2 January 2015

To the University community:

The fall semester included a lot of activity associated with our current strategic planning effort (http://www2.humboldt.edu/strategicplan/).  The steering committee and the task forces had multiple meetings, and several of the task forces held additional focus groups.  We had two well-attended open meetings in the fall, and some of the suggestions that were generated are posted on the strategic planning website (http://humboldt.uservoice.com).

The spring semester will focus on (1) engagement and (2) communications.

A key element of engaging the University community will be a day-long workshop that will be divided into segments so that you will know when specific discussions will be happening and how you want to choose to participate.  This event is scheduled on Friday, February 13, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  (Location is still to be determined.)  Please save as much of this date as possible and watch for additional information.  The day will be divided into a series of focused, topical one-hour sessions, designed for people to participate in specific activities – or to come and stay for the entire day. 

Communications about activities, ideas, progress, and directions in this planning process will be provided through multiple media.  The website will be an important element of this plan, as will be a blog.  Updates will come from members of the steering committee and task forces.  The information will include information about progress, opportunities for input, challenges, findings, and insights.  Some campus e-mails, portalmessages, and University notices will also be included, but these are likely to be limited in number to avoid overwhelming your electronic in-boxes.  Please remember that you can always offer input and feedback via the “Share Your Ideas” tab on the strategic planning website.

This strategic planning process is a vital effort to guide our University over the next five years.  Please note February 13 on your calendar and plan on joining the conversation.  This effort is important.  We are shaping our collective future.  And the plan will provide the basis for the implementation that will follow.

Thanks to all of you who have invested your time, energy, and ideas in this process thus far.  The overall effort will be even stronger as we expand the participation and engagement.

We look forward to working with you in 2015!  Happy new year!

Lisa A. Rossbacher, Ph.D., President  

Noah Zerbe, Ph.D., Chair, University Senate and Chair, Department of Politics