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rebeccmeisterIn mid-December I was asked if I'd be willing to join my institution's Strategic Planning Committee. I ultimately agreed, although not without some reservations. I learned from a previous committee experience that for me, some committees are preferable over others. Anyway, the Strategic Planning Committee is going to be an interesting committee and process to be a part of, although I'll also admit I'm a little sad because it meant I had to give up my seat on a different committee that's more pedagogically focused, and I was appreciating the opportunity to be involved in discussions related to pedagogy. But I may very well get back to that committee once this iteration of the strategic planning process winds down. And both types of work are clearly needed and important.
Meanwhile, there are aspects of strategic planning processes and outcomes that I somewhat viscerally, vehemently dislike. We have been asked to read over our institution's prior strategic plan as an initial homework assignment. That plan was structured around four identified "pillars" and from reading through things it seems I may have some major and fundamental issues with the entire "experience" pillar. And anyway, the strategic planning document is the sort of thing where I can handle reading a page or two of it at a time, then I need to run off and rampage on other things for a while (e.g. blog! Whee!).
In the meantime, all of this is doing some of what it needs to do, to me. I remember hearing about some events and activities during the previous strategic planning process, but at that time I was checked out of that sort of thing so I wasn't necessarily thinking in these broader terms (was paying more attention to things like earning tenure, surviving teaching, rebuilding the rowing club).
Since I have a larger stake now, that means doing things like asking, "So, how have things gone at the large public university where I got my PhD back in the day, where the institution's president showed up in 2003 with a Big Vision?" (short answer, that Big Vision did indeed transform that institution; it does appear that institution is doing fine and/or well, although that's always a complicated matter to answer). Also continuing to keep tabs on the institution where I earned my bachelor's degree, because it, too, has made some major (and effective-seeming) strategic changes over the years (i.e. it's financially solvent and now able to offer a full scholarship to any incoming student with family income under $150k, but who knows where it is with regards to institutional elitism these days).
Now, these are both quite different institutions from my current one with regards to institution size and prestige, but one of my concerns with this committee is making sure to cast a very wide net when we're thinking about what needs to happen in the future, and my observation is there's a tendency at my institution to be WAY too parochial in our thinking (I kind of see this crop up again and again in the northeastern United States; folks, this country is much bigger than that, Los Angeles isn't a quaint Western backwater).
And in the meantime, I'm thinking, I think I personally need to seek out and get some legal observer training. I think I might also want to learn how to become an election monitor. One of the things that stood out to me from reading about my PhD institution is how its leader talks about helping the institution do a better job of responding to the needs of the broader community it serves. (by contrast, my institution's strategic plan is focused more directly on the students themselves, and only talks about "the broader world" in sweeping generalities).
Anyway, I should get back to reading the next two pages of this document. We shall see how it all goes. Hopefully it will have been a good decision all around to have joined this particular undertaking.
Meanwhile, there are aspects of strategic planning processes and outcomes that I somewhat viscerally, vehemently dislike. We have been asked to read over our institution's prior strategic plan as an initial homework assignment. That plan was structured around four identified "pillars" and from reading through things it seems I may have some major and fundamental issues with the entire "experience" pillar. And anyway, the strategic planning document is the sort of thing where I can handle reading a page or two of it at a time, then I need to run off and rampage on other things for a while (e.g. blog! Whee!).
In the meantime, all of this is doing some of what it needs to do, to me. I remember hearing about some events and activities during the previous strategic planning process, but at that time I was checked out of that sort of thing so I wasn't necessarily thinking in these broader terms (was paying more attention to things like earning tenure, surviving teaching, rebuilding the rowing club).
Since I have a larger stake now, that means doing things like asking, "So, how have things gone at the large public university where I got my PhD back in the day, where the institution's president showed up in 2003 with a Big Vision?" (short answer, that Big Vision did indeed transform that institution; it does appear that institution is doing fine and/or well, although that's always a complicated matter to answer). Also continuing to keep tabs on the institution where I earned my bachelor's degree, because it, too, has made some major (and effective-seeming) strategic changes over the years (i.e. it's financially solvent and now able to offer a full scholarship to any incoming student with family income under $150k, but who knows where it is with regards to institutional elitism these days).
Now, these are both quite different institutions from my current one with regards to institution size and prestige, but one of my concerns with this committee is making sure to cast a very wide net when we're thinking about what needs to happen in the future, and my observation is there's a tendency at my institution to be WAY too parochial in our thinking (I kind of see this crop up again and again in the northeastern United States; folks, this country is much bigger than that, Los Angeles isn't a quaint Western backwater).
And in the meantime, I'm thinking, I think I personally need to seek out and get some legal observer training. I think I might also want to learn how to become an election monitor. One of the things that stood out to me from reading about my PhD institution is how its leader talks about helping the institution do a better job of responding to the needs of the broader community it serves. (by contrast, my institution's strategic plan is focused more directly on the students themselves, and only talks about "the broader world" in sweeping generalities).
Anyway, I should get back to reading the next two pages of this document. We shall see how it all goes. Hopefully it will have been a good decision all around to have joined this particular undertaking.
