Southern Oregon University : President's Page

President’s Newsroom

Message from President Cullinan

This is a special issue of my newsletter focused on Southern Oregon University’s mission statement and planning processes. In October 2007, the site visit team from our accrediting organization, the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities (NWCCU), recommended that we finalize the University’s mission statement and move forward with strategic planning. This newsletter highlights the progress we’re making.

Mission Statement

Starting in spring 2007, the University-Wide Planning Group took drafts of a proposed new mission statement to campus constituencies, revising the drafts as feedback came in. In January 2008, I took a near-final draft to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. At that meeting, the Board supported the general direction we were taking and offered some suggestions. I am pleased to announce that our mission statement (see sidebar, right) was approved at the February 2008 meeting.

This is a succinct and realistic mission statement, not a visionary “wish list” about who we aspire to be. It summarizes where we are now and the primary directions in which we are heading. I am delighted with its clarity and directness.

As I described in an October blog, we are moving forward on “unpacking” or expanding the mission statement for the University‘s Web page. Dennis Dunleavy and his students are helping us create a dynamic, living mission statement using streaming video and other media.

We seek students, faculty, staff, alumni, emeriti, and community members who could speak effectively to one of the phrases in the mission (such as “inclusive campus community” or “responsible global citizenship”). If you have suggestions for individuals who might wish to participate, please let me know!

I want to thank everyone who contributed to the richness of this mission statement. While the statement itself is brief, it reflects the thinking, writing, and editing of many individuals. I know the unpacking process will be equally exciting and productive.

Planning

While in the process of drafting of a mission statement, we have continued to move forward on a number of plans that will be prioritized within a single strategic plan and set of institution-wide goals.

Planning will continue beyond this academic year as an ongoing, dynamic process. The following list does not include every area in which planning is underway. However, these are projects that cross departmental/area boundaries, have university-wide significance, and were in the early stages of development in fall 2006 as we conducted our accreditation self-study and underwent the retrenchment process. A number of these plans reflect priorities highlighted by the NWCCU in their evaluation report.

(From left to right: SOU/RCC Higher Education Center in Medford, Deer Creek Center, Crater Lake)

Planning Documents under the Provost

Medford Campus (Dave Harris, Joan McBee, Liz Shelby): Focusing on curriculum/programming, enrollment goals, and academic staffing for the Medford building opening in fall 2008.
Online Programs (Jeanne Stallman, Hart Wilson, Lee Ayers, Kay Sagmiller): Focusing on assessing need and market for online courses and developing consistent quality, training, assessment, and student support.
Honors (Sherry Ettlich, Mada Morgan, Dan Rubenson): Focusing on making a transition to a new honors model, including benchmarks for courses, marketing and enrollments.
International (Sarah Stevens, John Richards, Mark Bottorff): Focusing on international enrollments, aligning offerings with marketing, and smoothing the enrollment process.
Technology (Paul Steinle, Teri O’Rourke, Peg Blake, Kay Sagmiller): Focusing on developing a technology replacement, a campus plan for technology work priorities, and a plan for integrating technology in teaching and learning.
Deer Creek (Joe Graf, Michael Parker, Echo Fields): Creating a business and academic plan for Deer Creek Center.
Crater Lake (Karen Stone, Steve Jessup, Linda Hilligoss): Focusing on partnership opportunities, grant prospects, and ways to make the efforts self-supporting and revenue-generating.
Assessment and Program Review (Ed Battistella, Kemble Yates, Josie Wilson, Dale Vidmar): Focusing on benchmarks for assessment in majors and general education, as well as the re-establishment of a review process to monitor the viability of programs.
College of Arts and Sciences (Josie Wilson and CAS team members): Creating benchmarks for the integration of former School structures into the new College model.
Graduate Programs (Gregg Gassmann, Eric Levin, Dee Southard): Focusing on ways to expand the scope of graduate education, grow graduate enrollments and graduate programs, and reinvent the School Area Degree.

Deferred

Summer Session as a Fourth Term: Focusing on benchmarks for the integration of Summer Session scheduling into the academic year. A task force will be formed to work on this project.

Planning Documents under the Vice President for Finance and Administration

Budget Process: The Blue Ribbon Task Force developed a new budget process for the campus. A written plan is forthcoming. Craig Morris will continue to hold campuswide forums this winter and spring both on the process and economic health of the University.
Staff Education, Training, and Development (Colin Bunnell): Focusing on ways to integrate ongoing professional development opportunities into our workplace.

Planning Documents under the Vice President for Student Affairs

First-Year Experience (Mada Morgan, Kathy McNeill, and many others): Kathy McNeill is leading a committee of faculty and staff as they determine how to bring together and improve academic support services for both first-year students and the student body as a whole. Their work and recommendations will be completed during spring term. Additionally, as recommended by the Foundations of Excellence task force led by Mada Morgan, a First-Year Team is being assembled to maximize retention of this year’s first-year students to their sophomore year.
Enrollment Management (Peg Blake, Mark Bottorff, Matt Stillman, Dave Harris, Geoff Mills, Josie Wilson, and many others): Many intersecting issues and plans are being discussed, analyzed, and moved forward. Meetings are occurring across the schools and CAS to determine enrollment strategy at both department/area and institutional levels. Issues ranging from transfer articulation to prerequisites to admissions requirements are being vetted, with concrete plans emerging between now and the end of the academic year.
Diversity/Campus Climate (Jon Eldridge, Bill Gholson, Deltra Ferguson, Marvin Woodard, Nicole Jolly [student], coordinating committee): Greg Bell Consulting has been engaged to lead SOU through discussions resulting in a long-range diversity and inclusion strategy. We have conducted focus groups involving faculty, students, and staff. An open session for the campus community will take place on February 19, and a draft report will be completed in March.

Planning Documents under the Office of Institutional Advancement

Fundraising/Development: A comprehensive short- and long-term plan will be developed over the next year as the Office of Institutional Advancement is redesigned.
Theatre Expansion and Fundraising (Chris Sackett, Deborah Rosenberg, and Doreen O’Skea): Building the case for the theatre expansion in term of enrollments and community need and on the adequacy of current facilities plan.

As these plans are completed, we will post them on the planning Web site and hold campus discussions as needed. A great deal of excellent work is already underway. (See a recent blog for some achievements last fall.)

My thanks to everyone who is working to bring SOU’s planning processes together in a way that will be useful for us all. These plans are vital to the University’s success as we take charge of our future.