To the Western Connecticut State University Community:

As you may know, WCSU has engaged in a Strategic Planning Process during which we are revisiting the Mission, Vision, and Values, and creating a new Strategic Plan that will help guide the university over the next 7-10 years. The Mission has not been revisited in over ten years and was not reviewed during the last Strategic Planning Process.

Over the last three months the Steering Committee and its Mission/Vision/Values subcommittee gathered input from over 350 staff, faculty, and students regarding the strengths, weaknesses, applicability, etc., of our current Mission. We have taken your suggestions and concerns and used them to construct a new Mission from the ground up.

We continue to work on the draft and will soon send it out to the University community in order to obtain more feedback. One avenue for sharing your thoughts will be a Stakeholders Strategic Planning Conference on Friday, December 5, 2014, from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m., on the Midtown campus in Warner Hall.

The primary purpose of the conference is to solicit comments on the Mission. The Conference is open to anyone in the University community. We hope that you will attend.

We have also invited alumni and many people associated with the university, including representatives from local schools, area nonprofits and businesses, and elected officials. While they will not dictate our Mission, it is important to understand the vantage point of our alumni and the perceptions that external stakeholders have of Western.

After the Conference, the Steering Committee will revise the draft and present it again to the University community. We will submit it to the University Senate for review and approval in early 2015. We will also begin examining the Vision and Values, which will ultimately lead to a new Strategic Plan. Active engagement by staff, faculty, and students will be crucial at every step along the way.

If, at any time, you have questions or concerns or simply want to chat about the process, please don’t hesitate to contact President Schmotter, Ann, or Dan.

We look forward to seeing you on December 5th.

Regards,

Dan Barrett and Ann Atkinson

Co-Chairs, Strategic Planning Steering Committee

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.