More than 75 members of the Northern community attended Thursday’s strategic action townhall. After initial comments and a welcome from President Downs, Dr. Josh Hagen, dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and co-chair of the Strategic Action Team, took the stage.
Strategic Action is Northern’s new strategic planning framework. The lead group, known as the Strategic Action Team (SAT), chaired by Hagen and Dr. Tim Woods, includes members from departments across campus, including athletics, financial aid, student affairs, communications and marketing, institutional research, faculty from each school and college, the library, foundation and current students.
“All-in-all, more than 60 people across campus have an official role in this process so far as members of the SAT or pillar teams,” Hagen said. “This is an organic approach, a different approach than in the past. We are doing this in-house. We have the talent and expertise to figure out our own campus’s future.”
The SAT started work in spring 2019, which included adopting the new strategic action framework and updating the university’s mission, vision and values. The SAT also identified four pillar teams to support a Campus of Distinction, which formally begins this summer after the prior strategic plan, Mission Forward, expires.
The pillar teams include:
- Distinctive Learning: Active, innovative, interdisciplinary and relevant
- Distinctive Experience: Diverse, engaged, inclusive and welcoming
- Distinctive Partnerships: Collaborative, entrepreneurial, supportive and sustainable
- Distinctive Leadership: Accountable, ethical, responsive and transparent
The SAT and pillar teams are supported by a communications team, which will routinely share updates and information.
According to Hagen, all pillar teams have already met at least once and have an April 1 deadline to provide the SAT with pathway projects. Pathway projects are short-term projects created by pillar teams that have reasonable, actionable and achievable goals.
One example of a quick win project is the new Center for Excellence and in Teaching and Learning, which is currently being implemented.
“There was a need identified, people came together, we identified goals and soon all the lights turned green,” explained Hagen.
The College of Arts and Sciences has used a similar strategic action model for more than a year.
The townhall also touched on the upcoming challenges facing higher education, including smaller cohorts of high school seniors. While South Dakota won’t be hit as hard as the rest of the country, the region is still projected to see fewer high school students than the prior decade.
Questions from the audience included:
Q: How far has each pillar team gotten?
A: Pillar team pathway projects are due back to the Strategic Action Team by April 1.
Q: How do you envision bringing this all together? (Co-chairs, SAT and pillar teams)
A: “As we act, we will learn. We will learn what does and doesn’t work, and through that build capacity to act,” said Hagen. “The mission, vision and values are what holds this all together and direct the way for everyone.”
Q: What about feedback from prospective students?
A: At least one pillar team has added students, as well as their membership on the SAT team. Campus-wide surveys will also include students.
President Downs recapped the event by reinforcing the importance of strategic actions that become a road map. “This model (strategic action) is moving from a static plan to something dynamic and agile. We must set goals, reach goals and keep the momentum going. Our future is bright, it’s a competitive market, but we’re going at it with an edge,” he said.
Additional updates will soon be shared at northern.edu/action.