The Four Pathways

Five-Year Budget Plan

The Plan

All-Campus Retreat on Salaries
December 2011

Memo from President Shipley
January 2011

2009-2010 Assessment

2010-2011 Assessment

Focus Groups

Planning Committee

Draft Plan
January 2009

Crossroads Conversations Memo -- March 2009

Crossroads Conversations Presentation

Adoption and Implementation Process Timeline and Funding

Strategic Plan Home

Shepherd University is at a crossroads moment. It is a moment filled with potential, where anything is possible. It is a moment resulting from the wisdom and hard work of those crafting Shepherd's future in the past decades--the faculty, the classified and non-classified employees, and the administrative teams who have made good decisions, working steadily toward the stability Shepherd enjoys today. It is now up to us to make the most of this moment.

Valuable groundwork has been laid by those who contributed to the strategic planning process, ongoing over the past two years. The members of the Strategic Planning Committee have invested a great deal of time and effort into this process, for which we all are grateful. Please note the names of the committee members on their report of the proposed strategic priorities listed on the following pages.

All of the hopes and dreams of those crafting this plan are now evident and organized. It is time for us to review together those dreams and create from them the vision for our future. How can we do this, with all the input and good thinking the campus community can offer?

1. Create strategies to fund the strategic plan.
A plan of such scope and impact requires significant funding, which could potentially come through enrollment growth, reallocation of existing resources, fundraising, or some combination of these. Dr. Robert Dickeson has been selected to lead campus discussions on implementation of and funding for the strategic plan. Dr. Dickeson, author of the book Prioritizing Academic Programs and Services: Reallocating Resources to Achieve Strategic Balance, is a nationally-recognized expert on the subject of setting academic priorities and identifying the needed institutional resources to achieve them. Please make every effort to attend one of his sessions January 28th or 29th. Locations and times will be announced by email.

2. Study the document.
The Strategic Planning Committee has completed the attached document, which is an executive summary of the priorities of our new strategic plan. Please carefully review the attached document and the more detailed plan accompanying these priorities.

3. Contribute to finalizing the plan and its funding strategies.
In February we will engage in crossroads conversations, opportunities for everyone on campus to discuss and suggest edits to the strategic plan. Times and locations will be announced well in advance. We welcome your involvement.

In March, the Strategic Planning Committee will review all input from these important discussions and finalize the Strategic Plan. On April 16th, the Strategic Plan will be presented to the Board of Governors in a public session for discussion and approval.

You have made Shepherd what it is today--a strong and stable university poised for great new directions. Thank you for continuing to contribute to Shepherd's future vision through your engagement in this important crossroads moment.