Strategic Framework
St. Lawrence University President Kate Morris, in collaboration with Senior Leadership and the Board of Trustees, has developed a thoughtful and flexible strategic framework to shape a vibrant, sustainable, and successful future.
Mission Statement
The mission of St. Lawrence University is to provide an inspiring and demanding undergraduate education in the liberal arts to students selected for their seriousness of purpose and intellectual promise.
Strategic Framework
Our 2025–26 strategic framework captures the priorities that guide our work and how they all connect to create a dynamic student experience.
From bold new programs and well-being initiatives to strategies that attract and support the next generation of Laurentians, the framework highlights today’s opportunities while remaining adaptable to the evolving needs and priorities of the University.
Institutional Goals
Each pillar of the strategic framework works together to ensure students can explore, grow, and thrive at St. Lawrence, today and for generations to come.
- Follow up on May 2025 campus-wide visioning sessions to explore big ideas beyond our current programming.
- Structure academic division to facilitate innovation and collaboration.
- Evolve career ecosystem model, integrating career development across campus in ways relevant to employer, student, and family expectations.
- Further develop and advance the Center for the Environment, as it moves into its second year.
- Make progress on key curricular initiatives arising from Innovation Grants program.
- Develop new partnerships and pathways to broaden academic and co-curricular opportunities for students.
- Expand MA in Leadership program.
- Launch SLU Thrives as an institutional approach to student well-being and the student experience. Integrate across campus through Steering Committee, including assessment model, campus education, resource development, and value proposition.
- Build and sustain a campus culture rooted in an educational approach to the student experience that emphasizes student engagement, safety, and prevention.
- Build on foundation created by the Commission on Laurentian Values to identify ongoing integration of constructive dialogue and intercultural engagement approach to building a campus culture rooted in inclusion and belonging.
- Finalize campaign infrastructure including Campaign Steering Committee (CSC) recruitment, campaign budget, and campaign gift acceptance policy.
- Finalize initial campaign fundraising priorities and develop compelling campaign communications that inspire philanthropy.
- Secure early campaign commitments from key donors.
- Build and execute an enrollment and marketing strategy to achieve an enrollment goal for fall 2026 that maximizes our net revenue, academic quality, and mix of students—nationally and globally.
- Complete market position study and leverage findings to strengthen marketing strategy and materials.
- Relaunch Retention Work Group with a focus on data-informed initiatives to improve and sustain retention rates.
- Update and implement our long-range financial plan.
- Identify and implement cost containment and alternative revenue sources.
- Continue to seek creative and innovative solutions to budget constraints and future opportunities.