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UB to hold ‘conversation’ for SUNY plan
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“SUNY and New York State are facing extraordinary challenges and a SUNY-wide strategic plan is the best way for us to meet these challenges and overcome them.”
Now that SUNY Chancellor Nancy L. Zimpher has completed her tour of the system’s 64 campuses, the second phase of SUNY’s strategic planning process is ready to begin. And UB will have a major role.
UB will host one of seven “conversations” being held across the state to engage SUNY stakeholders, solicit input and create a statewide dialogue culminating in a strategic plan for SUNY.
The strategic plan, which Zimpher has called her “job one as given to me by our Board of Trustees,” will guide SUNY for the next five years and serve to advise the system in its development over the next decade.
“SUNY and New York State are facing extraordinary challenges and a SUNY-wide strategic plan is the best way for us to meet these challenges and overcome them,” Zimpher said. “It is absolutely essential that SUNY identify and establish system-wide strategic priorities that will advance our mission of providing students with an affordable and accessible education of the highest quality and, simultaneously, allow SUNY to be the economic development driver that New York needs it to be.”
The daylong conversation at UB will be held on Nov. 4. Other conversations are set for Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City on Dec. 1, SUNY Delhi on Jan. 11, Stony Brook University the week of Jan. 25, SUNY Plattsburgh the week of Feb. 8 and Upstate Medical University in Syracuse the week of Feb. 22. The initiative began yesterday with the first session at Hudson Valley Community College.
Participating in these conversations are 200 individuals representing a cross section of SUNY stakeholders, including faculty, staff, students, system administrators, alumni, foundation staff, community leaders and others associated with the SUNY campuses. These individuals, dubbed the “Group of 200,” will transform the discussions at these sessions into “big ideas” that will make up the overarching strategic goals of the plan. Group members are expected to attend at least five of the seven statewide sessions.
Representing UB in the Group of 200 are Scott Nostaja, vice president for human resources and chief of staff to President John B. Simpson; James A. “Beau” Willis, executive vice president for university support services; UB Council member Pamela Davis Heilman; Jack Walsh, vice chair of the UB Foundation Board of Trustees; Robert Shibley, professor of architecture and planning, and senior advisor to Simpson on UB’s comprehensive plan; and students Emily Bauer, Keisha Dobney and Nicole Jowsey.
Each conversation is being organized around a theme that was identified through Zimpher’s 64-campus tour—Phase I of the strategic plan. UB’s theme is “education pipeline.” Other themes are “ensuring economic vitality and quality of life,” energy and sustainability,” “quality of place,” “diversity and globalization,” “arts and culture” and “health affairs.”
The format for the sessions features a guest speaker, opportunities for full group Q&A, a break-out session for small groups to work on the development and prioritization of themes and goals, and an open-mike session.
SUNY system administration plans to broadcast portions of the statewide meetings via Webcast.
Phase II formally began weeks ago when Zimpher formed a Strategic Planning Steering Committee to help develop the strategic plan. The committee, comprised of campus presidents, staff, students and community members, determined the seven themes for the conversations and approved the membership of the Group of 200 from nominations submitted by campus presidents and SUNY affiliates.
Committee members, who are expected to attend all seven of the statewide conversations, will assist the Group of 200 in determining the goals for the plan, review working drafts of the plan and regularly update the SUNY Board of Trustees’ Strategic Planning Advisory Committee about the strategic planning process.
UB’s representative on the 18-member panel is Melody Mercedes, a student who serves as president of the SUNY Student Assembly.
During Phase II, Zimpher will continue to meet with SUNY campus presidents, the SUNY Board of Trustees and other key stakeholder groups to brief them on the progress of the planning process and gather their feedback.
Phase III, the “Launch” of the strategic plan, is tentatively scheduled from Feb. 16 through June 30, 2010. The final phase, “Implementation and Assessment,” is set to run from July 1, 2010 through Dec. 31, 2020.
SUNY administrators stress that the strategic planning process is “transparent, collaborative and progressive,” and have developed several avenues through which input can be gathered from the SUNY community at large.
Faculty, staff and students may attend the on-campus conversations—the UB Reporter will publish the time and location for the UB session as soon as it is available—and email comments to StrategicPlanning or via the chancellor’s regular feedback forum.
Those interested also can follow Generation SUNY on Twitter, on Facebook and on YouTube.
Click here for general information about the SUNY strategic planning process.
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