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Overview
As we offer our response to the University's Strategic Plan, we begin
by reaffirming the central role the College plays and must continue to
play if the plan is to be successful. Arts and Sciences is the oldest
and largest college in the University,
and it teaches between one-quarter and one-half of the courses taken by
a typical undergraduate in SLU's other undergraduate colleges and schools.
In brief, the overall reputation of the University rests heavily on the
reputation and success of the College.
It is also
worth establishing the context within which the following strategic plan
should be read. A strategic plan focuses by design on areas that an institution
feels the need to enhance. Thus, when read out of context, the plan may
seem to slight areas assumed to be current or historical strengths. It
may also seem to slight the large areas in which the planned strategy
may be summarized in the simple injunction to "keep up the good work."
For the College, areas of strength include a tradition of strong teaching
that values the experience of the student, and delivery of a solid liberal
arts education in the context of the Jesuit/Catholic tradition. This tradition
assumes an active scholarly community through which disciplines relate
to each other and transmit knowledge as a means of transforming students
into "men and women for others."
Within this
context, the College's internal discussions about fulfilling its central,
strategic University role have required that we be explicit about certain
goals generated from the assumption that the College maintain its traditional
strengths. These goals form a foundation for the College's response to
the University's Strategic Plan.
College Goal 1 - Foster the educational programs we offer, paying particular
attention to current strengths and traditions and to opportunities that
evolve naturally and cost-effectively from current programmatic and research
efforts.
1.
Explore new opportunities for courses and programs that cross traditional
disciplinary boundaries, enhance the College's interdisciplinary culture
generally, and ensure that interdisciplinary programs receive appropriate
fiscal support.
2. Foster and further develop the Jesuit tradition through programming.
College
Goal 2 - Engage in fundraising efforts vital to continuing the College's
progress.
1.
Work to fully fund at least one additional endowed chair in the College
every other year and create more endowed professorships.
2. Work to endow additional research assistantships and fellowships for
graduate students.
The initiatives that follow have been developed in response to University-determined
strategic directions. Unless otherwise noted, these initiatives are to
be regarded as ongoing and largely cost-neutral. Their achievement will
require not only departmental but also broader College cooperation, actively
involving the faculty, the College administration, the Office of Development,
and, where noted, other units outside the College. We regard the initiatives
as crucial to our continuing professional success and development, and
progress toward implementing them will be monitored regularly and reported
on semi-annually by the Office of the Dean.
Strategic Direction: Expanding Research Integrated With
Teaching, Learning and
Service
Goal 1 - Build the infrastructure and refine the administrative systems
that support research.
1.
Aggressively pursue extramural funding and University-level financial
assistance with the goal of substantially expanding and renovating the
current science facilities within three years, constructing new facilities
for the fine and performing arts, and improving other College spaces in
order to better support the College's teaching and research missions.
Goal 2 - Strengthen the culture that supports research integrated with
teaching, learning, and service.
1.
Continue to enhance the College's visibility and role as the heart of
Saint Louis University by recruiting and retaining teacher/scholars of
national and international repute, expanding the involvement of undergraduate
and graduate students in research and mentoring activities, and locally
and nationally publicizing the College's major achievements in research,
teaching, and outreach through various media outlets.
2. Assuming suitable facilities within which to operate, increase the
College's extramural grants and contracts to $8 million annually within
five years to aid in funding an increased graduate student population,
increased tuition stipends, student and faculty travel, faculty released
time, postdoctoral fellowships, pilot and planning grants, annual colloquia
by College departments and programs, and other student and faculty activities.
3. Work with appropriate University officials to create more opportunities
for pre-tenure faculty to travel professionally and to have extended periods
of study time in which to develop as professionals, identify more research
funding for faculty between grants, and within one year review the policies
governing the use of the College's Mellon Fund in order to optimize the
impact of this important resource.
Goal 3
- Enhance the University's entrepreneurial environment.
1.
Review College and departmental policies, and within one or two years
revise them, in order to more fully and explicitly recognize success in
attracting extramural funding in support of teaching, research, and outreach
to the mutual benefit of all parties.
2. Encourage, facilitate, and foster partnership opportunities with other
institutions, NGOs, government agencies, and the private sector with a
view to establishing collaborative programs leading to increased faculty
and student participation in research, teaching, and outreach of mutual
benefit to all parties.
3. Recognize and better reward all those who initiate, facilitate, and
foster successful entrepreneurial initiatives with external constituencies,
through innovative summer programming, and in other ways.
Strategic Direction: Advancing Community with Diversity
Goal 1
- Build a University community of diversity to ensure that students, faculty,
and staff work effectively in cross-cultural situations.
1.
Enhance support for underrepresented groups and perspectives by strengthening
the interdisciplinary programs that focus most directly and visibly on
diversity, international, and/or cross-cultural issues. These programs
transcend traditional departmental and school boundaries to attract students
and faculty, including Jesuit faculty, who will contribute to a more widely
shared cross-cultural exchange and a more diverse community.
2. Enhance areas of our international curriculum that are currently underrepresented,
and within one year develop an interdisciplinary M.A. in Contemporary
Culture and Society.
3. Emphasize and enhance underrepresented components of the curriculum
needed to educate students about the political and social structures and
institutions that shape community and the possibilities for justice --
at local, national, and international levels -- and work to establish
the first endowed chair in the social sciences within three years.
4. Enhance the visibility of the University as an environment for the
examination and discussion of peace and justice issues, and build on SLU
resources and faculty reputations to foster dialogue among representatives
of diverse ethnic and religious
communities.
