Sandra Patterson-Randles, Chancellor, IU Southeast
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A key part of any university’s mission is service to the community. At a regional campus such as IU Southeast, that mission is even more critical because the vast majority of our students come from the local community and most of them stay in the community after graduation.
These alumni care deeply about the campus. They see us as a major community asset, and they want to be involved. Others throughout the community feel the same way. They have a stake in our future.
At IU Southeast, we see community involvement as a two-way street. Certainly, the campus must contribute to the community—through internships, service learning, educational and cultural events, and the other activities reported on in this special section of “IU Home Pages.” However, we also must seek input from our local and regional stakeholders.
Since September, we have been engaged in a strategic planning process to chart our direction across the next five years and beyond. We have formed a Strategic Planning Steering Committee. Its 27 members represent all areas of the university—the various schools, faculty, students, administration and staff, as well as a permanent representative of the community at large. In addition, we have asked people from the community to address the steering committee on specific issues.
For instance, in November the committee heard a report from the president of the Southern Indiana Economic Development Council on where the local economy is headed and how IUS can play a part in recruiting new businesses to the region.
The Steering Committee has identified seven strategic priorities and formed subcommittees to explore each one in depth: Academic Excellence; Enrollment Management; Diversity; Image; Resource Enhancement; Integrated Planning and Community Involvement.
Each subcommittee has been given the charge to actively engage community participation. The goal is to have a minimum of five community representatives for each priority.
So when all is said and done, at least 30 people from the community will have played direct, active roles in our strategic planning process. Many more will be involved through our strategic plan Web site, where we post the minutes of each steering committee meeting and solicit comments and suggestions from the campus and the community at large. The site can be found by going to IU Southeast’s home page at http://www.ius.edu and clicking on “Strategic Planning Updates.”
We hope that this active dialogue will show that we care as much about the community as the community cares about us.
—Sandra Patterson-Randles
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