Mapping Council Guides Strategic Planning for University

A cross-section of the campus community – including faculty, staff and students – along with alumni and trustees came together as the Strategic Mapping Council in August to build the framework for a strategic plan that will guide the University and its fundraising efforts over the next several years.

A developing draft of the plan is being shared during forums on campus this month and will be presented to the Board of Trustees for its consideration in October.

“The visionary document taking shape is the culmination of two years of planning and collaboration involving a great many members of the St. Lawrence community who care deeply about our institution and its success,” said President William L. Fox ’75. “We will be counting on this deep love and the generosity of all Laurentians to help us support the plan and its initiatives.”

President Fox convened the council for three days at Canaras to help develop writing instructions for the plan, or “map.” Led by a facilitator, the group had a series of in-depth conversations about St. Lawrence’s past, present and future and about the state of higher education.

“With this strategic map, we begin to shape St. Lawrence’s secure and growing future, a shared vision that must be promising, ambitious and reachable,” Fox told the campus in establishing the group and setting its mission. “The map also informs the development of a new Campus Master (Facilities) Plan and fundraising priorities. The work, then, will shape St. Lawrence’s next decade.”

Many factors are playing a role in the planning process as St. Lawrence continues to address the effects of the nationwide economic recession and prepares to move forward based on several studies and reports that are informing the plan. Planning began with one of President Fox’s first initiatives as a result of the recession, appointing a task force focused on cost reduction. Its recommendations reduced the operating budget by $5 million, or about 5 percent, in 2009-10. 

A subsequent market research study conducted by the consulting firm Hardwick Day focused on perceptions of St. Lawrence held by prospective students and suggested several identity and marketing initiatives, including:

• That St. Lawrence continues to identify its programs and opportunities as strengths.
• That financial aid remains a hallmark of the University.
• That a business program, internships and other forms of experiential learning will attract top students.

In 2010-11, a second recession task force made many recommendations, including:

• That St. Lawrence consider adding an additional 160 undergraduate students, at a rate of 40 a year, beginning with the Class of 2015 in an effort to help lower the discount rate – the overall percentage by which tuition revenue is reduced by providing students with aid.
• To accommodate increased enrollment, that more students be encouraged to participate in study abroad programs and other off-campus learning experiences.
• That experiential learning becomes a stronger and more integrated component of a St. Lawrence education.
• That St. Lawrence move in the direction of guaranteeing internships to all students who request them and begin the process of raising funds to ensure that such internships are not a financial burden for students.
• That the University develop a business program, to include a major, a minor and other opportunities, such as the aforementioned internships, and expand its summer academic offerings.
• That the University aggressively pursue plans to increase energy efficiency and develop a comprehensive transportation strategy.

Details on the strategic plan as it is developed and launched will be shared on the University’s website and in other communications in the coming months.