
areas in the most strategic way for the college. I will be leading each discussion,
together with senior staff. In our conversations, we will explore each direction
in greater detail, define the goals we have in pursuing it, and identify promising
ideas and strategies.
I have chosen to compress the round tables in a fairly
narrow time frame in order to stimulate our thinking and to identify those who might
wish to serve as members of working groups, where such groups may be appropriate
to develop ideas or proposals. I encourage you to attend the discussions of areas
that are of particular interest to you. Lunch will be provided at round tables scheduled
at the noon hour.
Carol T. Christ |