Goal 2
- Expand partnerships with the local, urban St. Louis community for our
mutual education and benefit.
1.
Continue to develop partnerships with local schools and institutions.
For example, Math department partnerships with local high schools and
historically black colleges; a joint Political Science/Sociology &
Criminal Justice computer lab to be shared with Harris-Stowe; Conservation
Biology and Biodiversity programs that include the Botanical Garden, the
Zoo, and the new World Aquarium; and connections between the University's
planning for Fine and Performing Arts and
midtown renovation initiatives.
2. While the College is interested in local partnerships, it is also conscious
of the need to promote national and international partnerships and internship
opportunities.
Goal 3 - Expand partnerships with international Jesuit universities and
ministries in order to educate for citizenship in the global community
and to attract international faculty, students, and staff.
1.
Expand links with international educational institutions -- both Jesuit
and others -- to create study abroad, research, entrepreneurial, and exchange
opportunities for SLU students and faculty.
Strategic Direction: Fostering Technology Dedicated to Student Formation
and the
Generation of Knowledge
Goal 1
- Pursue excellence in teaching and learning through the appropriate integration
of technology with teaching.
1.
After seeking user-level input with respect to space (especially laboratories),
work with appropriate University officials to acquire needed equipment
and software, and develop pedagogical models and teaching materials for
the routine and seamless use of technology in ordinary classroom settings.
2. Work with appropriate University officials to augment courses normally
taught in Level I and Level II classrooms with the efficient use of specialized
teaching spaces.
3. Work with appropriate University officials to increase the number and
quality of specialized teaching spaces designed for courses taught exclusively
in such settings.
Goal 2
- Stimulate a critical awareness and analysis of the impact of technology
on human relationships, values, and cultures.
1.
Extend the number of course offerings that reflect on and analyze the
impact of technology.
2. Explore the development of an interdisciplinary, College-wide program
which analyzes and assesses the use of technology, and work with appropriate
University officials to secure the supplemental funding needed to offer
this program should it prove academically viable.
Goal 3 - Support the integration of technology with research and scholarly
activities.
1.
Work with appropriate University officials to develop and increase the
collection of databases, on-line reference tools, and other scholarly
resources available for research, both through Pius XII Library and at
the department level, and develop a College-level plan to use the University's
new Internet II capability productively.
2. Work with appropriate University officials to ensure that the laboratories
(including the Language Learning Center), equipment, and software used
for research and teaching are regularly refreshed and updated.
Goal 4
- Expand research and research opportunities directed toward development
of new technologies with the potential for commercialization.
1.
Work with appropriate University officials to supplement existing financial
and technological support for web authoring.
Goal 5
- Continually enhance and sustain an infrastructure supporting the effective
use of technology in teaching, research, service, and administration.
1.
Continue to work with appropriate University officials and through grant
opportunities to provide the technical support needed for faculty to routinely
use technology in teaching and research settings.
2. Enhance the web presence of the College, its departments, and its programs;
and evolve College web sites to routinely provide a conduit of information
to and input from assorted stakeholders and the various units of the College.
3. Develop College-level front ends within one year in order to gather,
analyze, and organize data for efficient use in decision-making.
Goal 6
- Develop a budgeting process on the University, school/college, and departmental
levels that provides ongoing support for technology for teaching, research,
service, and administrative functions.
1.
Increase external support for technology through an increase in external
grants and external partnerships.
2. Aggressively pursue a $3 million endowment to support technology and
solve faculty "refresh" problems.
Strategic Direction: Promoting Continuous Learning and
Innovation
Goal 1
- Foster communication to promote integrated decision making, collaboration,
and innovation.
1.
Continue to develop shared governance in the College through richer decanal
interactions with the Faculty Council and its committees and through a
fuller advisory role for students.
2. Enhance communication with internal and external College and department
stakeholders through increased use of the Internet, open fora, and enhanced
cooperation with the University's Office of Public Relations.
3. Work with appropriate University officials to create a more data-rich
environment that will provide a better context for enlightened decision-making.
Goal 2
- Establish a continuous review and feedback system at the unit level
for the pursuit of excellence.
1.
Enhance the College's outcomes focus, within one year streamline the College's
protocol for reviewing degree programs, and wed the assessment and review
processes, with the goal of utilizing results to improve College programs
and services.
2. Strengthen the assessment protocol for the College core, including
the gathering and use of longitudinal data, and make needed modifications.
3. Work with appropriate University officials to enhance first-year programming
and promote curricular and co-curricular linkages, assessing outcomes
to insure that student needs are being met.
4. Establish outcomes assessment guidelines for evaluating the research
output of departments and programs within two years.
Goal 3
- Modify the reward system used by the University with a view to fostering
and supporting continuous learning that leads to innovative efforts.
1.
Review and, within one or two years, revise College- and department-level
tenure and promotion guidelines as needed, and develop guidelines for
the awarding of emeritus status.
2. Insure that successful pedagogical innovations are rewarded in order
to foster the use of inquiry-based active-learning techniques in keeping
with Jesuit traditions of higher education.
Goal 4
- Decentralize programmatic and financial decision-making to promote flexibility
and empower administrators, faculty, and staff to become more accountable
and innovative in the allocation of people and resources.
1.
Work with the central administration to decentralize more budgets to the
College level in order to foster quality decision-making, minimize bureaucratic
delays, and insure more reliable sources of programmatic support.
For
additional background, please see University
Strategic Plan Goals
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